Persuasive Strategies in The Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence is, in a sense, an argument for freedom and severance from the British crown. The famous document features some of the elements of argument, such as the claim of unjustness by the colonist’s ruler and the evidence to back it up. The document lays the groundwork for both the American colonies’ independence from England and the eventual war that follows. Of course, for a document of this importance, to be persuasive, it must be written in a carful and particular way. Jefferson’s use of certain mechanical devices and language and diction expresses to his audience the reasons and justification for independence of the American colonies. One of the most obvious and effective strategies that Jefferson uses is midway through the document. He spends a huge chunk of the Declaration listing all of the objections the colonists have to King George III’s regulations and how he has abused his power. This technique brings the audience into the same rationale as the author. Jefferson talks about how the king has “abdicated Government [in the colonies], by declaring [the colonies] out of his Protection and waging War against [them]”, but the colonists’ “repeated petitions” to the king’s rule “have been answered only by repeated injury” (Jefferson 267). Jefferson is making an emotional appeal to his audience and is trying to convince them that any revolution from the colonists is justified as the unjust tyrant that rules them has not listened to their appeals. By making the offenses personal and providing concrete examples, Jefferson is providing evidence, one of the key features to any good argument. He tries to bring us into his way of thinking so that we see that there is only one option; independence. Jefferson goes into how the king has “called together legislative bodies