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Thomas Jefferson Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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Thomas Jefferson, renown scholar and founding father, builds a strong and compelling argument for the independence of America through his use of educated and formal rhetoric. Jefferson attempts to sway both the British King, King George III, and the American people to believe that declaring independence is the best course of action for the success of America in the future. In order to convince the King George III and American colonists Jefferson uses a strong and upstanding tone throughout this document. Jefferson’s first words immediately use ethos to show that he has the moral high ground over the tyrannical English ruler. He begins using such diction as “Laws of Nature” and “Nature’s God” in order to show that, as he will later state, …show more content…

He begins this conclusion by saying that although they have tried time and time again to resolve the matter peacefully that their attempts have been met with silence from the British government (Jefferson). This shows the reader that revolutionaries had tried to be the good guys but their attempts simply didn’t work, another appeal to ethos. He goes on to state that it is sadly not only the King who falls under blame in this scenario, but the British citizens who stood in silence and cared little for the people of the American colonies. Jefferson uses this line to state that they are at war with not only the king of Britain, but the British nation as a whole. This line is not only a way of convincing the American people that if they stand with him they stand with justice, but to convince another major group that America was just in their fight for freedom; according to David Armitage of Harvard University this convinced British enemies to fight with America, a crucial and needed assistance for the brutal path ahead (Armitage). In Jefferson’s final words he calls for a complete break away from the Kingdom of Great Britain. His final line in which he states, “we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor”, carries some of the most powerful diction in the entire speech and really brings home the final point that they are not doing this

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