ipl-logo

How Is The Rhetorical Devices Used In The Declaration Of Independence

407 Words2 Pages

The speech by Abraham Lincoln, opposing Steven Douglas on the Dred Scott decision, reveals his views on slavery and racial equality. In his speech, rhetorical schemes are used to persuade his audience and make his point about his perspective on the court decision. The use of repetition of the word “and”, makes the sentence feeling intense,making the audience feel what they have created by slavery. The repetition of the word, “and”, when indicating the view of the people in the modern day viewing the Declaration: “it is assailed, and sneered at, and construed, and hawked at, and torn”, this quote he states implies more and more, making the words very intense which imitate the lashing of the whip on the black slaves. Lincoln considers the modern …show more content…

Lincoln quotes Douglass, who states, “No man can vindicate the character, motives, and conduct of the signers of the Declaration of Independence except upon the hypothesis that they referred to the white race alone, and not to the African.” The words, “character”, “motives”, and “conduct”, are related to each other. One’s character has motives which turns into their conduct and they act upon their motives these three words have similar meaning. In addition to antithesis and repetition of the word, “and”, Lincoln uses sarcasm when he elaborates on Douglass’s quote, “I had thought the Declaration contemplated the progressive improvement in the condition of all men everywhere; but no, it merely ‘was adopted for the purpose of justifying the colonists in the eyes of the civilized world in withdrawing their allegiance from the British crown, and dissolving their connection with the mother country.’ ” He uses sarcasm to show the audience that Douglass is opposing what the Declaration is stating, he’s framing him that he’s not patriotic and his words don’t line

Show More
Related
534 Words | 3 Pages

Speech to the Virginia Convention In Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention”, he persuades Loyalists to fight England by using main rhetorical devices: Diction, Allusion, Rhetorical Questions, and Appeal to ethos. Diction creates rhythm and emphasizes important ideas and images. Convincing an audience can be different, but using Allusion alleviates the audience connect to the situation. Rhetorical Questions gets people thinking and helps them see the right in the situation. You have to make yourself credible, so Patrick Henry connects his charming character to his crowd by using Appeal to ethos as well.

Read More
149 Words | 1 Pages

Douglass and Lincoln’s common ground is to abolish slavery, but their discussions don’t always end in agreement. Both had disputes on the Constitution, the thoughts of colonization, and t both having diverse personalities. Lincoln sided in the original ways of the founding fathers to abolish slavery in the near future for the United States ‘development (Oakes 63) and relaxing the colonies with the use of liberated slaves (Oakes 190). While Douglass believed the Constitution as an antislavery document and a colonization should allow freed slaves should live peacefully in America. The aftermath of these disputes led to the weaken trust between Douglass and Lincoln, when working together, Douglass truly believed that Lincoln wasn’t active

Read More
918 Words | 4 Pages

Many believe that every human being must be treated as equals. It is significant that this law is strictly practiced in order to prevent a chaotic and rioting society. Thomas Jefferson, framer of the Declaration of Independence and secretary of state to President George Washington at the time, declared that “all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This statement greatly appealed to numerous colonists after gaining freedom from Great Britain; however, not everyone agreed that Jefferson’s words are reinforced accordingly. One such individual who was the son of former slaves, a farmer, astronomer, mathematician, surveyor,

Read More
1056 Words | 5 Pages

First, Frederick Douglass uses rhetorical questions to elucidate to the listener the many social inequalities between black and white people. For example, Frederick Douglass says, “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice embodied in the Declaration of Independence extended to us?” (para. 1). He is implying that the rights stated in the Declaration of Independence are not given to those of African American race. The audience will begin to realize that they are not treated with the same liberties as those who are considered free.

Read More
804 Words | 4 Pages

The setting is Independence Hall Philadelphia, PA on July 4th 1776. Thomas Jefferson and nearly 60 other men have sat down to discuss and confirm the split from England. A document has been constructed to inform King George III of the injustices that the United States of America has felt continuously. As the men effectively build their argument against the king, the use of rhetorical devices is prevalent. The rhetorical devices Thomas Jefferson used to inform the King of England of his wrongdoings were parallelism, anaphora and allusions.

Read More
827 Words | 4 Pages

He counters the aforementioned policies of America through an impressive and almost excessive use of rhetorical questions. For example, in response to America’s founding principle of freedom and equality for all Douglass asks if those same “great principles [are]… extended to” himself and the rest of the slave community. The questioning continues in the next paragraph, yet this time displaying a more accusatory and sarcastic purpose, causing the audience to feel uncomfortable and undignified the more questions he asks. Further along in the passage, Douglass makes effective use of juxtaposition in paragraph eighteen, providing contrast between the rights and privileges experienced by white people and the rights and privileges experienced by slaves. Accordingly Douglass summarizes the injustice of the white people’s enjoyment of their “rich inheritance” stating that “the blessings in which” the audience “rejoices, are not shared in common by” Douglass and the rest of the enslaved peoples.

