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Thomas Jefferson's Declaration Of Independence Essay

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On the eve of a modern era, July 4, 1776, a select committee of five representatives sat down to document the separation of the American colonies from the despotic reign of the English Monarch, King George. It was on this day that Thomas Jefferson put pen to paper to write “The Declaration of Independence” and courageously declared autonomy from Great Britain and their harsh and unlawful actions which, the colonists, can no longer be content with. Jefferson proclaims the separation of what will later become the United States of America from Imperialistic Britain. Jefferson addresses King George directly to state his intentions as well as the Patriotic Colonists in order to persuade them in favor of the liberation of colonial America and obtaining …show more content…

In the next section Jefferson begins to list off all of the reasons that the English monarchy has hurt the colonies. Jefferson uses parallel structure to be blunt and to the point by making each complaint its own paragraph and starting each one with “He has”. This is an effective strategy to quickly list off the innumerable justifications on why the colonists seek independence. The parallel structure allows for King George and the Colonists to quickly read the long list of complaints and after finishing it becomes clear what the English are doing wrong. All of these rhetorical strategies serve to assert the logic in Jefferson’s argument. After Jefferson completes listing off his complaints he goes back to painting the colonists up as the victims of the British Empire. Jefferson dictates that “in every stage” of Britain’s oppressions they have asked “in the most humblest of terms” for a repeal of their laws and acts. He uses the image of the colonists as innocent people with the image of Britain as a “prince whose character” is corrupted. This comparison works well to have the reader sympathize with the colonies. Throughout the last section of the declaration of independence Jefferson plays with point of view. Near the end, he uses a lot of the pronouns we, us, and our, this allows for the reader to see the declaration as a document with the voice of the people

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Jefferson goes on to list all twenty eights reasons why the colonists are angry with the British government. He lists all twenty eight to really drive the point home that Parliament and the British monarchy have wronged them. One of the grievances listed, “He has plundered our seas, ravages our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. The parallel structure gives more emphasis to each thing that the king has supposedly done and presents it in a way that appears all the events are connected or possibly occurring at the same time. Jefferson uses diction such as “plunders” and “ravages” to make the king’s crimes seem worse than if Jefferson had just said stolen or taken.

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