1. Vivid verbs for the purpose of making charges against the king.
1.1. refused
1.2. abdicated
1.3. plundered
1.4. constrained
1.5. incited
2. Logic vs. Emotion
2.1. Logic
2.1.1. "It becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another" (Page 141 first sentence of the Declaration)
2.1.1.1. It is logical because it establishes that people have the right to reject their government. This makes the following arguments credible. They're based on fact, not emotion.
2.2. Emotion
2.2.1. Loaded words - words with strong emotional tones
2.2.1.1. self-assumed
2.2.1.2. swarms
2.2.1.3. harass
2.2.1.4. eat out
3. Vocabulary
3.1. inalienable
3.1.1. Can't be taken away
3.2. distinguished
3.2.1. marked by excellence or superiority
3.3. despotism
3.3.1. an oppressive use of power
4. Questions for Review
4.1. What are the self-evident truths Jefferson explains in the second paragraph?
4.1.1. That all men are created equal
4.1.2. They are endowed by their creator with inherent and inalienable rights
4.1.2.1. Life
4.1.2.2. Liberty
4.1.2.3. The pursuit of happiness
4.2. Why was "eternal" cut from the last sentence?
4.2.1. Including the word "eternal" means they want to cut ties forever. They were thinking about the future. Even if the colonists won independence, they thought they still might need to rely on England in the future.
5. Parallel structure
5.1. "Self-evident truths" (P. 141 first paragraph)
5.1.1. What are those self-evident truths?
5.2. "It is their right, it is their duty" (P. 142 line 2)
5.2.1. Who is "their"? And what is their right and duty?
5.3. "He has" (repeated throughout page 143)
5.3.1. Who is "he"? What type of behavior did he show? How does the use of parallelism affect this long series of paragraphs?
5.4. The repetition of the words 'We have" on page 146
5.4.1. What is the purpose of this parallel structure?
5.4.2. "He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people." Page 145 (before the J)
5.4.2.1. What is the main idea of these accusations?
6. Background
6.1. One of the most important documents in US history.
6.1.1. The deleted parts are underlined and the replaced words are in the right margin.
6.2. Deleted portions
6.2.1. Cuts were made to avoid offending the British and also to eliminate repetition.