Declaration of Independence Group at eNotes

The Declaration maintains a confident and declarative tone throughout. ...

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:28:10 PST

The Declaration maintains a confident and declarative tone throughout. Jefferson uses active verbs, such as "we hold" and "prudence will dictate" to reaffirm this commanding tone. However, he does shift from a conciliatory - or peacemaking - tone in the first two paragraphs to a much more aggressive and critical tone as he goes through the many crimes King George has committed against the colonies. In this aggressive area of the...

By the end "The Declaration", how has the tone shifted and what...

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:26:57 PST

By the end "The Declaration", how has the tone shifted and what rhetorical devices does Jefferson use?

In the original draft, Jefferson included another tirade against King...

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:47:07 PST

In the original draft, Jefferson included another tirade against King George III, blaming him for introducing slavery into the American colonies. However, at the time, Jefferson, along with many others, were slave owners, including Washington. For the sake of getting the Declaration of Independence passed by all the states, the issue of slavery was dropped from the Declaration by Congress. "A few delegates were unwilling to...

Wasn't there something about slavery in an early version of the...

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:47:56 PST

Wasn't there something about slavery in an early version of the Declaration? If so, why isn't it in the final version?

I've struggled with this myself when thinking of Thomas Jefferson's...

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:11:22 PST

I've struggled with this myself when thinking of Thomas Jefferson's legacy. I think Jefferson struggled with slavery and probably lost much sleep over it. The times they lived in obviously put great pressure on our founding fathers and their hopes and dreams for the country, and this affected what he wrote in the document. Technically, he would have to be considered a hypocrite, in my opinion, but I really tend to view him as a man who...

Was Jefferson a hypocrite?

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:06:55 PST

If there was one sentence that Jefferson wrote that would come back to haunt him it would have to be "All Men Are Created Equal". The debate over this sentence has gone on since the sentence was constructed. Some say he was nothing more than a hypocrite, others feel he was confined to time in which he lived. He was a man of the enlightenment, yet he owned slaves. How did he reconcile that with his enlightened beliefs?...

The reasoning behind Jefferson's intentions were to "spell"...

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:10:15 PST

The reasoning behind Jefferson's intentions were to "spell" out why the separation was imminent.The document is usually viewed in three distinct parts.The principles and purpose of government, a list of complaints or grievences that the colonists held the king accountable for, and a declaration of war.The beauty of Jefferson's writing is in its style.The colonial grievences read like a "to do" list.Jefferson was...

Why does Jefferson reiterate that every peaceful measure has been done...

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:13:45 PST

Why does Jefferson reiterate that every peaceful measure has been done to catch the King’s attention?