The Declaration Of Independence Grievances

The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in American history. This document, written by Thomas Jefferson and the colonists, was their explanation for why they were unhappy with the way things were going in England at the time and how they planned on fixing it. It was written to be persuasive and to get the reader, King George III and his government, to understand why they felt the way they did. His argument was very effective because of the way he set up this document, which was into five different parts: the introduction, the preamble, the grievances, the body and the conclusion. These parts built off each other and made it an overall persuasive document that got the colonists what they wanted, which was their
freedom. The first part of the Declaration is the introduction. The introduction was provided to give insight as to what the entire document was going to be about, but it really gave direct understanding to the preamble. The overall meaning of the introduction is that when you break away from a country, you should provide information to give reasons why. This part was not as persuasive as the rest considering it is only the introduction, but the boldness of the entirety of it creates an undeniable tone, which is decisive. He and the colonists made up their mind on what they want to accomplish and have begun planning out; this document is simply them letting the King know that he is going to have a few less citizens than he does now. The next part of the Declaration is the preamble: “Accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” The preamble, along with the paragraph it was included in, was written to mean that basic human rights can not be taken away from people, so the creation of a new and better government would be able to protect these rights. The preamble and its paragraph are very important to Jefferson’s argument because it is an introduction to the grievances he has listed, and it is an overall look at what is ahead for the country. This alone was a warning to the King since it said that a new government would be best in order to make sure that the “certain unalienable rights” people are born with are protected. The third part of the Declaration is the grievances.
These are probably the most important part of the entire Declaration of Independence. These grievances list every problem the colonists had with the King and his government. It listed everything, from his “invasions on the rights of the people” to “quartering large bodies of armed troops among [them].” This list of 27 reasons to why they felt the government should be changed outlines the entire reason for writing the Declaration in the first place. The introduction had stated that in order for a group of people to just up-and-leave a country, reasons needed to be given, so they provided valid, persuasive reasons for as to why the King was going to have much less of a civilization than what he started
with. The second to last part of the Declaration was the body paragraphs. The first one can be interpreted as Jefferson saying nothing had been done to help the problems listed. They had gone to the King and to his people and tried to at least get him to meet halfway with what they wanted, but it had never been accomplished. The second paragraph means that the colonists had warned the government of what would have happened if they did not comply, but it was taken as a joke. These two are very persuasive because it begins to talk about how the government was warned and about how they are not just packing their things and leaving because one little thing did not go their way. These paragraphs proved that these issues had been on-going and that they had every right to want to get away from them. These two paragraphs combined with the grievances are the key to Thomas Jefferson and the colonists persuaded their way out of England. Finally, the very last part of the Declaration is the conclusion, which includes the final oath.
The meaning of the Declaration’s conclusion is the people who are writing and signing this document are no longer apart of Britain; they are now their own independent country. The final oath is as followed: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” This single line means that these people are willing to support the war and, even if they lose, they will accept the consequences knowing they did all they can fighting for their rights. This was them sticking it to the King one last time before the signatures. This was persuasive because it showed that no matter the conditions they are willing to go to battle for the win. In conclusion, the Declaration being split up into five different parts made it as persuasive as possible because each part built off each other. Each part could not have been used in the way they were without the help of the surrounding items. From beginning to end, the Declaration of Independence is the most persuasive document in the history of the United States because, without it, where would we stand
today?