Read More
269 Words | 2 Pages

Frederic Douglass questions the principles of Declaration of Independence since it does not apply to him or those he represents. Douglass states that the Fourth of July is a celebration for the white American men where they celebrate their independence from Britain. This day represents justice, liberty, prosperity for white Americans not for black folks. He says do not expect a black people to celebrate the white ma’s freedom from tyranny and oppression is “inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony.” Douglass says that there no person on earth who would be in favor in becoming a slave.

Read More
1025 Words | 5 Pages

He declares, “to forget them [the slaves], to pass lightly over their wrongs and to chime in with the popular theme would be treason most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before God and the world,” (para. 5). He discusses that slavery is unjust, and says that celebrating freedom with slavery would be treason. This helps the audience realize that celebrating freedom in their country is not a peccadillo, and they naturally will try to right the wrong because of their moral instincts by stopping their celebration. He also says, “to him your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mock; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy - a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages,” (para. 15). In this quote, Douglass says that celebrating liberty is covering up a crime: slavery.

Read More
636 Words | 3 Pages

he uses bold words and biting criticism to call attention to the gross injustices and hypocrisy of slavery in the United States. In the opening remarks of his speech, Douglas provides heart-wrenching descriptions to pull his audience into the lives of their fellow

Read More
804 Words | 4 Pages

King’s dialect showed the audience civil right issues, involving many rhetorical strategies using ethos, logos, and pathos, to a racially tempered crowd whom he viewed as different, but not equal. From the very beginning of it , King brings his crowd back to the origin of America when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, that freed all slaves and gave hope to the former slaves. But immediately after Dr. King speaks out on how after 100 years Blacks still do not have the free will that is deserved. He points out the irony of America because Black Americans were still not truly free.

Read More
839 Words | 4 Pages

In Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence,” he uses rhetorical devices to convey his purpose which is to say that colonies have decided to break their bond with the King and Great Britain and to explain their reasoning. One of the devices used the most to convey his purpose was parallelism. Jefferson also uses repetition to make his reasons clear. Some might think that his use of restatement further makes his points clear; however, they are wrong. Jefferson uses rhetorical devices like parallelism and repetition to explain the reasonings of the Colonists decision to break their bonds with the King and Britain.

Read More
177 Words | 1 Pages

Franklin Delano Roosevelt wrote “The ‘Four Freedom’ Speech” to get his point across that America needs to join World War II, in doing so he used rhetorical devices and appeals. Roosevelt uses logos as a rhetorical appeal by saying “the assailants are still on the march, threatening other nations, great and small. ”(Roosevelt 271) He gives logical reasoning about the threat to other nations. Roosevelt wrote that to let other nations know to be ready for war.

Read More
691 Words | 3 Pages

On March 23, 1775, Mr. Patrick Henry made history when he delivered a speech at the Virginia Convention. Mr. Henry's purpose in his speech was to convince the Virginia patriots attending the convention that the only option with Britain remaining was war. Mr. Henry used many rhetorical devices throughout his speech, and with the use of pathos, ethos, and logos he had an effective advantage that appealed to almost every person at the convention. To begin with, Mr. Henry’s speech contains much use of pathos as he relates to the emotions of the people of Virginia. An example of Mr. Henry's use of pathos is when he states, “I consider it as nothing less than freedom or slavery...”.

Read More
689 Words | 3 Pages

In the “Speech to the Virginia Convention” given by Patrick Henry to the President in 1775, asserts that the colonists should not be trying to negotiate with the British. His purpose was to convince the audience that they should not be trying to befriend the people of Great Britain rather that they should make Great Britain their foe. Henry uses his speech to appeal to both the President and the colonist through the use of figurative language, tone, and syntax. Patrick Henry’s use of diction, a persuasive and forceful tone, appeal to ethos and pathos, as well as various syntactical elements in his “Speech to the Virginia Convention” shows that the colonists should be fighting to break away from the British monarchy rather than negotiate terms to try and stay under their clutches.

Read More
511 Words | 3 Pages

The speech that I chose to dive into was one spoken by Frederick Douglas titled “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July.” Frederick Douglas was a man who escaped slavery and lead many in abolition of slavery movement. He was known for his exceptional public speaking skills and writing about the horrors of slavery. Douglas was so educated in the way he wrote and spoke that many found it difficult he once came from a life of slavery. When he was asked to speak on the Fourth of July in 1852, he unloaded the wrongfulness in slavery.

Read More

More about How Is The Rhetorical Devices Used In The Declaration Of Independence

Related Topics

Open Document