Essay #2: The Comparison/Contrast Essay Literature & Language Essay

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The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson vs. Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Lucreatia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Santon organized the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 in New York, with the aim of discussing civil, social, and religious conditions, and women rights. It was the first time such a discussion had been held in a convention. The discussion resulted in a declaration to establish the objectives of women’s movement to attain goals in the American society. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Coffin Mott are recognized in history for the roles they played in initiating the innovative ideas that were produced before, during, and after the convention. The ideas significantly contributed to the creation of a society with equality for both men and women, and advocated the independence of colonies by voicing their grievances such as the mistreatment they underwent in the hands of colonialists. The first convention on women’s rights was at the Wesleyan Methodist Church, in the United States.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton also wrote The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions during that time, basing it on the framework of The Declaration of Independence which had been ratified on 4th July, 1776, proclaiming that the thirteen American colonies had attained independence from the Great Britain (Stanton 53). Thomas Jefferson is accredited with authoring this document despite Benjamin Franklin and John Adams adding their observations, and further changes being made by the Continental Congress before the document was ratified.
The Jefferson and the Stanton Declarations have been organized through the use of a logical, tight argument structure referred to as a categorical syllogism; it consists of a minor premise, a major premise, and conclusion that is based on the two premises, making the structure of the two much similar. Jefferson’s major premise is presented on the first two paragraphs of his Declaration. It outlines the government’s purpose in protecting the natural rights of men and that the government is formed through the consent of the public, the governed (Jefferson 15). Jefferson defines natural rights as “liberty, life, and the pursuit of happiness” (Jefferson 1). Considering it is argued that all men are equal, they all possess these natural rights and the deserve protection from the government. He adds, “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” (Jefferson 1). In this case, he suggests that a government that fails to protect should be replaced, abolished, or altered. “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” (Jefferson 1).
On the other hand, Stanton’s major...