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An Evaluation Of The Declaration Of Independence By Thomas Jefferson

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Evaluation of The Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson’s The Declaration of Independence is a significantly important and well presented argument as to why the colonies should not be under the ruler of King George III of England. Jefferson provides a clearly laid out yet strongly worded reason using basic syllogisms which lead any reader into believing the argument provided. The rhetoric used outlines the deistic nature of the writers, the overarching theme of equality through parallelism, and especially the that it is not a “revolt” or “rebellion” against England but rather a natural order that requires the colonies to become an independent nation. Syllogisms are very prevalent within the Declaration of Independence primarily due …show more content…

Jefferson uses a large portion of this declaration to support his argument through extensive lists of all the wrongdoings of the king. These two premises form a basic if then argument which can be simplified to “If political bands must separate and form different powers if unfit to rule and England is unfit to rule then the colonies should become independent and Britain should not govern them. This forms the essential argument that is the core message of the Declaration of Independence. Of course, there are a few short comings regarding its validity. The first major premise that it is necessary to dissolve political bands is a little far fetched. Nowhere is there some omniscient guide to government that states this to be true. The upside of syllogisms is that if you agree with the claims you must agree with the conclusion. The downside is if your claims are not agreeable and do not base themselves on any sort of evidence then having readers agree with your conclusion can be very …show more content…

Jefferson was able to add meaning to his claims and incite subconscious decision making inside the reader’s head through his rhetoric. The argument is presented as the dominant subject of the document and Jefferson cleverly used an extensive knowledge of rhetoric to compliment his writing and add to the amount of meaning in each line increasing the apparent validity of his argument. Jefferson did a brilliant job at conjoining these two types of writing to really make a strong point that has clearly rang true for over 200 years. The words that Jefferson wrote incited a need and lack of independence. He proved to the people its urgency and why it must be done in a way that most could really get behind. The Declaration of Independence laid the foundation of what our country is based upon not by being a boring piece of political documentation, but rather a comprehensive and understandable argument that appealed to all of those it benefited which is why it has had such a long lasting relevance and importance even

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