The Declaration of Independence is an example of an early document of persuasion. What do you think of the document in terms of persuasion, style, rhetoric etc...? Are the concepts of this document still relevant to today? Has anything changed since July 4, 1776?
What does it make you think about the essential question for the marking period? WOW me!
The Declaration of Independence is persuasive because it uses multiple eye-catching words such as liberty, happiness, and independent. Also, it lists all of the faults of the opposition (England) and defends the Americans. The concepts of this document are still relevant today. The American Dream is based on liberty and individual success, and those two principles are the basis of the Declaration. Since 1776, this document has come to include all Americans whereas in reality, this document really only referred to white men when it was written. Since then, women, blacks, Native Americans, and other minorities have attained the same rights as the white man. Today, the idea captured in the Declaration may be even more respected than it was when it was written.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence follows the same format of persuasive essay that it still used today: its claim is that it is necessary for the colonists to break away from England and become their own nation, its evidence is the train of abuses which lists all the ways that the King has misused his power, and its warrant is that the independent colonies are "absolved from all allegiance" and will now be their own country. Though times have changed, the concept is still relevant and is one of the principles that govern our nation. This document is the representatives' way of trying to make justice attainable for all. They felt they were denied of justice by the King and attempted to reclaim their rights. The notions of liberty and justice were much more narrow in the 18th century, so a modern view makes it seem like it was insufficient because it only included white males. However, for this group the Declaration of Independence successfully ensured their "unalienable rights" and it justifies the treason the signers committed.
ReplyDeleteThe D.O.C is a very persuasive piece of writing. I think that the way the writers almost "listed" their examples and complaints really sent a strong message to England. Many of the concepts are still relative today, like, 'all men are created equal' and 'the right of the people to alter or abolish it and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles'. The concept of 'all men are created equal and are endowed with certain unalienable rights..... life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, has not changed one bit because we still follow this same concept and exercise our rights as best we can. The D.O.C is all about the man's aspiration for freedom, and today, we still try to exercise our freedom that we've earned over time. Of course many laws and regulations have changed, but the overall message of the D.O.C is still very current. The D.O.C makes me relate some it's concepts to the essential question. Liberty and justice can be attainable for all as long as you have some sort of life and pursuit of happiness. This goes for the American Dream as well because it is all about liberty and fruition which is the main theme of the Declaration of Independence.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence hits on many strong issues that the Americans believed in an assertive way. The founding forefathers didnt just say what they didnt like, they tried to make their point valid and interesting. There are many words in the D.O.C like constrained and opressions that make people think of the other side in order to persuade. The reasons for freedom in this peace are still relevent to countries today who are trying to free themselves as independent nations. This document was written for the general white men in the time but left out many minorites like African Americans and women. Now our culture is more diverse and the countries that are under opression now are the ones who were left out during the times of the Declaration of Independence. Countries in nations such as Africa are now the ones asking for independence. This piece reminds me of our essential question because this piece is all about asking for equal rights and trying to maintain justice for all. Even though many people were left out of this piece of writing, the idea of the Declaration was to get peace for the nation.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is a very persuasive document because it lists examples of issues that relate to every American at the time. The style in which it was written is very similar to that of today; it lists examples that support the points that are trying to be made as well as saying everything that they knew would gain them support. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and "all men are created equal" are, for the most part, still relevant today. This is true because Americans have a say in the government and they can stand up for their rights today. If Americans don't agree with something that the government is doing then they can speak up about it and maybe even cause a change. Since July 4, 1776 minority groups such as women and African Americans have gained the same rights as men. The Declaration of Independence is all about America gaining independence from Great Britain and liberty and justice for all. This proves that liberty and justice are attainable for all.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is by far one of the most iconic documents ever written, one reason being its level of persuasiveness. It entails the mutual rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to all citizens of the Unites States of America. The writing's most powerful aspect is its ability to share the mutual longings of all the Americans at the time and all in this modern age. Its agreeable to state that everyone wants a better life, one with security, freedom, fairness, and order. The Declaration not only provides written explanation of those rights but expresses them in a way all people can relate to. Not much has changed in the 21st century, except for one's personal beliefs of what freedom, justice, and the american dream means to them. The Declaration also uses forms of flattery to content the reader by stating "the good people of these colonies". That form of "sweet talk", in addition to writing on common ground is almost one of the same. The reader does not feel threatened or compelled to argue because the document appeals to all. The whole message of the document is to proclaim the thing everyone wants most, equality, freedom, and justice for all.