Declaration of Independence

Since July 4th 1776, America has regarded our founding fathers as the heroes of our nation, shining beams of truth and light and guiding our populace to the safe harbors of democracy. In The Declaration of Independence Jefferson acts as the representative for the "heroes" of America, and symbolizes the true American and the ideals of which we, both then and now, should exercise. But why has this document proved to be so effective and sustained our democratic course for so many years? Why was it the one thing that caused King George III to finally accept our quest for independence? The rhetorical strategies Jefferson utilized in the document are the answer.

Jefferson makes clear that his position toward Great Britain's tyranny is that their actions are insufferable and can no longer be tolerated for they violate man's God given rights. Jefferson begins to communicate this position by "dissolving the political bands" which had connected the two populations, and from that point on refers to them separately by using "we" and "he." This strategy forces his audience, those of power in Brittan, to consider them separate as well, for Jefferson makes the process simple by stating that all it would take is "decent respect." He continues with the document by stating his purpose, a section that is riddling with parallel structure, appeals to logos and pathos, and hateful diction such as "abuses and usurpations" and "absolute despotism" which create his agitated tone. The parallel structure and use of repetition of the word "that" is an effective method which truly causes his audience to understand his urgency, and this list of specific motives is a prominent appeal to logos.

The next section of the piece, the accusations toward King George III, uses the same strategy. The repetition of the phrase "he has" performs like a hammer blows, one hit right after another, creating painfully true reasoning which is another appeal to logos. However, the repetition's most significant effect is that it causes his audience to focus on his verb choices for each accusation, which one can obviously reason were well thought out and specific. These charges toward the British crown climax when Jefferson instead of stating "he has", states "he is," which is an effective shift and a name calling attack towards the oppressors. He continues in this same way by calling George III a "tyrant" who "is unfit to be the ruler of a free people," an impactful ending to his many truthful and eye-opening allegations. Jefferson then appeals to the ethos of himself and the patriots by proving that their actions have not been as hateful for they "petitioned for redress in the most humble terms" but their "repeated petitions [were] answered only by repeated injury" from the British crown. This appeal carries on to another