...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...
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...Virginia. The majority of students in the United States, college students included, have little to no knowledge of Jefferson’s personal life, as many historical records skim over the details. Although Jefferson was a fascinating president and founding father, his intrigue to historians extends into his personal life, in which he fathered many children, and lived a complicated life. Jon Meacham, an author and historian, uncovers these details in his book, Thomas Jefferson: President & Philosopher. In accordance with the modern practice of leaning towards biased history, or purifying details for teaching purposes, Meacham’s strong depiction of Thomas Jefferson’s personal life is...
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...political topics currently being debated. Thomas Jefferson's educational background plays a crucial role as he transitions from teenager to young adult. While in college he meets professors that play a role in his steps toward a political career. These teachers backgrounds...
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...Koleson Sutsch Professor S. Stokes History 1301 4/10/15 The Louisiana Purchase Thomas Jefferson's presidency was based on following the constitution strictly without exceptions. Although in 1803, Jefferson had to make one of the hardest decisions of his career. He had to decide between what he stood for and what would make this country prosper. Jefferson knew that if he followed the constitution he would not be able to purchase the Louisiana Territory. Jefferson's decision was influenced by three main principles; the importance of the Louisiana territory, other options available, and the affect of the purchase. At the time Louisiana was owned by the French power, Napoleon Bonaparte. He blocked one of the most important...
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...boarding school until the age of sixteen. In 1760 he enrolled at the college of William and Mary. During this time he took science, mathematics, rhetoric, philosophy, and literature. Jefferson looked up to William Small as a mentor. He also pursued legal studies with George Wythe. Jefferson was perhaps one of the best read lawyers upon his admission to the Virginia bar in April 1767. The study of law meant a lot to Jefferson. He felt that legal issues allowed him to consider many aspects of society, including its history, politics, culture, institutions, and the moral conscience of its people. During this time not many people could afford the education that he had received. Jefferson mainly owed this to the success of his father. When Jefferson's father died he had owned 7,000 acres of land in West Virginia. His father was also the commander of the local militia. When his father died Jefferson was only fourteen and that caused him to look towards his teachers for fatherly advice. Thomas Jefferson was elected to the house of burgesses when he was 25. He became Vice President in 1796. During this time he came within three votes of winning the election. With a flaw in the constitution this causes Jefferson to become Vice President. In 1801 he became president. Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States at the time. He was also a founding father and principal author of the Declaration of Independence. Although he contributed his pen more than his voice...
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...James Madison ------------------------------------------------- Presidency When Jefferson triumphed in the election of 1800, Madison became (1801) his Secretary of State. He served through both of Jefferson's terms, and he was Jefferson's choice as presidential candidate. As President, Madison had to deal with the results of the foreign policy that, as Secretary of State, he had helped to shape. The Embargo Act of 1807 was in effect dissolved by Macon's Bill No. 2. The bill provided, however, that if either Great Britain or France should remove restrictions on American trade, the President was empowered to reimpose the trade embargo on the other. Madison, accepting an ambiguous French statement as a bona fide revocation of the Napoleonic decrees on trade, reinstated the trade embargo with Great Britain, an act that helped bring on the War of 1812. This move alone, however, did not bring about the war with Great Britain; equally significant were the activities of the "war hawks," led by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, who, hungry for the conquest of Canada and for free expansion, clamored for action. They helped to bring about the declaration of war against Great Britain on June 18, 1812. The War of 1812 was the chief event of Madison's administration. New England merchants and industrialists were already disaffected by the various embargoes, and their discontent grew until at the Hartford Convention they talked of sedition rather than continuing "Mr. Madison's War." Even the friends...
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...Examining discursive change, however, provides a different explanation. The pattern of expansion and contraction of our franchise is not economically driven, rather, it is an issue of collective identity. All people are born into an identity. Some identities, like the color of our skin, is not a choice. Others, like our beliefs or our friend groups, are choices we make. The right to vote gives individuals an identity that extends beyond themselves. Because discourse is a consequence of voting rights, voting rights in turn, respond to discourse. Examining the process of suffrage reveals a unique pattern. Using the elements found in Tulis, Robertson, and Lakoff, evidence and patterns in Presidential inaugural addresses suggest that discursive...
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...theory. If, as many scientific creationists believe, God's message is important in defining the content, aims, and conditions of educational practice, then creationism does belong in the classroom. However, those who propose that creationism is not science, and that "creation science" is a misnomer, are opposed to the intervention of religion into the public educational program; after all, public educational programs should be separate from concerns of the church. The Scientific Argument against Intelligent Design “Evolution has three core, defining elements, life forms change over time; they all descended from one or a few common ancestors; and natural selection produces these effects” (Slack 2007). But what exactly is Intelligent Design? Intelligent Design is a recent theory proposed that says that when you examine nature there are too many coincidences...
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...If the United States had to go to war with France over the Louisiana Territory, they would have had to allied themselves with Britain. Jefferson, both anti-war and anti-alliance, had a very tough choice to make. Either he entangled himself with Britain, possibly for her a long time, or he went to war with France. Instead, he chose to attempt to negotiate with France for the purchase of the Louisiana Territory when he learned officially of the treaty in 1803. Napoleon willingly gave it up to the Americans for a relatively cheap price, because New Orleans served little use to him in maintaining his Latin American empire after the Haitian Revolution. Additionally, Napoleon needed funds to fight the British. On first glance, it appears as though Jefferson avoided Federalist actions entirely by not going to war or getting entangled, but in fact, he still argued bitterly with himself over his choice. With regards to Constitutional interpretation, his actions reflected Federalist views. Not included in the powers of the executive branch outlined in the Constitution was the power to buy land or expand territory of the republic. Jefferson had no time to propose an amendment to the Constitution rectifying this, so he acted out of its bounds. This type of Constitutional interpretation, where...
