The Declaration of Independence: an analysis of the three persuasive persuasive appeals IN CONGRESS, July , !""#$ The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
%hen in the Course of hu&an events, it 'eco&es necessary for one people to dissolve dissolve the political political 'ands (hich (hich have connected the& (ith another, and to assu&e a&on) the po(ers of the earth, the separate and e*ual station to (hich the +a(s of Nature and of Natures God entitle entitle the&, a decent respect to the opinions opinions of &an-ind re*uires that they should declare the causes (hich i&pel the& to the separation$ %e hold these truths to 'e self.evident, that all &en are created e*ual, that they are endo(ed 'y their Creator (ith certain unaliena'le Ri)hts, that a&on) these are +ife, +i'erty and the pursuit of /appiness$..That /appiness$..That to secure these ri)hts, Govern&ents Govern&ents are instituted a&on) 0en, derivin) their 1ust po(ers fro& the consent of the )overned, ..That (henever any 2or& of Govern&ent 'eco&es destructive destructive of these ends, ends, it is the the Ri)ht of the 3eople to alter or to a'olish it, and to institute ne( Govern&ent, layin) its foundation on such principles and or)ani4in) its po(ers in such for&, as to the& shall see& &ost li-ely to effect their Safety and /appiness$ 3rudence, /appiness$ 3rudence, indeed, (ill dictate that Govern&ents lon) esta'lished should not 'e chan)ed for li)ht and transient causes5 and accordin)ly all e6perience hath she(n, that &an-ind are &ore disposed to suffer, (hile evils are suffera'le, than to ri)ht the&selves 'y a'olishin) the for&s to (hich they are accusto&ed$ 7ut (hen a lon) train of a'uses and usurpations, pursuin) invaria'ly invaria'ly the sa&e O'1ect O'1ect evinces a desi)n to reduce the& under a'solute Despotis&, it is their ri)ht, it is their duty, to thro( off such Govern&ent, and to provide ne( Guards for their future security$..Such has 'een the patient sufferance of these Colonies5 and such is no( the necessity (hich constrains the& to alter their for&er Syste&s of Govern&ent$ Govern&ent$ The The history of the present 8in) of Great 7ritain 7ritain is a history history of repeated in1uries and usurpations, all havin) in direct o'1ect the esta'lish&ent of an a'solute Tyranny over these States$ To prove this, let 2acts 'e su'&itted to a candid (orld$ /e has refused his 9ssent to +a(s, the &ost (holeso&e and necessary for the pu'lic )ood$ /e has for'idden his Governors to pass +a(s of i&&ediate and pressin) i&portance, unless suspended in their operation till his 9ssent should 'e o'tained5 and (hen so suspended, he has utterly ne)lected to attend to the&$ /e has refused to pass other +a(s for the acco&&odation of lar)e districts of people, unless those people (ould relin*uish the ri)ht of Representation in the +e)islature, a ri)ht inesti&a'le to the& and for&ida'le to tyrants tyrants only$ only$ /e has called to)ether le)islative 'odies at places unusual, unco&forta'le, and distant fro& the depository of their pu'lic Records, for the sole purpose purpose of fati)uin) fati)uin) the& into co&pliance (ith his &easures$ /e has dissolved Representative /ouses repeatedly, for opposin) (ith &anly fir&ness his invasions invasions on on the ri)hts of the people$
Classical rhetoric considers that a spea-er or (riter has three appeals at his or her disposal: to ethos the standin) of the (riter or spea-er;,to spea-er;,to pathos e&otion;, e&otion;, and to lo)os reason;, divided into deductive reasonin) and inductive reasonin)$ reasonin)$ The (riters of the Declaration of Independence esta'lish their ethical standin)..that they are &en of )ood sense, )ood character, and )ood (ill..fir (ill..first, st, 'y ac-no(led)in) that they need to e6plain to the (orld the reasons for their actions$ The (riters follo( (ith a state&ent of their funda&ental 'eliefs, (hich 'eco&e the &a1or pre&ise in a deductive deductive ar)u&ent$ ar)u&ent$ 0a1or pre&ise: pre&ise: the role of )overn&ent )overn&ent is to protect the ri)hts ri)hts of the people5 people5 (hen )overn&ent fails to do so, the people have the ri)ht to chan)e it$ 0inor pre&ise: the 7ritish )overn&ent )overn&ent has usurped the ri)hts of the colonists$ Conclusion: the colonists have have a ri)ht to overthro( that )overn&ent$ The (riters note their prudence5 they are cautious, reasona'le &en$ 7ut lo)ic lo)ic drives the& to to conclude that they have no choice 'ut to overthro( a tyrannous )overn&ent$ %hat follo(s follo(s in the 'ody of the docu&ent is an inductive proof of the &inor pre&ise a'ove: a list of (ays in (hich the 7ritish )overn&ent and especially the 8in); has stripped the colonists of their ri)hts$
Throu)h &ost of the docu&ent, the (riters appeal to pathos throu)h the (ords the y use in their list of the 8in)s (ron)s: chec- out all the ne)ative (ords in this section of the docu&ent$
