How Jefferson's Use Of Ethos, Pathos And Logos Made The Declaration Of Independence An Effective Declaration

Writing
2017/12/5
How Jefferson’s use of ethos, pathos and logos made the Declaration of Independence an effective declaration
The Second Continental Congress met in 1776, 4th of July and adopted the Declaration of Independence, a document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. The document was an announcement by the United States of their independence from the Great Britain. Through the document, Jefferson was able to influence Americans to rise up and join the war for independence，this shows that the Declaration of Independence is effective. To find out how, Jefferson used ethos, pathos and logos in his article to influence public perception of the United States and rallied the Americans into claiming their sovereignty. This is seen by the war of independence where people joined their local militias in fighting the British army. The following explanation will show where they were used and why they were effective.
In the second paragraph, Jefferson employs the use of philosophy to convince the masses why it was imminent and necessary for the US to separate from the Great Britain. He emphasizes the need and importance of equality as well as mutual respect to the rights of man. “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” (477). The above was simply a way for him to show the justness of their cause. He goes on to state that a government gets its “just powers from the consent of the governed” (477) and that a government that mistreats its citizens and is detested should be overthrown. In stating these, Jefferson is trying to draw the people’s attention on the unjustness of Britain’s rule over the US. Additionally, he also shows why a revolution is the only answer by saying “In every stage of the Oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the humblest terms” (479). However, these efforts often bore little to zero fruits and therefore, it made more sense that the people revolt than consider a diplomatic approach.
Jefferson also fashioned his speech in a way that shows the people that there is indeed but one option which is to separate from the British. Starting from the first paragraph, Jefferson states that “When in t...