The Success of the Declaration of Indepedence

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On July 4th every year, Americans all across the world celebrate Independence Day, the day the United States declared their independence from Great Britain. The mechanism they used on July 4, 1776 was “The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States” written by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration Of Independence was a success by using various types of support, ethos (ethic), pathos (emotion) and logos (logic). The first paragraph lays the logic (logos) behind people separating from their government in a way that grabs the reader’s attention. He makes no mention of a specific people or country, so the opening paragraph does a wonderful job grabbing someone’s attention. By appealing to the human desire to be free by referring to “Laws of Nature” and the entitlements of “Nature’s God”, Thomas Jefferson makes a profound statement but leaves the reader curious as to how it will be applied. After using logic, the author builds on the first paragraph by appealing to the emotions (pathos) of the reader as he uses words like “We”, “these”, “Colonies” and “Great Britain”. Thomas Jefferson uses the second paragraph to recommend what the colonists should do stating “We hold these truths to be-self-evident” to make the reader feel as though he or she is a part of the story that is going to unfold. He outlines not only when a Government should be changed but also when it “should not be changed for light and transient causes”, which helps convince those sided with Great Britain that the colonists understand Governments are not perfect (Jefferson). Subsequently, Thomas Jefferson submits facts “to a candid world”, giving ethical (ethos) support by listing twenty-seven grievances the colonies have with Great Britain. This gives t... ... middle of paper ... ...new nation) as they see fit and pledge everything they (the colonists) have to support “this Declaration” (Jefferson). Using an emotional end helps Thomas Jefferson leave a lasting impression on the reader and helps this be a successful document. Hence Thomas Jefferson’s use of ethos, logos and pathos was successful. Someone just needs to look through history books to find evidence. They would see the Colonists did go to war for their independence, they received help from other nations and now have a government of their own. Now every year on July 4 they celebrate the anniversary of Thomas Jefferson’s “The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America”, across all fifty United States of America. Works Cited Jefferson, Thomas. “The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States Of America.” National Archives. n.d. Web 11 December 2013

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