How Does Jefferson Use Ethos In The Declaration Of Independence

One reason that The Declaration of Independence was so influential was that Thomas Jefferson’s claims against the King of England were easy to understand and logical. Typical complaints include “For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us;” and “For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” Jefferson uses plain language that everyone can understand to point out large injustices done by the king. His statements about the King are short and to the point. He does not waste any words or bore the reader with abstract writing or excess words and thoughts. He goes from one point to the next to the next in such a fashion that the reader’s concentration is never broken. His points are logical and everyone living in the colonies at that time and many people around the world probably had some idea of the incidents behind all his grievances against the king. Jefferson raps up the injustices done by the king by declaring the United Colonies to be free and independent states.

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the United States, explains to his readers why the colonies chose to abolish Great Britain’s government. His goal is to inform the readers that the government has certain responsibilities to the governed and that the British failed to adhere to its responsibilities to its colonists. His second goal is to justify their actions by explaining why it was not considered treason. By establishing his credibility and appealing to ethos, pathos and logos, Jefferson successfully wrote an informative, impactful, and inspirational document.

In the year 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence due to the unfair treatment of the American colonist from the King of Britain. In the document, Jefferson used the expressions, “unalienable rights” and “self-evident truths”. Jefferson uses these expressions to explain all people are equal the day they are born are created equal, and certain rights should not and cannot be taken away from them. All men have the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which is given its validity through the belief that all men come from the same creator. The author also uses pathos and logos to clarify the importance of the American independence by stating facts with a passionate tone of voice throughout the document. While

He used logos when he talked about the Declaration of Independence and its writers. This is a fact, so it appeals to logic. Another place where he uses logic is where he talks about the fact that slaves are human. He points how people know this fact, but they just choose to ignore it. Another way that he appeals to logos is talking about how outrageous it is to have him making this speech, and that the people really do not understand the Fourth of July and crazy it is to think about it as a holiday for black people.

Jefferson's text was extremely taboo especially without the support of a reputable country. Thomas Jefferson's words were also courageous and daring. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson used the

When Thomas Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence he writes it to explain why the American colonies will be separating from Great Britian. He does that by using logos. An example of this from the Declaration of Independence is when he writes about the king of Great Britain changing things.“For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:”. This passage explains some of the reasons why they separate from Great Britain, Jefferson uses actual facts so that Great Britain can’t deny it. Through out the entire declaration he uses logos to back up why the American colonies leave. He doesn’t want people to think they are leaving just for no reason.

In his document, The Declaration of Independence (1776), Jefferson and the representatives in the general congress proclaim that because all men possess unalienable rights, and due to the transgressions committed by the repressive British King against the people of the 13 colonies, the colonists should be entitled to dissolve all allegiance to the crown of Great Britain, and engender a new nation that “[has] full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do”(4). Jefferson supports this proclamation by enumerating the rights of people when both facing and not facing a corrupt government, distinguishing the copious actions of King George

Thomas Jefferson’s overall goal with the Declaration, is to officially separate from the English monarchy and he does so by writing an eloquent document stating reasons why separation is best for both nations. Within the first few paragraphs of this document we see the author using a heavy appeal to Logos coupled with anaphora; the effect is hypnotizing. The reader is led to believe that Jefferson’s word is incontestable. By using the term “he” over and over again in reference to the King of England, Jefferson takes away the power that comes with the title, and makes King George seem like a common man trying to be the boss of a growing country. The effect of the use of “he” gets rid of the human side of the person being spoken about and instead makes them seem like an empty shell in place of a person. Every "he has" is coupled with the imagery of a mighty finger of judgment being cast at the King. The diction is so negative and 'obscure' that it does not leave the King any room for argument. The use of “he” was extremely on Jefferson’s part. Even more clever though is his