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence has become one of the most important documents ever written in United States History. It is well known for several reasons, one of which is its excellent use of persuasive techniques. Furthermore, Jefferson writes the document in a format often seen in persuasive essays (intro/viewpoint, evidence, conclusion). He utilizes the religious beliefs of the British as a point against them. He states that God, their Creator, endowed certain "unalienable rights" upon men. Jefferson then goes on to say that it is the job of the government to look over their people and make sure that none of these rights are violated. The American people believed that they are justified in seceding because the British government failed to protect these rights. Jefferson goes into further detail by listing specific moments in which Britain wronged the colonies. Another reason why the Declaration of Independence is so lasting is because it does not constrict itself to a single time period. It allows itself to be applied to any moment in the future and to any country. The document does so by stating, "When, in the course of human events...". Although the document was ultimately ignored, it still expressed what Americans believed to a just, and ideal lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is a very famous piece of persuasive writing because of the message it portrays. The founding fathers are telling Great Britain why they have chosen to declare independence against them. The document follows the standard outline for persuasive writing. The "claim" is stated in the first few paragraphs of the text. For example, the line, "That, to secure these rights, 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..." shows the reasoning for their point of view. They followed this with the "evidence" or explanation for the point of view. To do this, points were listed such as quartering British armed troops and making taxes without the consent of Americans. The "warrant" is in the final part of the document explaining the final decision for declaring freedom from Britain. The piece is still relevant today because of the message it puts across, that everyone deserves the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is incredibly persuasive because it states that all men deserve something that they all want, rights. Not only does it explain that everybody has rights, but it also goes on to say that the ruling party did not at the time give them those things they so desired. After Jefferson hooks the public by waving rights under their noses, he goes on to give specific examples of Britain withholding these very same rights from the people. Finally, after Jefferson enrages the people of America that were reading the Declaration, he closes with a call to action, stating that the colonies had the right to rebel and rebel they would. The concepts of the document still apply today because the US likes to parade around the world pointing out when these rights are being withheld from people in other countries. At this point, the US links arms with other democratic nations and invade said countries to give the people these rights. Of course, that is what we would like to believe, but it does not always happen so. In fact, most times it does not. Many things have changed since the Declaration was written, the main change being that now we are independent of foreign rule, and we try to help other countries achieve the same thing.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is an excellent example of a document of persuasion because it clearly takes a stance and supplies a substantial amount of evidence in order to support its claim. This famous document successfully portrays what the basic rights of man are and then lists the ways in which England had been tyrannical and unjust which persuasively proves their reasons for separation from the British crown. The basic notions of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and that "all men are created equal" are concepts still relevant in today's society. However, the spectrum of whom these basic rights apply to has broadened in the sense that minority groups living in America such as women and African Americans are entitled to these same rights. When this document was first created in 1776, these liberties, which are today sometimes taken for granted, were only thought of as the basic rights of men. The Declaration of Independence, although not initially written for the sake of all Americans, has made it possible for liberty and justice to be attained by all citizens. Despite gender, race, or cultural differences, this document ensures that all Americans are given basic freedoms and proper justice.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is a very influential and effective example of a persuasive document. It not only sent a message of discontent to the king of England, but it also rallied the American people to fight for their rights. This document helped Americans realize that they were being mistreated and that something needed to change. The style and rhetoric that the Declaration of Independence has eloquently expresses the desires and complaints of the colonists. This document states the basic freedoms of all people and lists the various ways in which England's oppressive rule has violated those freedoms. The concepts in the Declaration of Independence are still relevant today because they define the values of Americans; being American means having the rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Since 1776, America has become its own nation and is no longer governed by England. Moreover, the sentence "all men are created equal" has come to include both men, and women, of all ethnicity; whereas in 1776, the "men" in the sentence only included white men. The Declaration of Independence represents the epitome of the "American Dream." People who live in America believe that they can attain liberty and justice because the Declaration of Independence justifies and promotes these values.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is and was an influential document that persuaded millions of people for decades across the United States. Coming from the founding fathers of our country, this document gave us the rights that we have now in present day America. By stating the literal reasons of what rights we are given, people were swayed by the fact that instead of having a large country (Britain) rule over, we have the freedom of bringing up our own way of rule towards freedom. This connects back to the essential question on how we could balance peoples' rights, liberty and justice are attainable to a certain extent by this document. This document is still relevant to today because of the certain rights that would help different races throughout time. After July 4, 1776, the document was expanded towards giving the rights to women and African Americans. For this, the document gave more citizens the same rights to make this country a more 'suitable' place to live following the vision of the American dream.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is an extremely persuasive document whose ideas are outlined through three important parts. The first part, among other individual freedoms, states that all men are entitled to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". The second part presents a list of grievances against the king, and the third describes America's call to action- the declaration of independence itself. Besides its organization, another method that the Declaration of Independence uses for persuasion is the use of such invigorating words as "independence, oppression, etc" which were aimed to stir up emotions in the hearts of Americans. However, the rights which were outlined in the Declaration of Independence were only extended to white males, thus excluding minorities such as women and African Americans. This inequality connects back to our essential question, "are liberty and justice attainable for all?" The answer therefore, is no. However, today, women and African Americans do in fact have the rights stated in the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence is thus still relevant to today.