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How Does Jefferson Use Ethos In The Declaration Of Independence

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The unifying effect of the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, was vital to the future of the 13 American colonies. As a response to the British government’s harsh and unfair treatment, the document was an attempt at seceding and rebelling against the political regime, ruled by King George |||. The 1,337 word document includes all of the reasons as to why the 13 colonies believed they were justified in seceding, by predominantly mentioning the wrong doings the tyrannical British government had committed against them. These points were effectively made by using ethos, pathos, and logos as rhetorical appeals. The use of rhetoric within the Declaration of Independence helped Jefferson clearly state the reasons as to why the …show more content…

In The Declaration of Independence, Jefferson uses essential logical evidence to back up his claims as to why America is justified in seceding and why the actions King George ||| took against America were wrong. The use of logos within the document also helps the American people realize their freedoms and that they should defend them. His attempts at logos set the basis for the reasons why the 13 colonies should secede. "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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." This sentence in the Declaration incorporates logos by explaining that all people have equal rights and the right to demand them. Natural rights or unalienable rights is a logical appeal that cannot be disputed. "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government." This sentence uses a logical appeal by claiming that citizens of a country should be allowed to demand certain rights and that citizens are people of the

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