Declaration of Independence

The "Declaration of Independence"was not solely written by Thomas Jefferson. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and two other (apparently less important as they were not mentioned) people helped edit and draft the document. With that aside, this monumental piece of writing still holds up to today's standards and has survived the ever changing English language (the style of writing used is much easier to read then Old English or any Shakespearean text) . The writing itself does have flaws though. There are a few instances of bad propaganda techniques and faulty logic. As a whole, the good points covered for the incorrect propaganda, as the American people remember the "Declaration of Independence" as a marvelous piece of writing, not something that is poorly constructed and insults all English people.

In the second paragraph the "Declaration of Independence" starts off with a sentence containing an error of weak reference. "That all men are created equal" is not a true statement (Jefferson 122). It is not true today, and it was certainly not true in the 1770s. The only people who were free during that time were white male land owners that were middle aged or older. Not only could women of any color, Indian men, or black men not vote or participate in the government, young white men had a very hard time getting involved in the government. The youngest person to sign the Declaration was 26 years old, but "the majority of the signers were in their thirties or forties" ("About the Signers"). Jefferson's statement was incorrect, although brings about feelings of hope and pride, as only a select group of people were "created equal" (Jefferson 122).

Later on in the "Declaration of Independence", Jefferson called the King of Great Britain a tyrant by indirectly referring to him by saying that cutting down on elected officials' representation was only "formidable to tyrants only" (Jefferson 123). Calling King George a tyrant is name calling propaganda. Normally that would make the reader turn away in disgust because no one wants to read something that tries to make their points by negatively referring to their opponents (and that is a generalization, but at least I acknowledge it and am aware of the fact that some people would be turned off by that type of writing). In this case, the audience of this document are Americans. Many people in America disliked the English, and calling the King a tyrant is not going to make them like England. The loyalist who already love England are not reading the "Declaration of Independence" to realize their love for America and the epiphany of King George's tyranny. The target group that the Declaration was written for would have only become more for the revolution with the "tyranny" name calling (Jefferson 123).

Another negative name calling propaganda that was used was "the merciless Indian savages, whose known rules of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions" (Jefferson 124). That breaks the name calling propaganda rule four times! The Indians were not all "merciless" and "savage". Maybe one Indian acted savagely to white stranger and the impression stuck. I know that their were many Indians who aided the white settlers such as Squanto and Sacajawea. The aforementioned Indians also did not fight in wars against white colonists or discriminate against "ages, sexes, or conditions" (Jefferson 124). While the colonists might have agreed with Jefferson, the line from the "Declaration of Independence" dates the document.

"About the Signers." Declaration of Independence - Constitution Facts. Oak Hill Publishing Company. Web. 27 Sept. 2011.

Jefferson, Thomas. "Declaration of Independence." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

"Recognizing Propaganda Techniques and Errors of Faulty Logic." Cuesta College. 06 Mar. 2011. Web. 27 Sept. 2011