1. What is the author arguing?
The author argues that the people have a right to be independant of the British government. They wished to be free of the taxes that the Birtish forced upon them. They believed that they had a right to be able to set up their own government according to their own desires and not the desires of those who lived overseas.
2. How does the author appeal to logos (logic), pathos (emotional quality), and ethos (the writer’s perceived character) with their argument?
The author logically stated that every man is created equal. And he thought that if every man is created equal then they should have just as much of a right to rule as the British government. Furthermore he thought that if every man was created equal, every man should have a say in how the government should govern. Through these strong beliefs that he possess, the author was able to put his strong emotions in the words that he wrote. This emotion helped convince the Americans of their own personal want to be free of the British government, and also gave them the strength to fight when the time came. His percieved character helped the people view him as a leader and believe that he truely had a desire to help the colonists. The colonists viewed him as their equal, not as him writing this document to gain more power. This gave the audience an increased amount of trust in him, and also greatly assisted his argument.
3. What is the historical significance/relevance of this document?
This document provided the official announcement of the United States, mainly to the British Crown but also to the rest of the world, of their independance. This document started a long chain of events that left the United States completely able to decide how their government would be set up and run. I believe that the writing of this document played a huge role in the shape of the United States government today.
4. Do you find the author’s argument convincing? Why or why not?
I found the author's argument convincing because he had strong points as to why America had the right to be independant from the British Crown. He had the best desires for the colonists at heart and believed that if someone could unite them in purpose they could all be freed from the British Crown. This is what made his argument extremely successful. Through his words the audience could feel that caring emotion that the author was expressing, which motivated them to support his argument.
I was sad to see no one posted on your TA! But since I'm late (way, way, way late!), I got the chance to be choosy. :)
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I liked your summary about the content of this document. This was the official coming out, if you will. This was the colonies announcing loudly that they considered themselves to be independent. And if you can imagine that they understood the consequences of this, it makes this declaration all the more astounding, because it's brave.
I felt like you could have expanded a bit more in regard to the logos, pathos, and ethos in the document. For one, this wasn't just one man's work. T. Jefferson is given primary credit for the bulk of the writing, but it was edited and ratified by the entire congress. There was a lot of emotion and thought put into every single word, and it wasn't the product of one man. The perceived character didn't so much try to convince the colonists that the Congress was on their side, as it was to show the world that when a group of colonies matures, it will stake claim on its' own future. Almost every colonist knew what the Congress was doing, and why. And almost all of them agreed. This was meant as a message to the world.
As far as the historical signifigance of this work, I don't think it's limited to the scope of US history. If you consider that the entire world was watching this struggle for independence, the DoI served as an example for other colonies to make their own fight. It's been quoted by Civil Rights leaders, revolutionaries wanting liberation for their own nations, and probably even some teens struggling against the tyranny of their parents. This one piece of paper set the stage for the rest of the world.
Very good job, overall. This is one of my favorite documents. I get goosebumps everytime I read it. :)