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Similarities Between The Enlightenment And The Declaration Of Independence

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The Declaration of Independence’s ideals are artfully connected to the Enlightenment period which heavily influenced the ideologies of the British colonists. The ideals of freedom and equality were ever present when the Declaration of Independence was written and subsequntly expanded upon in modern American Government. The correlation between the Declaration of Independence and the Enlightenment can be seen in the structure of the Declaration of Independence. The grievances are stated in a very logical manner, with no arguments based on religion with the individual colonists welfare in mind. The Enlightenment was a transition of thought that challenged the social norms of the 18th century. The Enlightenment allowed for the church to not take …show more content…

The colonies' utter disregard for the order and the king's potential response before writing the Declaration of Independence exemplifies the ideals of freedom and equality. The colonies sought independence because they saw themselves as equal to their motherland, worthy of representation they would’ve held in Britain. So, the colonies developed the Continental Congress and drafted the Declaration of Independence without the consent of their masters. Thus, the colonies operated like free territories before freedom had been …show more content…

Moreover, the government no longer bears the full responsibility of maintaining the founding fathers ideals. Yet, it has taken steps to expand upon the equality of its people reguardless. Some ideals like equality have been achieved through everyone having accessibility to vote (in person or mail in ballot.) Equality in the founding fathers context, equality had to do with personal advocacy. Equality as defined by the founding fathers had to do with the grounds of representation of each region in the major forms of government. As a citizen, I can contribute to the ideals of equality and freedom by voicing the collective conscious of my community. This can be done by attending local town meetings and utilize social media platforms to spread awareness. Opposed to social media, I make a bigger impact by treating other people with equal amounts of respect. The ideals of equality and freedom are protected when we treat each other with respect and stay connected with local political bodies to continually voice what would improve our community as a

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The Declaration of Independence is a letter to King George III of Great Britain from the American Colonists who are upset of their poor treatment. The Colonists develop their claims by listing what the King has done unfairly, then explain their previous attempts to petition. Their Purpose is to separate the United Colonies from the British Crown in order to live a better life that is not dictated by one man. They establish the righteousness of their beliefs and their want to leave. The Colonists empathise pathos by repeating the same phrase “He is…”.

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Compare And Contrast Declaration Of Independence

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Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence were both articles that added fuel to the fiery American Revolution. Both articles were influential in their day because of their strong diction and convincing appeal. They both captured the essence of the colonist agitation in the mid-seventies, encouraged Americans to become more aware of their conditions, and frowned upon the actions of their absolute ruler, the King of Britain. However they had some distinctively different ideas and purposes. While the Declaration of Independence focused more on outlining the basic rights of men and providing rationale for the American Revolution, Common Sense urged people to become aware of the right violations and mistreatment

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The American Enlightenment and the Great Awakening were two very important motivators that changed the colonial society in America through religious beliefs, educational values, and the right to live one’s life according to each individual’s preference. The Great Awakening and the American Enlightenment movements were two events in history that signaled a grand distinction to the teachings among religious believers. New beliefs of how a person should worship in order to be considered in “God’s good graces” soon became an enormous discussion among colonists across the land. “Men of the cloth,” such as George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards were well respected and closely followed when preaching about the love of God and damnation.

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831 Words | 4 Pages

Not only the Declaration of Independence worked to appealed the Americans, but also the British King and his parliament. Using the appeal to ethos, the Americans gave a logical explanation explaining their concept of liberty to all the its audiences. In the declaration, it is written: “A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” (US, 1776) The founding fathers equalized the American concept of liberty to a decent respect to the opinions of mankind, which then points to the British that they are not respecting the colonists’ decisions and rights.

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