1B) The Declaration of Independence uses several rhetorical strategies, making the argumentative testament of the wrongdoings of the king an effective in pursuing equality for all men. Jefferson utilizes logos, pathos and ethos to prove his point to the country holding their liberty prisoner. Jefferson’s use of logos begins with stating the obvious reason the king should set the people free: the people have the right to the pursuit of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” (2). The King has not done good to the people, in fact he has refused to pass the laws necessary to create order, dissolved representative houses, cut off trade, and imposed unlawful taxes upon the people. They have the basic human rights given to them by God that should set them free from the tyrannical king. Some of the emotional side of Jefferson’s views slip into this argument, such as "mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable" (5). While stating further wrongdoings, Jefferson’s use of pathos increases, raising the rage of the republic at the injustice of the rules they have been subjected to. “He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation” (26). Jefferson calls for a sense of empathy from the crown and establishes a sense of severe discontent

In this essay, I will prove how Jefferson uses a rhetorical structure in his work to attract his audience about the usurpations of the King of Great Britain (King George III). I feel that Jefferson’s rhetoric is justly what makes the Declaration of Independence so significant because he emotionally draws in his readers by presenting them with a lengthy list of grievances that Great Britain had on the United States colonies. I will then show how Jefferson uses literary terms such as the warrant to state his belief on the conflict with Britain, gives supporting facts (list of grievances) to support his belief, and then makes a claim for independence after his exhausting list of grievances to make a solution to the conflict with the British. By having such an effective rhetorical structure in the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson eventually leads the U.S. colonies to independence from Great Britain.

Jefferson's text was extremely taboo especially without the support of a reputable country. Thomas Jefferson's words were also courageous and daring. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson used the

As a reader, I found this sentence very powerful, and I’m sure when it was written, it was even more so, seeing as the writers/readers were the ones experiencing the suffering. Another place that Jefferson appealed to pathos was in the last sentence. He says, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” By showing how much everyone is willing to sacrifice (lives, fortunes, and honor), it illustrates the amount of heart and passion that went into this document. Logos of the document: Logic/reason The entire first paragraph is telling the readers why this declaration of independence needs to made in the first place. He states that there is a time when a society needs to break away from its past leader (Britain) and rely on the powers of God and the earth to create a new community. He is using logic to help his readers understand the meaning of this document. He continues to use logos in explaining why this declaration is important as he explains that it will “secure these rights,” which pertain to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Another time, logos is used in the declaration is when Jefferson is addressing all the wrongs the King of Britain did, and he lists them. He presents his evidence very

“Give me liberty, or give me death!” is a quotation attributed to Patrick Henry, which he used to close his speech to Virginia Convention. During this time period, the 1770s, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson all made arguments in favor of separation of the American colonies from Great Britain; many of these appeals were persuasive for different reasons, whether that be logical, emotional, or pertaining to credibility and trust, which is to say logos, pathos, and ethos. First of all, we will examine Henry’s arguments during his speech at the Virginia Convention. Then, we will identify Paine’s appeals in a part of his essay, The Crisis n1. Lastly, we will evaluate Jefferson’s myriad of arguments in a part of his Autobiography.

Jefferson began the document by explaining that the rights of the Americans had been brutally molested by the unjust King of Britain. Following this accusation, he provided evidence of this abuse by listing not just a mere handful, but 27 grievances that the King had inflicted against the colonies. Lastly, the conclusion of this article publishes and declares that the United Colonies have the right to be freed from the British and that they have the right to govern themselves as any free country does. The strategic organization of the Declaration of Independence allowed the colonies to be powerfully represented by such a clear and prudently worded

Thomas Jefferson was the author of The Declaration of Independence, and according to Bellis, Jefferson was also a jurist, a diplomat, a writer, an inventor, a philosopher, an architect, a gardener, a negotiator of Louisiana Purchase, but he only requested three of his many accomplishments to be noted on his tomb. (2005). Thomas Jefferson was a very smart politician and he knew what to say to whom in order to enhance their support. This essay will be an analytical paper discussing Thomas Jefferson and The Declaration of Independence. It will also clarify the basic ideas contained in The Declaration of Independence; the influence of the Declaration upon American War of Independence,