Declaration of Independence Analyzed Rhetorically

Please criticize my rough draft. Though take it easy on the conclusion there is none, I know I have to work on that.

 

Obviously no artifact of any kind never exists in a vacuum and the declaration of independence is no exception. It was written in a volatile time for specific purposes which I will discuss. It also used a variety of rhetorical appeals including logos, pathos, and ethos. There are also other appeals involving the tone and how it was written, which is a direct result of the purpose of the document.

The declaration of independence was written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. England and the United States of America, which consisted of 13 colonies at this point, had been at war for a year now. When the declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 it was the official separation of the colonies from Great Britain. When reading the declaration of independence, you might think that its main audiences are Great Britain, and probably the citizens of the 13 colonies. While both of these parties most definitely did read the declaration of independence, they weren’t the main audience. Foreign countries were the main target of the declaration of independence, because the colonies wanted to convince them of their cause so that the other countries would provide support to the war effort.

Since the intended audience was foreign countries, you can see why the writers chose the appeal that they did. The beginning of the declaration of independence is very structured and  logical trying to gain foreign support. You can see this from the very first line alone. It gives the reason for writing the declaration of independence in general.

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

This says that when political ties such as this are severed, people should have a right to know why. Not only does that sentence do a good job of showing why the document was written,  but it also gives the reader a good idea of what to expect in the rest of the document. This makes it easier to follow when you understand that this declaration will state exactly why the United States of America felt it necessary to separate from Great Britain.

Another thing that you can take away from even the very first sentence, is the formal and proper tone that the document seems to have. For one, this was written in 1776 and people talked and wrote more formally back then, but even so there’s still another reason for this. They need to make sure that they are taken seriously because the 13 colonies are trying to start their own country. By just taking a more formal tone it shows that you are serious and should be taken seriously. It also implies that they don’t take this separation lightly and that they have put a lot of thought into it.

When it comes to the actual content of the declaration of independence it is extremely logical and well structured. It lays out every single point trying to prove to other countries that America is waging the just war in this particular situation. There are also some distinctions that I think are worth noting.

“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed-”

I think that it is important to note that in this sentence of the declaration the flow of power in the social contract is critical. Men give up some of their rights to form a state which means that government gets their power from the people, rather than people getting their power from the government. If any foreign nations were to disagree with this flow of power than they most likely wouldn’t support the rebellion. I think that the writers simply believed that nearly everyone would take this claim at face value, which is why they didn’t elaborate on it. Its also possible that they didn’t think they would persuade anyone who disagreed with this point to reverse their position. Another point made in the declaration is that you cannot revolt in good conscience unless the grievances are incessant and severe. The writers wanted to persuade other countries that they weren’t revolting from trivial offenses, and they didn’t think it would be right it they did. Logos is probably the most prevalent in the declaration of independence because of who their audience is. Further examples of logos is seen in the numerous grievances listed. Every single one of them is one reason why the colonies are choosing to separate from Britain. After they are all listed, the document then addresses any counter arguments that could be possibly had. It shows that they have exhausted any other options of communication because Britain wasn’t responding to the negotiations. the declaration also states how none of the grievances were unknown to the British. Each one was made known to them and met with further injury leaving them with only one choice; to revolt.

The last paragraph is the one that actually declares the independence of the United States of America. Because this is a momentous thing to do, this whole paragraph is dripping with pathos. You can almost hear the pride and excitement of the written words of this document.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have 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.

This is a very lengthy sentence but it achieves its purpose. From beginning to end it is a crescendo of emotion. When reading it you can picture Thomas Jefferson saying it, standing up proud and sitting down in a huff out of breath when he’s finished it. The use of are and ought to be is effective as well. They are saying not only are we free but we ought to be free as well, further trying to support their cause as the right one.

 

 

 

3 thoughts on “Declaration of Independence Analyzed Rhetorically

  1. Tim, I’m glad you chose the Declaration of Independence, a document I always enjoy returning to and re-reading. When you have time someday (I know there’s no time for leisure-time reading in college), you should take a look at Garry Wills’s book “Inventing America: Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.”

  2. As someone who’s really interested in American history, I really liked the topic behind this essay. The Declaration of Independence is a great choice because there’s so much to work with. The whole document is filled with rhetoric, commonplaces, and ideologies. You did a great job of incorporating the text into your paper, so that really helped the reader understand your points. Your points about pathos are spot on, so well done. I would possibly talk about the ethos of the document and maybe the various ideologies. However, this is a really well-written paper, so keep it up!!

  3. I thought that this was a good rough draft, and I basically have two comments on how you can improve it. First, it needs polishing. Double check your word use (then vs. than etc.), double check that your tenses all make sense, and generally search for typos, because I did see some. I’d also let it sit without looking at it for a couple of days, and then read over it again; usually when I do that I do a much better job of self-editing, and I can really improve the flow of my writing. Secondly, and I didn’t do this either in my rough draft, because I didn’t know we had to, but I think he wants us to explain why we chose the artifact we did. That shouldn’t be too difficult, but it’s something to keep in mind. And you already know you need to tag on a conclusion, so I think you did a really good job here!

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