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...HIUS 221 Exam 3 Review Sheet: This exam will be a combination of multiple choice, true or false, and matching questions. There will also be a couple of essay questions. For best results in preparing for the upcoming exam, focus your studies on the following historical items, events and individuals. Your textbook may help with some of the things listed, but this exam is more so drawn from class lectures and power point presentations. Embargo of 1807-Britian and France imposed trade restriction in order to weaken each other’s economies. Resulting in testing the Americas Neutrality and hurting their trading. Jefferson passed this document restricting neutral trade to the U.S. docs Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists (1780). Stronger central government, state representation from states each 2 representatives, no Bill of Rights, Articles of Confederation useless, because states had more power, wanted larger public, and they believed in large farming and industrialization,.. antif federalist, wanted state rights, wanted add the House of Represeantives, Bill of Rights, they thought the aritcles needed to be ratified not taken away completely, smaller public, believed Americas future is small farming Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans (1790s) – Hamiltonians (known as federalist party) vs. the Jeffersonians (Democratic Party) Differences between Federalist stances (1780s) vs. Federalist Party stances (1790s)- Federalist of 1780-Stronger central government, state representation...
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...American Foreign Policy Essay Over the time span of 1793-1825 the U.S. had to undergo serious changes. It was this time period that marked its process of becoming a national super power. It gained a strong sense of identity but the effects that came with it were that of uncontrollable influence. The nation as a whole started to stand out from the rest of the world and shine as a beacon. But it was the things the nation did during this time frame that caused this shift. America’s Foreign Policy from 1793-1825 went through many changes that made isolation impossible to retain due to the effects of attempting neutrality, economic dealings, and The War of 1812. There are some scenarios in life where attempting to prevent something only gives it greater chance of happening. When attempting neutrality through the time period of 1793-1825 this happened fairly quick. The Neutrality Proclamation made by George Washington was aimed at staying neutral in terms of the French Revolution. Though this is what the proclamation was primarily focused towards it was neutrality overall that it was really encouraging. Washington wanted the U.S. to stay uninvolved and build up our resources first to become a well-developed nation. While this approach may have been able to work in theory it didn’t take into account the peoples and pro-war opinions. In document A, a passage from The Neutrality Proclamation by George Washington it states, “I have therefore thought fit by these presents to declare...
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...Removal, the Spoils System, and the veto of the Maysville Road, have opened up his qualifications for the position of president for debate many times. This period of time, also called The Jacksonian Era, has been characterized as favoring the less fortunate of the United States. While in most cases, evidence has proven this claim to be true that Jackson has provided a multitude of economic, political, and many other opportunities for the “common man”, when further analyzing the actions he has taken and the effects they have had, Jackson...
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...the trade monopoly, and the subsequent prosperity in most of these colonies, the local people did not benefit much. The Royalists insisted that all the money goes to them, mainly the Iberian monarchies, and the wealthy Spanish landowners. The Royalist ideas of anti-clerical regalism of the reformers from both Spain and Portugal had eroded the traditions of the Iberian Catholic monarchies, yet the ideas of Enlightenment and political alternatives to royal sovereignty could be found. The conservative anti-government outlook of the South was thus created as Latin America chose independence over living under monarchal rule. The same applied to the Scot-Irish people who always felt that they had left Ireland against their will, as they had no choice at all. They were mainly Protestant residents from Scotland, who had been settled on land seized from native Irish. They were also discriminated against by the Irish parliament because of their Presbyterian religion instead of following the Irish dominated Anglican Church. The Puritans were a group of religious reformists who had the aim of “purifying” the Anglican Church. This started in the 16th century with John Calvin and began leaving England in 1608. They formed the larger group among the settlers, and were wealthy. By the 1640s, their population had grown to a whopping 10,000 and they spread out forming the present states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire. They were not only wealthier than the...
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...Louisiana Purchase 1803 Bridget Cochran 01/28/2012American InterContinental University |...
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...qualifications more so than men; nor can we serve as Speaker of the House. To be frank, an individual woman has no direct impact on government decisions. I realize the colonies are trying to break away from England and find our independence, an effort that needs great attention, but so many ideas and voices are refused. How can a decision which effects every person in colonies be made without the entirety colony? Though individual women have essentially the same standing as one year ago, the collective whole has found itself with a foothold in our flowering government. Women are the leaders of the Committee of Inspection, an idea that was rejected then resurrected by women. Through petitions, our unified voice was debated here in congress. Aside from the halls of congress and stimulating discourse, women were the leaders and organizers of several mobs; some of which greatly impacted voting in congress. In total, the status of women as the mother and home keeper has remained unchanged, but women are slowly growing in political spheres. The roles women have, however, are not set in stone, though they may be written on paper. I have read Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence, and I fully understand why we should sever ties with Britain. Our rights to personal property and a multitude of freedoms have been limited or outright violated. Homes have been forcibly occupied to quarter British troops, without permission of the owner this is a violation of property rights (Handout...
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