The First Sentence Of The Declaration Analysis

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1) Look at the first sentence of the Declaration. Is this big or small picture? Discuss. What does this tell you about how this piece is arranged?

This can be classified as looking at the big picture, because the writers alluded to universal concepts that are predominant in any situation. This is important, because throughout the declaration the writers continuously referred to the central ideas of life and liberty, and they displayed the events that took place leading up to the declaration and presented it in the main scope of things historically. This also tells one that the piece is written deductively instead of inductively, because it is a more convincing and befitting manner in which to frame an argument. 2) What the heck is
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He presents what he feels is the essence of freedom and government in a very appealing way, and he again considers this situation from a historical perspective. He basically is saying that human beings have certain rights and privileges that are undeniable, and that the only reason for the institution of government is protecting, preserving, and promoting those rights. He then uses this premise to ascertain that when a government doesn’t fulfill these core responsibilities, it is undermining the population and is rendered inadequate. Therefore, I believe Jefferson develops a major and minor premise in this paragraph, which would be:

Major Premise: When a government disregards the rights of its citizens, it must be removed
Minor Premise: The British Government disregards the rights of its citizens.
Conclusion: Therefore, the British government must be removed from the
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He uses it twice. What word is it? Jefferson uses the word “tyrant” to describe the King. This word choice is the biggest example of inductive reasoning throughout the paper. He reinforces this claim by establishing the actions of the king and the definition and common realization of what a tyrant is.
5) Where is the thesis? Find it. What word does it begin with? What does that tell you about the arrangement of this argument? The Thesis is best represented in the first sentence of the conclusion paragraph. This sentence reaffirms what Jefferson testifies to all along, and it establishes his claims of freedom and sovereignty. This tells you that the argument was deductively structured, as it first established the premises and strengthened the premises throughout the paper, and then finally ended with the conclusion based off of those

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