Fallacious Arguments in the Declaration of Independence

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Fallacious Arguments in the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence is among the most profoundly interpreted and fiercely discussed documents in modern history. Most likely because of its rhetorical style and numerous fallacious arguments that are found. The colonists' use of persuasion to influence by using repetition to achieve their means. The Declaration of Independence is what 56 colonists saw as a logical course of action. What you must ask yourself is: What was considered logical in 1776?

The rhetorical style uses persuasive ideals in the use of language. For example, in the first sentence of the second paragraph, the parallel structure and repetition of the word "that" enable the writers to articulate with excessive clarity their fundamental beliefs. The second paragraph is similar to the concluding paragraph because it also relies on parallel structure and repetition of "that" when declaring the colonies free and independent states. Also,the repetition of "He is,"which is the only phrase other than "He has" in the list of "complaints" shows present tense. In this case present tense leads to urgency to the need for a revolution. Which tells the audience that the only other option is, desolation, and tyranny. There is also negative diction about the actions of the British king(George III) that carry to the emotional appeal. Finally,the prime of the last line effectively portrays the signers as heroes. Which back then where men who would risk everything to support the rights in man that was established by God.

The primarily fallacious argument is that of general rule, assuming that something is true in general in every possible case. for example, the first sentence in the second paragraph that evokes a partial truth that all men are created equal. When in fact the writers mean that only white land owners were considered equal

because they didn't consider black men to be humans much less women to equal as well. So saying "We...
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