ipl-logo

Compare And Contrast Declaration Of Independence And The Fourth Of July Speech

851 Words4 Pages

Compare and Contrast: The Declaration of Independence and the Fourth of July Speech The United States of America is forever proud of their past and always optimistic about the future. It 's interesting to see how passionate people are when it comes to America 's history and how bright the future can be. In the two pieces, one author uses pathos to evoke people’s emotions to remind them of their past, and another uses formality and articulate language to set plans for the future. In the Declaration of Independence and the Fourth of July speech both authors use tone, details, and syntax to make their purpose, whether it be about the past or the future, or whether it be setting goals or swaying opinions, understood. In the Declaration of …show more content…

In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson constructs his sentences delicately, using simple, compound, and predicate sentences long sentences with compound predicates, for example, “we held these truths to be self evident, …all men are created equal, ...with certain inalienable rights, ...among those are life, liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”, to support his cause and to convince the audience to stand up against the government. By adding more and more support to each claim, Jefferson eradicates doubt. Douglas, on the other hand, uses similar syntax, but he is attempting to get people on his side, because he is only reminding them to of the brutality of slavery and letting them decide for themselves. For example, he says “fellow citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mourning wail of millions, whose chains heavy and grievous yesterday, or today rendered more intolerable by the jubilant shouts that reach them.” Jefferson does not use this syntax and sentence style to add reasons to his cause, but uses long sentences and compound predicates to keep the audience captivated in his emotional toil. In short, Jefferson and Douglas both use the similar syntax and sentence structure but Jefferson uses it to draw people to his cause while Douglass uses it to keep readers hanging on to every last emotional

Show More
Related
296 Words | 2 Pages

Frederick Douglass, a former slave, was one of the greatest public speakers for the abolitionist cause. He was called upon to speak on July 5, 1852, at the Rochester, New York Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, and gave his famous speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”. Douglass explains how Independence Day is supposed to be a joyous holiday for Americans, however it is more like mockery to African-Americans because, regardless of being freed slaves, they still do not have the freedoms they deserve. Douglass uses different rhetorical strategies to convey his message and emotions to his audience, including biblical allusions. Douglass ends his speech by demonstrating a sense of hope just after painting a very dark picture of reality

Read More
163 Words | 1 Pages

The affirmation of rights in the Declarations of 1776 and 1789 brought to the fore two major issues, which fuelled and animated public and legal debate in the subsequent years and in turn soon gave rise to two very important demands ones that were fundamental for the construction of the political communities and societies to come: the abolition of slavery and the end of women’s servitude. In both cases, the central focus obviously lay on the attribution (to slaves and women) of fundamental rights, starting from rights to freedom. There are numerous records attesting to the fact that such moral, political, ideological and theoretical battles were often conducted simultaneously by people who were engaged on both fronts: those who declared to

Read More
1160 Words | 5 Pages

As a representative of slavery, Frederick Douglass in the speech, “What To The American Slave Is Your 4th Of July?” , denounces America’s disposition towards slavery, noting its emergence into a flagrantly hypocritical state. Douglass supports his denouncement by arguing that, to the African American slave, the Fourth of July stands merely reminiscent of the blatant injustice and cruelty they stand subject to every day. In hopes of change, the author’s purpose serves to advocate the human nature of slaves, in order to slander the nation’s misconduct and unveil the great sin and shame of America: slavery. Douglass’s formal writing style addresses his audience of Americans who observe the holiday, as well as others interested in the topic of slavery

Read More
1056 Words | 5 Pages

When most people hear the words “Fourth of July” they think about fireworks, cookouts, and sparklers. During the 1850’s, the Fourth of July served as a reminder of the many horrors and injustices in the world. On July 4, 1852, Frederick Douglass-- a former American slave, abolitionist leader and adroit speaker-- spoke in Rochester, New York about the affectation of celebrating independence. In his speech, “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery”, he claims celebrating independence is unethical when slavery is widespread. To convince the reader of his claim, he uses rhetorical questions, emotional appeal, and antithesis in hopes of shedding light and sparking action on the wrongful situation.

Read More
584 Words | 3 Pages

Many of us know that the intention of the declaration was to tell the King of England his transgressions against the colonies, and why the colonies wanted to break off from England. In both drafts Jefferson goes on to say how the king taxes the colonies without representation or allowing British soldiers to live in in a civilian's house just because. One thing that Jefferson mentions in the original draft that the greatest sin the crown has done to the colonies is slavery. Jefferson states,” He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither.”.

