Thomas Jefferson Declaration Of Independence Rhetorical Devices

The use of rhetorical analysis is very useful to make works appealing and contribute effectively to the author’s purpose. They are used in Patrick Henry’s extemporaneous speech “Give Me Liberty, or Give me Death.” Henry, a revolutionary leader, made this speech at the meeting of the Virginia convention on March 23, 1775. The purpose of this speech was to persuade the delegates of the convention and colonists to form a militia and start war against the British to declare independence. This speech Patrick Henry uses parallelism, pathos, and allusion to persuade the Virginia delegates to go to war against Britain.

The Boston Tea Party, unreasonably high tax rates, and the quartering of soldiers provoked the creation of a compelling and monumental document: The Declaration of Independence. In 1778, representatives from all 13 colonies assembled to divulge a plan that would free them from Great Britain’s tyrannical ruler King George III. In order to establish an effective and convincing plan, the colonial delegates needed to produce a testimony that would thoroughly persuade its audience to comply with their efforts to disband from the British. Founding father Thomas Jefferson utilizes pathos to assert his objective as well as employes a dramatic tone shift which keeps the audience engaged and emotionally connected to the document’s ambition.

Writing to an audience that still lacks the desire to oppose the British, Patrick Henry in his "Speech to Virginia House of Burgesses" focuses on the rights of man and defying oppressors. Through figurative language, rhetorical questions, and diction, Henry heightens the necessity to rise up and fight against the British ruling power over the colonist population in Northern America.

In the revolutionary period, many authors used rhetorical devices to persuade the colonists to fight against the British and win their independence.

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

Throughout the history of America, there have been thousands of essays and arguments for more freedoms for citizens. These articles were influential during their time because of their evolving ideas. In the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King and “Resistance to Civil Government” by Henry David Thoreau, persuasive techniques are used to convince a reader to share their point of view. These articles have shared insights about how to write persuasive essays and arguments.

Another reason that Jefferson’s arguments are extremely persuasive is that he is a credible and respected amongst the delegates of the colonies and the citizens of the colonies. Jefferson was one of the leading intellectuals of his time. He was well known as a writer and political leader not only in the colonies, but throughout the world. Anything with his name on it would immediately gain respect

(A critic of the persuasive techniques employed in The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson)

Thesis- The rhetorical devices in the Speech to the Virginia Convention by Patrick Henry is very effective.

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.

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

The Declaration of Independence was written for the purpose of separating the American colonies from the British Empire. In context of history, The Declaration was the first step into a modern representative democracy. In addition, the makers of the declaration, primarily Thomas Jefferson, constructed an argument to state the problems they had with Britain and tell how the new American government was going to deal with the problems. The argument Jefferson constructed was one made with all the wrong evidence; however, he built the argument in such a way to rally a people for war. The Declaration of Independence is a well-written example of argument and persuasion with its use of structure as a whole, use of specific fallacies, and use of appeals.

Thomas Jefferson used persuasion with the acrimonious reader by siding and understanding the opposing view of The Declaration of Independence. To comprehend why this technique was so effective, there should be an understanding of what is meant by an acrimonious reader. An acrimonious reader is one who will not agree with the author’s writing. Jefferson reaches the acrimonious reader by siding, with the purpose to, “declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” Jefferson wants the disagreeing side to question their opposing beliefs, all this by presenting evidence, which is unarguable and cannot be set aside. Essentially, it become a demonstration that the author is considering the opposing view and understands that the opposite is a valid argument. “If I am charged with microscopic views, I shall treat the charge as captious, unless its author is able to show, that a different lens would lead to different conclusions.”(Droit and Richard) Both Droit and Seldon, when criticising the DOI, understood that there must be an understanding of the arguments of both sides in order for persuasion to take place. If a writer’s argument is one sided, then it becomes impossible to hook the acrimonious reader, who serves as the target for persuasion. Persuasion only works if the reader keeps reading,

In his speech during the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry used a dynamic tone to express his ideas. He utilized the rhetorical technique of fallacy to persuade his audience into thinking that America’s independence was necessary for the good of the nation and its people. Henry takes advantage of fallacies such as the either or fallacy, fallacy of complex questions, appeal of consequence, and appeal to emotion to implement his ideas into the audience.

Thomas Jefferson appeals to logos as a rhetorical device in order to justify their reason of separation from Britain. Logos is when the author or writer appeals to the audience through the use of logic and reasoning. Jefferson in the Declaration Of Independence, states “Suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever”. Jefferson is trying to show that British has absolute power over the colonies and it is not giving them any freedom. During the Colonial Era, the colonies established a self-government in order to maintain and take control of their colonies. Even though the