ipl-logo

Thomas Jefferson Declaration Of Independence Analysis

1054 Words5 Pages

The Declaration of Independence is taught to children as a letter sent from America to Britain almost like a breakup note, but this is not really what it was. The intent of the document is to convince a disparate group of British farmers and tradesmen, who lived in a colony far from England, that they had no choice but to unite in revolution against the tyrannical King. The Declaration of Independence artfully sought to find common ground among slave and free colonies, rich landowners and poor settlers by reminding them that they could all agree that the King was their enemy. Jefferson carefully used his words to single out the King as a tyrant that abused all colonists collectively. His patient recounting of a long list of intolerable acts of the King portrayed the dangerous and rash prospect of a rebellion as their only option and a sacred duty all colonists had to each other. Thomas Jefferson begins the Declaration by asserting the then radical notion that the government serves the people instead of accepting the concept that colonial citizens should serve their King. He then declares that …show more content…

Though Jefferson was a proud Virginian, he never mentions a single colony nor even any constituency among the colonies. He does not directly mention tobacco, cotton, slaves, or grain because he shrewdly speaks only of subjects that unite all interest among his diverse audience. Jefferson is adamant that his readers not view the proposed rebellion in the light of their individual interest. In great contrast to this, Jefferson singles out The King as the target of his argument. He chooses to spare the British people because they were “common kindred,” (2), “our British brethren,” (2), and suffered as subjects of the same tyrant. He omits a discussion of why treating the colonists better will benefit England, because he is not negotiating, and in doing so makes it clear that England is not his target

Open Document