Read More
661 Words | 3 Pages

Christopher Troyer Mrs. Foster ACP US History 19 September 2017 Two Men, One Idea The Declaration of Independence and Common Sense may have more in common than you think. Thomas Jefferson was a well educated man with a background in law. He attended the Second Continental Congress where he wrote The Declaration of Independence.

Read More
808 Words | 4 Pages

The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution are documents which are designed to work together. They together hold the core values, beliefs and laws of the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence was written by the young Thomas Jefferson in 1776 when the people of America went to war against the invading armies of Britain. Britain had colonized America under the rule of King George III.

Read More
390 Words | 2 Pages

July 4, 1776, the day Congress voted in favor of the Declaration of Independence, is remembered to this day as the “birth of American Independence”. It was deemed a Federal Holiday in the United States in 1941. Over the past century, the holiday became a significant day of patriotism. Activities such as parades, barbeques, and fireworks have become Independence Day traditions in many states all over the country. Fireworks were the earliest form of 4th of July celebration, dating back to the first Independence Day in 1777 during the Revolutionary War.

Read More
606 Words | 3 Pages

Using the previously defined rhetorical devices, Loudenslager analyzes three monumental speeches given by Lincoln for the effectiveness of Lincoln’s persuasive abilities. These three speeches are his Peoria, Illinois speech, his “House Divided Speech”, and his address at Cooper Union. The first speech he analyzes is Lincoln’s Peoria speech. Here, Loudenslager identifies some key characteristics in his speech such as his uncanny ability to turn Stephen Douglas’s own argument against him. Then, Lincoln uses repetition and theme to drive home the importance of the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and how the Kansas-Nebraska Act violated those ideals.

Read More
240 Words | 1 Pages

Benjamin Franklin and Patrick Henry were two important people in American History who made a difference. Franklin’s “Speech in the Convention and Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention” helped guide our nation to independence and democracy. Both speeches have good examples of rhetorical devices, but I think Patrick Henry speech ‘Speech in the Virginia Convention” has better rhetorical devices. Some examples are rhetorical question, logos, diction, and imagery. Patrick Henry style and content is more effective then Benjamin Franklin because Patrick uses a plethora of things such as imagery, “There is no retreat but in submission and slavery!

Read More
432 Words | 2 Pages

The Declaration of Independence is an extremely important document to the United States. Thomas Jefferson receives the most credit for writing the declaration, however he was assisted by five other men that were apart of the Constitutional Congress. They wrote the declaration to persuade the colonist to break free from Britain. The Declaration of Independence uses numerous persuasive appeals and language, including parallelism, pathos, and ethos. Parallelism is “a pattern in writing in which words and phrases are similar in structure, one echoing another.”

Read More
599 Words | 3 Pages

“…..All men are created equal, they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This phrase, from the Declaration of Independence, was written more than 200 years ago declaring America’s Independence; the colonists formally announcing their break from Britain. Written by the main authors--Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman--on July 2, 1776, and signed by the 56 delegates of the Continental Congress, this document symbolizes and celebrates our freedom. Historians analyzed the Declaration of Independence in four significant sections: the statement of purpose, the contract theory of government, grievances, and the conclusions. The first portion of the Declaration of Independence states that colonies want Independence, and it is crucial, and no longer unavoidable.

Read More
1002 Words | 5 Pages

John Locke was a philosopher and political scientist. He had many interests and produced a number of writings that influenced future leaders. One of these leaders was Thomas Jefferson, who was involved with the aid of America and the act gaining independence from Britain. The Declaration of Independence and Locke’s views on government contain many similar aspects. These ideas includes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (natural rights); the protection that is provided by the government for these rights; and the altering or abolishment of government if it fails to provide and protect the rights of the people.

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
803 Words | 4 Pages

These two speeches are similar in many ways but are also different in many ways too. But not only by what its about and what they say. But how they say and how they structure it, by their tone, language, purpose and many more of these examples. The tone of both the Gettysburg Address and “I have a dream” speech is different.

Read More

More about Compare And Contrast Declaration Of Independence And The Fourth Of July Speech

Related Topics

Open Document