Without its inspiring authors, America would have lost its drive during the initial battles of the Revolutionary War. Literature in the time before, during, and after the Revolutionary War forever made an enormous impact on historical events. In this time, literature assumes a huge position in society and everyone keeps an eye out for the newest piece. The writers of short works such as Letters from an American Farmer, Declaration of Independence and Common Sense all gave Americans a reason to fight for their freedom and surge forward as an emergent independent nation. Thomas Paine implements a mixture of forceful emotions and opinions as well as hard facts and literal common sense to beautifully present his argument against British rule. Paine wrote several pamphlets encompassing everything from why the British should not rule America to rallying the troops to continue fighting for their freedom. J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur writes about his love for America and his appreciation for the freedoms allowed even though America is imperfect. These letters are about a fictional farmer named Farmer James who, while being a loyal follower of Britain, learns to love American life and its quirks. Thomas Jefferson expresses his desire for freedom from British rule and for America to determine its own future in writing the Declaration of Independence. He devotes his precious time and effort to ensure that America would have a set of strictures to adhere to and not fall into the throes of chaos and anarchy. Each of these authors express their personal philosophies concerning America’s future and the capabilities expected of it through various forms and styles of literature. Thomas Paine desires nothing more than for America to become an ... ... middle of paper ... ...6th ed. New York: New York, 1979. 300-313. Print. Greenleaf, Robert K. “Futurist Lessons from Thomas Jefferson.” Futurist 31.2 (1997): 68. General Science Collection, ND. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. Hogeland, William. “Thomas Paine’s Revolutionary Reckoning.” American History 46.2 (2011): 64-69. History Reference Center, ND. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. Jefferson, Thomas. “The Declaration of Independence.” The Charters of Freedom. National Archives. ND. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html Paine, Thomas. “Common Sense.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. Shorter 6th ed. New York: New York, 1979. 321-28. Print. Sweet, Timothy. “American Pastoralism and The Marketplace: Eighteenth-Century Ideologies of Farming.” Early American Literature 29.1 (1994): 59. Humanities International Complete, ND. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
When it comes to the topic of the American Revolution, most of us will readily agree that it influenced essentially every code of ethics in today’s society. Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine address an identical topic. That is, they both provided inspiration to the American Revolution cause. Patrick henry on one point of view, speaks of the harshness of the British rule over the American colonies. In his statement, Patrick Henry addresses the oppressive British rule and emphasis grounds to maintain basic human rights. “Common Sense”, on the other hand stresses on the trials and tribulations of the American colonies under the British rule. With the use of persuasion in their writings, both Henry and Paine support the war against the Great Britain.
The eighteenth century, a time of turmoil and chaos in the colonies, brought many opinionated writers to the forefront in support or refutation of the coming American Revolution. This highly controversial war that would ultimately separate the future United States of America from Great Britain became the center of debate. Two writers, both of whom supported the Revolution, now stand to fully illuminate one side of the debate. Thomas Paine, a radical propagandist, wrote many pieces during this time including “The Crisis Number 1” (1776). Through writing, he appealed to the “common man” in order to convince them to gather their arms and fight for their freedom. In this document, he utilizes many of the same rhetorical skills and propaganda techniques as Patrick Henry, a convincing orator, did in his famous speech delivered to the state’s delegates in 1775. Among these techniques are transfer, abstract language, and pathos. In both works, these were used to call the audiences to war. These influential pieces both contained a call to action which, through the use of strong and decisive language, aided the beginning of the American Revolution.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” These were the mighty words that Thomas Jefferson wrote down he developed his portion of the Declaration of Independence. Some people do not recognize Thomas Jefferson as one of the founding fathers, with other names like Ben Franklin and John Hancock being thrown around the room, but yet we should see him as the most important one. Thomas Jefferson was assigned to make a draft for the document. He chose to talk about how all men are equal and everybody deserves life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The declaration of independence is one of the most important documents in history and made all men equal, meaning one race is not superior to another. This influenced the public by making the black race have hope because now, they could see that one day they would be just as equal as...
Our Declaration of Independence, was penned most notably by Thomas Jefferson in response to the atrocities committed by the British Crown against the citizens of the American Colonies. At the time of the drafting of The Declaration, Jefferson was widely known to be a successful practitioner of Law as a lawyer, and an eloquent writer. It is due to this, that although Jefferson was a member of a five-man committee charged with drafting the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was tapped to be the main author.
Thomas Jefferson, an educated, well respected career man, served as governor of Virginia, secretary of state, and president of the United States. The Revolutionary era, during the 1770's, proved to be one of America's most victorious times. Despite the casualties the American colonies suffered, they proved to be stronger than their ruling land, Britain, and won the right to be a free land, becoming the United States of America. Living through this difficult turning point in history inspired Jefferson to write "The Declaration of Independence." Once again, nearly two hundred years later, America faced yet another turning point in history.
One of the greatest conflicts in the history of the United State of America, the Revolutionary War, was started when the colonies of North America declared themselves independent from British rule. A group of men known as the Founding Fathers, which included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John and Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and others, formed the Continental Congress to rule their new nation. They chose Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence, which they would send to King George III to make their independence official. Jefferson knew that he needed to use strong language to make a solid agrument against British rule in the colonies and to convince the colonists that independence was the only choice to maintain their freedom as human beings. The powerful use of parallelism, ethos, pathos, and logos helpd Thomas Jefferson to convey his idea that all men are created equal with unalienable rights and that it is the duty of the government to protect those rights.
D- Declaration of Independence- Written by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence is the reason we celebrate our indepen...
Thomas Paine was one of the great supporters of the American Revolution. He was a journalist and used his pen and paper to urge the public to break free from Great Brittan. He wrote anonymously, yet addressed the public as he spoke out about his beliefs. The first pamphlet he published, influencing independence from Brittan, was called Common Sense
Paine had not entertained the idea of independence from Britain when he arrived in America. He thought it was “a kind of treason” to break away from Britain. It was not until the Battle of Lexington in 1775 that he considered “the compact between Britain and America to be broken” (Claeys). This idea of a broken compact allowed Thomas Paine to write a political pamphlet.
Thomas Jefferson was who authored extraordinary words and it was there words that changed a nation. Jefferson’s ability to write made him prominent author of write the Declaration of Independence, (among other significant works). Jefferson’s writings reflected on the rights of mankind and what rights a government must offer its people. His use of words to fight for Human rights makes him one of the greatest American Hero’s. Thomas Jefferson’s writings on basic human rights caused a radical shift in American Colonist thoughts and these stunning ideas would influence the Americans to break away from Great Britain.
Web. The Web. The Web. 1 Dec. 2013. http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/jefferson.htm>.
Wills, Garry. Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Co., 1978.
Paine, Thomas. "Common Sense." Electronic Library of Primary Sources: The Americans. CD-ROM. McDougal Littell. Evanston, IL: 1999.
Paine, Thomas. "Common Sense." Shi, David and Mayer, Holly. For the Record. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2013.
“Common Sense.” The American Tradition in Literature, 12th ed. New York: McGraw Hill , 2009. Print