How Does Thomas Jefferson Use Ethos In The Declaration Of Independence

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.

Thomas Jefferson considers himself a contributor to the Age of Enlightenment. Through many of his writings he expands on the philosophies of the great European writers of that era - Rousseau, Locke, Hume, and Leibniz. In “The Declaration of Independence,” Jefferson directly adopts several themes found in the work of French writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau’s “The Origin of Civil Society,” provides a foundation for most of Jefferson’s ideas in “The Declaration of Independence.”

Thomas Jefferson, in his inaugural address, stated that America was, “A rising nation, spread over a wide and fruitful land, traversing all the seas with the rich productions of their industry…advancing rapidly to the destinies beyond the reach of mortal eye...” He was a strong believer in the progressive nature of morality and held an optimistic view of the nature of humanity and human ability. Jefferson believed that all people were equally naturally endowed with the ability to determine right and wrong regardless of their status, and belief that gave him a foundation for his support of democracy. Jefferson believed that since all men had this judgement naturally gifted to them, they were capable of selecting the correct people to lead them and the nation would flourish with liberty. Jefferson’s optimistic faith in human nature and the democratic ideals he formed around its principles guaranteed the future liberty of the United States.

He believed that it was time for America to break away from Britain’s rule and become its own nation, which could govern itself. To do this, though, it was necessary to write some sort of document which would state to the world the basic beliefs on which the nation’s new government would be built. This document was the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson felt that Britain was doing nothing but hurting America with unfair rules and all sorts of ridiculous taxes. The colonies and colonists had no rights in determining the very laws which dictated the way they led their lives. The Declaration of Independence was a formal document stating that the people of America were breaking away from Britain and that the American colonies were now “Free and Independent States.”

When something is going to hit rock bottom in the course of human events, It means that it is the time for reformation to open new era. About 250 years ago, the colonists of America were in necessary to dissolve the political connection with their mother nation, because there were strong requirements to end the era of despotism. but It was challenging to the most powerful nation of the world and fighting against the brethren. Therefore, There should be the Declaration of Independence to announce it's legitimacy and assemble the colonists' hearts. In this declaration, the drafters used the ethos to provide the credibility, parallelism to make it clear and diction to make an conclusion. The first example of ethos in the declaration of independence

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.

“We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” Thomas Jefferson believed those words as he chose to write the Summary View of the Rights of British America, The Declaration of Independence, and the Virginia Constitution. Jefferson retained many powerful beliefs about the freedom and rights of America. Jefferson was an amazingly gifted writer. He knew what he wanted to express and how to put it into words. These writings along with many more played an immense part in gaining America the freedom we enjoy today.

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,

Logos appeals to logic, which allows the writer to address questions and counterpoints to anyone who may refute. You will discover King’s use of logos during his speech when he states, “It would be fatal for the nation to

In the beginning of the letter he starts with an introduction. In the introduction he has two long sentences that have a beginning, middle, and end. The document starts with describing and explaining why the colonies have decided to be a separate nation. In the second sentence he defines what it means to be a human being. Jefferson mentions five “self-evident” truths, those truths are “that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes

In “The Declaration of Independence” Jefferson in enlightening the self-worth of man as individuals which is a new for this time. Jefferson drew a lot of what he wrote from Paine about man and their own self-worth. The revolutionary idea of that man-made government and can abolish it, is not something that is widely recognized at this time. The Monarchs were widely viewed as the solo power of the government and not to be questioned. This new idea of man being in control of its own government was new and outlandish to the common folks but quickly grew in support. I believe that if it wasn’t for this kind of forward thinking that really started build this country into what it is today. We could have easily just formed our own monarchy system

The United States of America was founded on a doctrine of freedom penned by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence brought hope to those of whom understood its content and empowerment to those whom it reached. This letter full of patriotic indignation was meant to break the ties that bound the colonies to the king but has survived to become much more than just a petition, many American leaders have used it to sway the electoral audience into believing that their platform supports the American way most sufficiently. From power hungry radicals to state senators and representatives, all the way to the president of the nation, the Declaration of Independence has become more than just a historic document, now it is a political rhetoric tool. What was once merely a political theory has now become a gospel of justice in the eyes of some citizens.

This is one of the times Jefferson showed his hypocrisy. He was telling everyone that everyone is created equal and treat everyone the same when he was a slave owner his whole life. Seeing Jefferson as hypocritical might be different if he had tried fighting for the slaves, but he simply stated they were racially inferior because they were African American. George Washington had even owned slaves but, he set them free, unlike Jefferson.