declaration of independence Essay Examples

Declaration of Independence Essay Example

Introduction

The year 1776 is one of the most remarkable years in the history of the United States of America. On this year, a declaration of independence was put down on paper. The main agenda of the Declaration of Independence was to free the 13 American colonies from the hands of Britain, the colonial master. The declaration was to intended make the colonies independent, and for them to attain this, they had to request other nations to team up with them and help them achieve this dream. One great man, Thomas Jefferson, was the writer of all this. He did not just write a story of splitting, but he also gave viable reasons as to why they wanted to attain self-independence. Many questioned the persuasiveness of this declaration since it was drafted in a different format as compared to the original document. One of the reasons that lead to the influence of the text is because Jefferson was so soft-spoken and showed togetherness with them.

Why was the Declaration so Persuasive?

Jefferson showed the evil side of Britain’s colonization such as Britain’s wrongdoings. This gives the reader of that declaration limelight as to why the divorce should be allowed. One critical point in the declaration was “that to secure those rights; Government is established among men." Are you wondering what this meant? This statement simply means the government has to protect the citizens’ rights such as, “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." In Thomas Jefferson’s document, he emphasized on how the British colonial government was not protecting the citizen's rights. Instead, the colonial government was out to molest the citizens and violate their rights as human beings. In one of his examples, he stated how soldiers were being sent to the citizens by the colonial government with the expectations of being housed and fed by the people. Bearing in mind that these soldiers were from a foreign country, total strangers and the burden of taking care of them was given to the citizens. This was approved and done without any public participation, and they all had to follow it without question. Is this plainly protecting their rights? If anything, it amounts to turning citizens into subjects.

Denied Civil Rights

Another critical point in the deductive argument was, “deriving their just power from the consent of the governed.” What this meant was that it was the people who would and should give the government power. But like any other civil right, this was also denied too! Thomas Jefferson also went further to explain how they had numerously written "petitioned for redress" to the King explaining to him the injustice they are facing in their colonies. They wrote this bearing in mind that that the King would come to make a deal on an agreement but it was all in vain, he never showed up neither did he respond to their petitions but instead, kept on sending more and more colonialists to cause harm and distress to the locals. His failure to turn up or respond was a revelation of how the King's government was not concerned about the citizen's consent thus making it an unjust government, granting them a right to file for a divorce from British colonization. Had Thomas Jefferson's declaration been a syllogistic argument, it could never have been that persuasive while citing the reasons of self-independence. The document would have been very formal would it have used Aristotle's or Toulon’s syllogisms form to be an official document. Had Jefferson used logic, there would have been a repeat of significant premises or warrants; this could have made the record wordless and lack of concision in it. One of the best moments to use syllogisms is when you are trying to outline or organize the declaration to your self-understanding. Thomas Jefferson's soft-spoken nature and use of a kind language besides the logic deployed in the declaration document played a significant role in helping the Americans achieve their freedom from the British colonialism. He maintained the use of words which symbolized their togetherness such as brethren, fellow citizen, etc. He even showed how they had indefatigably tried to create peace and just between them in vain. Thomas Jefferson cited how they had tried to reach out to the king for an agreement, but the King turned deaf ears on them. To make matters even worse, he even sent mercenaries for their blood to destroy their water vessels, burn down their hometowns and also kept some of their citizens in unlawful detention where they were molested and made to do all sorts of cruel things to their own. By showing all this, Thomas Jefferson had called all the necessary shots. Now it was evident and bright as the day that the time for their freedom had come and they had to stand up and fight for their rights.

Conclusion

This document, the declaration of independence, is a document that got America on her feet. It highlighted the various reasons as to why they earnestly needed their freedom from Britain and showed their wrongdoings. The declaration of independence is a vital document which just worked perfectly as per how Thomas Jefferson wrote it. Had Thomas Jefferson decided to change the format of writing, would America be where it is right now? The answer is probably no. Maybe, America would be lagging miles behind the developed countries. Maybe her economy would be feeble, and her citizens would be writhing in uncontrollable epidemics. Who knows?