Setting the Stage

Simon Student

English 1A

28 February 2008

Setting the Stage

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson presents a clear and persuasive argument in support of the American colonies’ separation from Great Britain. While employing extensive appeals to the audience's emotion and sense of independence, Jefferson supports his claims with substantial evidence that validates his argument and justifies the establishment of the United States of America. With this striking combination of logic and emotion, the Declaration succeeds in its purpose of defending the separation and gaining the ideological support of people all over the world.

The Declaration opens with Jefferson quickly stating where the colonists and the

British differ regarding the proper relationship between a government and its people. A single sentence, the introduction introduces the idea of "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God," (Jefferson 1) supporting the right of a people to assume political independence and challenging Great Britain’s belief in the divine right of rulers. The introduction’s anonymity and matter‐of‐factness attest to the universality of its claim, impersonalizing it from the 0American cause and thus making it a common standard amongst all oppressed nations. The radical notion of the laws of mankind suddenly becomes an inescapable political truth that transcends all racial, cultural, and national borders. Before he moves on, Jefferson writes that “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that [a people] should declare the causes which impel them to the separation” (1), declaring his intent to support his claims with reasoned evidence while establishing his ethos as the author. In this way, Jefferson’s bold assertions serve to dignify the document and introduce a new political thought into the world.

The famous first line of the preamble of the Declaration of Independence establishes the notion of certain unalienable rights that humans are, by nature,...