jefferson wrote the declaration of independence as an argument, then he organized the declaration...
TRANSCRIPT
Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence as an argument, then he organized the Declaration into four sections:
Section 1-Introduction: When In the Course of Human Events
Section 2-Beliefs: All Men Are Created Equal
Section 3-Wrongs: The King Has Wronged Us Section 4-Conclusion: We Are Free and Independent
Major Themes of the Declaration of Independence
Among these rights: LifeLibertyPursuit of happiness
Self evident truths
Human equality
Natural rights {John Locke}
Purpose of gov’t
Measure of Justice
Right of revolution
Limits to theright of revolution
To secure the rights of the governed
Consent of the governed
Whenever any form of government is destructive of the security of natural rights
Prudence: Long-established gov’ts shouldn’t be overthrown for “light and transient causes”
Experience: Men are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable than to right themselves
All men are created equal
We hold these truths to be self-evident
They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights
declaration
The purpose of The Declaration of Independence was to announce to the world that the United States was now a free and independent nation.
Evident
Obvious, clearEasy or clear to understand
endowed
GiftedTo give someone something they want
unalienableThey are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights . . .
liberty
Freedom, independence
Pursuit
Search, hunt, quest
Instituted
To start something
consent
PermissionTo give permission or approval for Something to happen.
just
fair
Governed
Govern - to have control or regulatesomething.
To be officially responsible for conducting the business of a country, city or state.
alter
A change or adjustment to something
abolishabolish
To put an end to something, for examplea law.
Base, as in the foundation of a house.The basis of something
Principles
Main beliefs, philosophy, ideology,Ethics, or morality.
It begins with a statement of premises and assumptions {premises is a proposition upon which an argument is based or from which a conclusion is drawn}{an assumption is something taken for granted or accepted as true without proof}
Jefferson then lists his evidence in a series of claims that begin with “He” in reference to King George III.
Having asserted its premises and listed his evidence, Jefferson then proceeds to draw its conclusion, introduced by that clearest of conclusion indicators, "therefore."
The Argument
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Jefferson is doing something that was new to global politics of his time. He is giving an explanation of the colonists position, instead of just beginning the rebellion. In the politics of 1776, the only opinions that were considered to matter were those of the hereditary aristocracy (the King and his sons) and the upper-middle class--the ruling elite.
The traditional belief was that the king and his nobles ruled by divine right, but the Declaration asserts that humanity, like the natural world, operates under laws which even a king must obey.
The Structure of the Declaration
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--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, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
"Truths" that are "self-evident" are premises that need no support, and the claims that follow were, for the signers of the Declaration, the most revolutionary and the most important general principles:
everyone is created equal everyone has certain rights, including:
life liberty the pursuit of happiness
governments are formed, by the consent of those governed, to protect those rights if that consent is lost, any government can be abolished or replaced.
“We Hold These Truths . . . “
We can restate the argument in the form of a chain argument:
If the British government is treating the colonists unfairly, or denying them life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness, then it is not protecting their rights.
If the British government is not protecting the rights of the colonists, then it has lost their consent.
If the British government has lost the colonists' consent, then they can decide to replace it.
The EvidenceSupporters of the British government would probably have disagreed with few of these facts; the disagreement would have been over whether these actions were a violation of some implied contract between the King and the colonists.
Crown supporters would have said, "Yes, the king has done all this, and he has a right to do so as king."
American colonists’ would have said, "Yes, he has done all this, and therefore lost our consent to be governed by him."
As with so many arguments, the disagreement goes back to the premises.
The British government of the time did not agree that it needed the consent of its subjects in order to govern them; nor did it think that its subjects had absolute and inalienable rights.
Yet these are exactly the "truths" that the Americans claimed to be "self-evident"--that is, not open for debate or negotiation. Is it any wonder that such a disagreement led to war?
Having stated their argument and supported it with a long list of evidence, all that remains in the Declaration is for the colonists to draw their conclusion:
"We, therefore ... publish and declare, that these united colonies are ... FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES."
That is, that they have withdrawn their consent to be ruled by Britain, and have chosen to replace its government with one of their own devising.
The Conclusion