Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence

Grace Guzman

English 101.53

18 Feb. 2014

In Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence,” a speech declaring the unjust rule of Britain and a call for America to be its own country, his rhetorical approach to convey his message used the logos appeal, while Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions,” which is modeled after Jefferson’s, used the pathos to persuade her audience. Her heavily weighted words about women’s equality spoke to her audience on an emotional level and by structuring her declaration after Jefferson’s, Stanton was able to effectively compare both struggles and generate passion throughout her speech.

Thomas Jefferson, a governor, secretary of state, vice president and president, as well one of the founding fathers of the United States, implemented an impartial logos appeal in his speech because his audience were educated scholars such as himself. Being an extremely well-educated man, he didn’t have to evoke emotion from his audience as he presented a well argument based on facts. In his speech, he did not include much loaded language or any terms that would evoke an incredible amount of passion from his intended audience; instead, he presented facts in a repetitious manner that, after seeing how long the list of inequality ran, the listener would have no choice but to see the facts and agree with his argument. He used statements such as, “To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world,” and “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” to support his logos appeal and to demonstrate his factual, logical approach on the subject.

In contrast, in Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s speech, the main strategy used was pathos because her audience were the oppressed women of the mid 1800’s. Stanton herself was a women’s rights advocate and a prominent figure in their movement during her time. Her positions