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is persuasive because of its powerful word choice, and its use of repetitive statements and straightforward, direct demands. The founders aptly employed effective language in order to communicate their feelings to the British government; their word choices include, “liberty, happiness, destructive, abolish, and usurpations”. All of these words possess strong connotations, which evoke emotions in the reader. The founders’ use of repetitive statements and demands also add to the persuasiveness of the piece. By repeating the failures of the British government and demanding that changes be made, the founders build a credible and compelling argument. Clearly, the concepts of this document are absolutely relevant today. The concepts that best represent this document are freedom and equality; these ideas are the basis of modern America’s “American Dream”. Americans continue to believe in and strive for these ideals. On the other hand, things have certainly changed; Americans have different interpretations of freedom and equality than in the past. For example, modern freedom embodies more than just “freedom” from an oppressive government. The Declaration of Independence supports this marking period’s essential question because society has become more inclusive and has granted liberties and justice to groups that haven’t experienced them in the past. The declaration that “all men are created equal” has been extended to include many: white, male landowners to (as some have already mentioned) African Americans, women, and other minorities. History has shown that progress comes, slowly, but surely; liberty and justice have potential to become attainable for all.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is an exceptionally persuasive piece of literature. The document is persuasive partly because of its word choice, but more importantly because of the stance that it portrays. The Declaration is a plea of the desire to be free, to be liberated from this tyrannical ruler. It is an argument that few would argue against, because in order to argue against it, one would essentially be forfeiting their own rights, rights that should be granted to them as a human being. The Declaration of Independence continues to do an exceptional job of persuasion through its use of repetitive statements, stressing the importance of these particular phrases, and through the use of short and punctual, but powerful statements, as seen in the listing of injustices committed by the tyrannical king. The piece also incorporates various other literary devices of persuasion such as elegant word choices, and the incorporation of the audience into the argument.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is an extremely persuasive document. What makes it so convincing is that it not only states their goal but also backs it up with evidence of the wrongdoings of the king. They have a purpose and then follow it with powerful language that makes the reader feel the hatred they have for the thing. It also makes the reader want the colonists to gain the freedom and independence they desire. It is laid out simply, what they want to attain, why they should be able to attain that, and then a declaration of their independence and all the powers that entails. The concepts of this document are still relevant today but now all people have this independence instead of just white men. Now everyone deserves and has the same freedoms of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. In 1776, those rights were only given to a certain group so now that has extended to everyone in America. As much as we want to believe that liberty and justice are attainable for all, in some scenarios it is not given to everyone. There is still discrimination and hatred towards certain groups of people. We have an ambition to create an equal situation for all people but in some cases that just doesn’t happen.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence can be looked at as a persuasive document. First of all, it has all the elements of a typical persuasive document: a claim (which is the necessity of the colonies to break away), evidence (good arguments of the King's mistreatment of power), and the warrant (would be them creating their own nation). With the declaration you see it engage the audience by victimizing the colonies making the readers sympathetic towards them. Along with this their concepts are very broad and wanted by all that no one can argue with them. The Declaration of Independence is clearly a perfect example of a persuasive piece.
ReplyDeleteAfter 235 years, the Declaration of Independence remains one of the United State's, and history's, most compelling documents. The Declaration uses various forms of persuasion to captivate those reading it. It is structured in a way that embellishes the typical claim, evidence, and warrant format for persuasive writings. It does not merely give a set few backup points, but stresses each individual piece of evidence giving them importance on their own. This listed description of the wrongs and oppressions that the British ruling government forced upon the Americans of that time served to fuel the people’s passion for independence. Furthermore, the eloquent word choice throughout the document help to establish a voice that is not only intelligent but compelling in its usage of certain powerful words such as liberty, and happiness. The concepts that the Declaration entails are still relevant today for they form the basis what society calls the “American Dream”: to have liberty and freedom in a country of independence and opportunity. However, since The Declaration of Independence’s genesis in 1776, there have been changes as to whom the document applies to, starting with a narrow circle in which only the white man stood, to later encompass women and other races and skin color. Adversely, throughout these 235 years certain aspects of the declaration remain the same- the fact that not all that are supposed to have what the Declaration entails actually attain it and many have these “unalienable rights” taken from them.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is definitely persuasive, but it isn't very interesting to read. Granted, it does have a great preamble, and is definitely quotable, it gets bogged down with the list of grievances. I know we are taught to work our reasons into coherent paragraphs, not simply list them. However, the Declaration of Independence definitely did the job it was written for, and survives today as the foundation of many American ideals. Obviously, the notions that "all men are created equal" are still used today, but essentially out of context. "All men" in 1776 did NOT mean all people, it meant all white men that owned land. It was definitely a step in the right direction from the system of nobles and commoners in the British Empire, however. The document reminds you of the ideal of liberty and justice, what we are striving to attain in America. As to whether we will be able to, that remains to be seen.
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