Without freedom how can we search for purpose? The Declaration of Independence gave us that very same freedom. Yes it, “…severed the colonies ties to the British crown” (NewNation). However, this document wasn’t just a piece of paper; it persuaded the 13 colonies to become United. The Declaration of Independence was the start of settling our differences and giving us one common purpose that made the people feel great inside. It made us want more for ourselves and know that we could with our proclaimed “unalienable rights” (NewNation). The many “founders” of this document are Rhetorists. Thomas Jefferson is an influential Rhetorist. With the use of all three of our artistic appeals: logos, pathos, and ethos, Jefferson convinced the people of the Thirteen Colonies to want their rights in searching for defining their own, “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (NewNation).
Truth in the awareness of the people was the first step to come into play. Without honesty, there would be no form of proper justice. Thomas Jefferson used logos to show where mankind in that time period stood. He used the facts to project mankind as weak or, “… mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed” (NewNation). Which is what all realists do; they put a mirror in front of their audience and address the problem. However, a Rhetorist doesn’t stop there. A Rhetorist, like Thomas Jefferson is forthcoming with their evidence in order to use the power of persuasion. Every average individual wants to better their circumstances, especially when told that they can. Being placed in the shoes of the people of those Thirteen Colonies must have been exhausting to look at. But Thomas Jefferson brought forth the answer to change by writing, “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” (NewNation). This in itself laid the foundation for a Democracy.
Courage is difficult to come by in unjust circumstances. Of course that didn’t stop Jefferson. He persevered in using each rhetorical device to it’s strengths. Thomas Jefferson used the, “..persuasion of the heart” (BackpacksvsBriefcases), or pathos as most would put it. This method was the climax to the Declaration of Independence. The Rhetorist reached into the hearts of mankind and wrote, “…the patience of sufferance of these Colonies;.. is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government” (NewNation). At this moment, pathos was used to connect with the audience in a mixture with empathy or ethos.
Respect is the remaining factor to this puzzle. Jefferson gained the respect of the people through using the three artistic appeals together but was held credible through the use of ethos. The great Rhetorist expressed that, “We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjurned them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence” (NewNation). Jefferson flipped the switch for the people using statements like these to draw the audience in while simultaneously making himself sound more credible in relating to the people. Thomas Jefferson gave the people of the Thirteen Colonies a voice.
Thomas Jefferson used the power of persuasion for good and not ill. He established his credibility through truth, courage, and respect. In doing so, he set the foundation for bringing thirteen colonies together to being the United States of America that we know today. Most importantly, this upbringing connected us as mankind, in seeing the importance of one key word, purpose.
Works Cited
“A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 – 1875.” A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and , 1774 – 1875. N.p., n.d., Web. 30 Jan. 2016.
Bolin, Laura Carroll. “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Ed. Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Vol. 1. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor P, 2010. 45-58. Writing Spaces. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.
