Reflection Blog: The Declaration of Independence

          In the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson is a piece of literature in which the colonies state their independence from Great Britain. During this time, around 1776, the colonies were strictly controlled by Great Britain. After years of being bossed around and treated unfairly, they decided to finally declare their independence. This work was written to show the colonists why they needed to do this, and join in and support the declaration. In order to do so, Thomas Jefferson, and his fellow writers, had to use propaganda and other persuasive techniques, some good and bad, in order to rally the colonists.

To begin, one of the major techniques used by Thomas Jefferson and the writers was propaganda. Propaganda has several qualities within itself that were used. Name calling and “nice” words were used subtly throughout. Thomas Jefferson calls the Native Americans “merciless” and “savages” in order to prove the King unjust (Jefferson 124). This kind of name calling gets the listeners to picture these people as bad, although they may not have all been. Jefferson also uses nice words to describe the people and the declaration (Jefferson 124). These nice words get the people to see these things as good as right and the negatives as bad and wrong.

Additionally, testimonial and plain folk propaganda are used. Testimonial kind of propaganda is when the author name drops, using popular people most of the public would recognize. In the Declaration of Independence’s case, they say they are representatives of the United States, and they are appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World (Jefferson 124). This kind of name dropping catches the listener or readers attention. If an ordinary person wrote this to the public, it would not feel as significant and important as this one. Along with name dropping, the piece used plain folk technique.

This technique makes the argument appeal to not only the important people, but also as if they had the plain folks in mind also. In the work, Jefferson states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Jefferson 122). This quote tells the public straight forward, that they are not, and should not be treated, different than anyone else. The reader of listener feels more on the same level, and that the idea can make things better for them too.


Finally, the main technique of propaganda is transfer. Jefferson spends the vast majority of the speech listing ways the King of Great Britain has mistreated the people of the United States, and why they should not put up with it any longer (122-124). Jefferson claims things such as the king has refused to give the colonist a good government in order to make the colonists happy and at peace. He goes on to list many other examples such as these (Jefferson 122-124). These examples give proof to the people why they should become independent from the King, because he is holding the country back.


Overall, the Declaration of Independence is an extremely persuasive piece of literature. It is very well written, and uses propaganda techniques to its advantage. These techniques made the colonist do exactly what they were hoping, and resulted eventually to the independence of the United States.

 

Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence." Glencoe  American Literature. N.p.: McGraw-Hill, n.d. 120-124. Print.

 "Recognizing Propaganda Techniques and Errors of Faulty Logic." Cuesta College. 06 Mar. 2011. Web. September 25, 2012.