Jess Hill
Professor Kesler
English 1101
Revised Argumentative Essay
From a Draft to a Final Copy (DEL) The editing process of Jefferson’s first draft led to the removal of roughly around 400 words. In early 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Draft of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson's work went through a thorough process of editing and correcting by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin before the release of the final version in 1776. The purpose of the document is to unite the citizens and convince them to rally against the tyrannous king of Great Britain. Franklin and Adams edit this document in a specific way so that it does not exclude any of the oppressed. They accomplish this by removing certain statements about independence,
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Jefferson writes, "they derive rights inherent and inalienable, among which are... the spirit of happiness" (187). Adams and Franklin changed this part because they knew that not everyone would find happiness in their lives after independence from Great Britain. They did not want to lie by saying that every citizen would be happy. Instead, the finished document reads, "with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are... the Pursuit of Happiness" (The Declaration of Independence & The Constitution of the United States 53). This is a very clever change made by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. They know that everyone has the innate desire to achieve happiness. Not everybody will discover happiness, but it is something that every human being has the desire to find. Some passages regarding religion are removed from Jefferson's original draft to appeal to the non-religious citizens. Jefferson writes, "We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable" (187). Jefferson believes that these truths are obvious and can easily be seen through God and His teachings. Franklin and Adams decide to rephrase this passage to give it a less religious meaning. After the editing process, the final draft reads, "We hold these truths to be self-evident" (53). This passage was edited to show that these truths are not only seen by the religious; (DEL) Adams and Franklin knew that this passage would have undoubtedly caused a divide between the religious and
On July 4, 1776, an independent and fervent nation was born. Our Founding Fathers used an overwhelming sense of integrity and determination to fabricate the Declaration of Independence - a historical document that pleads King George III for independence and stresses the importance of freedom, equality, and natural rights. Though the Declaration of Independence signifies the birth of America and represents a powerful landmark in our history, when looked at from a broad spectrum, it can be seen as arrogant, ironic, and controversial. The Declaration states, “ … 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” (“The declaration”,
The diction in the first draft was not as formal, and used a small range of vocabulary. In a sense The Declaration of Independence is a business deal with the British government, and because of that the diction needs to be formal and business like. Jefferson's diction in the final draft was effective and a good change for the declaration. Jefferson's diction also appeals to people's emotions and ethics “unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” ( Paragraph 2) The way Jefferson wrote this sentence it appeals not only to the people's emotion but the ethics of human
“As the "silent member" of the Congress, Jefferson, at 33, drafted the Declaration of Independence” (Freidel, 2006). Jefferson believed in the Constitution and as Senator of the state of Virginia, abided by it. The words of The Declaration of Independence written by Jefferson remain part of the verbiage today, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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" (Biography.com, 2014).
St. Paul's Presbyterian Church seeks to provide a safe and secure environment for the children
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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.”
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary that someone must judge another to reassure their own position as a superior being. It is at this time, those that threaten individuality and culture be reminded that they are made of the same matter that nature intended for us as humans, and these oppressors of unique must now swallow it.
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
“A treasure that we should continually use for our decisions on the new challenges we face.”(Esposito) Frank J. Esposito echos the purpose of The Declaration of Independence(DOI)in this new era and how it should be implemented in a modern government. The DOI is the most influential piece of writing that has ever come to be. It served it’s purpose in 1777 by uniting the colonists against Great Britain in a bold declaration of independence. This persuasive essay was written by Thomas Jefferson and edited by important figures, which are now known as the founding fathers. Not only, is the DOI an important part of history, but it has also become the model for many other persuasive writings. Thomas Jefferson used techniques like siding with the acrimonious reader, considering the historical precedent and the conceding of a point, to create a compelling argument to persuade the reader’s of The Declaration of Independence.
The Declaration of Independence was an important document in American history but it does not mean that it gained us our true freedom. It was a document that was written and signed on July 4th, 1776. The men that signed such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson told the colonists that this was a sign of them splitting from Great Britain and becoming an independent nation thus being called the United States of America. The document was then sent over to Great Britain for King George to read. This possibly could have caused even more hostility between the colonists and Great Britain because of how the British completely ignored the document. It may be seen as an important aspect to the progression of the Revolutionary War but it also
One of the most famous quote people remember from the Declaration of Independence was, “ We hold these truths to be self- evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ Adams persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document, which Congress then would edit to create the final version. The Declaration was an explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare
Americans have continued to work hard every day to ensure we keep the freedoms we have fought so hard for. Fifteen states from the early America, that’s 56 signatures from many important people during that time, all agreed that we were born with “unalienable rights,” rights that no one could ever take away or deny. “All men are created equal,” they all have the same rights and power any other person has, and that’s because of the Declaration of Independence. Because of the rights the Declaration of Independence has given us, it is by far the most compelling to American citizens today because it continues to ensure that we are granted the rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Due to this we also hold the power to abolish any form of government that wishes to remove these rights, for when we know what freedom tastes like we will do anything to ensure we keep that freedom.
The U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are two very important documents in the founding of our nation. This essay compares how these two documents are linked together, but also how they are clearly different. Though both documents were created near the same time, the Declaration of Independence was actually written first. It was written by Thomas Jefferson and was adopted by congress on July 4, 1776, what we know today as Independence Day. The U.S constitution though, was not adopted until eleven years later in 1787. After these two documents were written, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1801.
The job of drafting the Declaration of Independence fell to the youngest member of the committee, Thomas Jefferson. In composing the declaration, Jefferson drew on ideas from the Enlightenment, especially those of John Locke. Not only did the declaration represent a milestone in the history of the United States, it also turned the political philosophies of 18th century Europe into real political practice.
The Declaration of Independence uses many of the beliefs that are central to Locke’s Two Treaties of Government, which are all still very important to us today. Beliefs such as all people are equal, their natural rights, and the government’s role in its citizens lives was the foundation to building the United States the world knows today. The focal points in their two documents are almost exactly the same; Locke emphasizes people’s natural rights in the statement “that being all equal and independent, no one ought to hurt ones life, liberty, or property", while Jefferson highlights them by saying “they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness." It is commonly speculated that Jefferson’s first draft of Declaration of Independence actually copied Locke verbatim by saying “life, liberty, and property”, rather than “pursuit of happiness”. While this has never been proven, it shows how Jefferson utilized Locke’s ideas.
The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson was made in order to give the colonists a way to break free from the shackles of King George. This document has affected the building blocks of the United States and is one of the most important documents in U.S. history. The Declaration of Independance was the foundation of what this country was based on. However, what Jefferson and the other signers might not have expected is the strech, the firm words, would have across the world. The document made such an impression because it was a new and differnet way of dealing with political issues, and they weren't asking for anyones permission. It was the first document unlike anything in American