/e has refused for a lon) ti&e, after such dissolutions, tocause others to 'e elected5 (here'y the +e)islative po(ers, incapa'le of 9nnihilation, 9nnihilation, have returned to the the 3eople at lar)e for their e6ercise5 the State re&ainin) in the &ean ti&e e6posed to all the dan)ers the dan)ers of invasion fro& (ithout, and convulsions (ithin$ (ithin$ /e has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States5 for that purpose o'structin) the +a(s for Naturali4ation of 2orei)ners5 2orei)ners5 refusin) to pass pass others to encoura)e their &i)rations hither, and raisin) the conditions of ne( 9ppropriations of +ands$ /e has o'structed the 9d&inistration 9d&inistration of Justice, 'y refusin) his 9ssent to +a(s for esta'lishin) Judiciary po(ers$ /e has &ade Jud)es dependent on his %ill alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the a&ount and pay&ent of their salaries$ /e has erected a &ultitude of Ne( Offices, and sent hither s(ar&s s(ar&s of Officers to harrass our people, people , and eat out their su'stance$ /e has -ept a&on) us, in ti&es of peace, Standin) 9r&ies (ithout the Consent of our le)islatures$ /e has affected to render the 0ilitary independent of and superior to the Civil po(er$ /e has co&'ined (ith others to su'1ect us to a 1urisdiction forei)n to our constitution, and unac-no(led)ed 'y our la(s5 )ivin) his 9ssent to their 9cts of pretended +e)islation: 2or
The e&otional lan)ua)e reaches a crescendo in the final para)raphs citin) the 8in)s actions$
/e has sho(n =Cruelty > perfidy scarcely paralleled in the the &ost 'ar'arous 'ar'arous a)es,= and he is =totally un(orthy ?to 'e@ the /ead of a civili4ed nation$=
and tyranny, tyranny, already 'e)un (ith circu&stances of Cruelty > perfidy scarcely paralleled in the &ost 'ar'arous a)es,, and totally un(orthy the /ead of a civili4ed nation$ a)es nation$ /e has constrained our fello( Citi4ens ta-en Captive on the hi)h Seas to 'ear 9r&s a)ainst their Country, to 'eco&e thee6ecutioners thee6ecutioners of of their friends and 7rethren, or to fall the&selves 'y their /ands$ /e has e6cited do&estic insurrections a&on)st insurrections a&on)st us, and has endeavoured to 'rin) on the inha'itants of our frontiers, the&erciless the &erciless Indian Sava)es, (hose -no(n rule of (arfare, is an undistin)uished destruction of all a)es, se6es and conditions$ conditions$
9)ain, the (riters assure the (orld of theirhonest efforts to avoid independence$$ 7ut the 8in), (hose independence in1ustices they have 1ust listed, has )iven the& no choice$
In every sta)e of these Oppressions %e have 3etitioned for Redress The colonists have &ade every appeal, not in the &ost hu&'le ter&s: Our repeated 3etitions have 'een only to the 8in), 'ut to =our 7rittish ans(ered only 'y repeated in1ury$ 9 3rince (hose character is thus 'rethren$= 9)ain..to 9)ain..to no avail$ They too &ar-ed 'y every act (hich &ay define a Tyrant, Tyrant, is unfit to 'e the =have 'een deaf to the voice of 1ustice and of ruler of a free people$ consan)uinity$= Nor have %e %e 'een (antin) (antin) in attentions attentions to our 7rittish 'rethren$ 'rethren$ %e %e have (arned the& fro& ti&e to ti&e of atte&pts 'y their le)islature to e6tend an un(arranta'le 1urisdiction over us$ %e have re&inded the& of the circu&stances of our e&i)ration and settle&ent here$ %e have appealed to their native 1ustice and &a)nani&ity, and (e have con1ured the& 'y the ties of our co&&on -indred to disavo( these usurpations, (hich, (ould inevita'ly interrupt our In the concludin) para)raph, the (riters connections and correspondence$ They too have 'een deaf to the and si)ners; of the Declaration appeal to voice of 1ustice and of consan)uinity$ %e &ust, therefore, ac*uiesce God =the Supre&e Jud)e of the (orld=; and in the necessity, (hich (hich denounces our Separation, and hold the&, as rely =on the protection of divine (e hold the rest of &an-ind, Ene&ies in %ar, in 3eace 2riends$ 3rovidence$= God, they ar)ue, ar)ue, is on their their %e, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of 9&erica, side$ 2urther&ore, they are &en (illin) (illin) to in General Con)ress, 9sse&'led, 9sse&'led, appealin) to the Supre&e Jud)e pled)e =our +ives, +ives, our 2ortunes and our of the (orld for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Na&e, and sacred /onor= for the principles enunciated 'y 9uthority 9uthority of the )ood 3eople of these Colonies, sole&nly in the declaration$ pu'lish and declare, declare, That these Anited Colonies Colonies are, and and of Ri)ht ou)ht to 'e 2ree and Independent States5 that they are 9'solved Thus the (riters of the declaration appeal fro& all 9lle)iance to the 7ritish Cro(n, and that all political in a &ost effective (ay to ethos they are connection 'et(een the& and the State of Great 7ritain, is and reasona'le and honora'le &en;, pathos &en;, pathos they ou)ht to 'e totally dissolved5 and that as 2ree and Independent have proven e&phatically the outra)es of the States, they have full 3o(er to levy %ar, conclude 3eace, contract 8in) and 3arlia&ent 3arlia&ent;;, and lo)os they state 9lliances, esta'lish Co&&erce, Co&&erce, and to do all other 9cts and Thin)s their 'eliefs and prove that the 8in) has (hich Independent States &ay of ri)ht do$ 9nd for the support of tra&pled on their ri)hts;$ this Declaration, (ith a fir& reliance on the protection of divine 3rovidence, (e &utually pled)e to each other our +ives, our 2ortunes and our sacred /onor$
