Thomas Jefferson-Declaration of Independence

1.) the truths are the unalienable rights that should be guaranteed to all men.  Under a democracy, these truths would seem self-evident, but considering the multiple dictatorships that have existed in the world, they are not present in all areas of the world.  This belief of self-evident truths is real but idealistic, as there will always be someone who will want to stifle others' rights.  

2.) I think the charge against the king of establishing judges based on his will alone is the most serious.  In early America, society was ruled by the law.  Thus depriving Americans of fair judiciary cut off all opportunities for a democratic government.  Judges' words were the law, so by installing partial judges to simply carry out his orders, King George III was really taking away all the colonists' rights, especially the basic right to a fair and impartial trial.

3.) Jefferson feels the the government should be subject to the desires of the people, and that government officials should change frequently to allow for new agendas.  Jefferson also believes that government should protect the rights of its citizens yet stay out of citizens' lives as much as possible.

4.)  From the people (elections).

5.) Jefferson makes a direct appeal to God in the last paragraph when referring to the installation of the new American democracy.  During this time, the mention of Providence carried weight with many people.  This also adds to the "God Bless America" mentality, that America, an ideally democratic and fair government, is watched over and nurtured by God for breaking away from this tyrannical government.  This also establishes America's destiny in breaking away from Britain as a holy mission (God-given right).

6.) The audience is obviously King George III and Great Britain, as well as the American public.  The eloquence that Jefferson used probably inspired confidence in Americans, who now had something concrete that they were committed to.  More subtly, the Declaration of Independence is also directed at other world powers.  It asserts America's will and intention and united strength, which puts America on the world's radar screen and makes Americans their own people rather than British subjects.

7.) I believe that Jefferson's lists show King George's concrete doings against Americans.  It also establishes ethos and logos, because the Declaration of Independence does not rely solely on pathos to assert American ideals.  These lists also show that the separation is firmly rooted in King George's acts against Americans, not a rebellious whim.

8.) Jefferson illustrates through the long lists of King George's acts against the Americans.

He uses capitalization to emphasis important words or phrases and draw the reader's attention to that specific word.

He utilizes parallelism, as well as repetition, through his sentence structure (i.e. "He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people."