Question

Choose the best answer.

Answer 1

Part 1: Which statement below is a counterclaim that Jefferson anticipates in the Declaration of Independence?

The correct answer is "Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes." Why? Because the Colonies are doing exactly that. They are removing a long established Monarchy that has controlled their colonies for more than 200 years since the founding of the first British settlement of Jamestown on May 14, 1607. Opposers to the Independence of the 13th American colonies would likely argue that their grievances do not justify severing ties with the United Kingdom. Jefferson very intelligently provides a rebuttal by stating that the causes of the separation are NOT "light and transient causes" and that the only choice of American colonists is to become independent.

Question 2 (1 point) Choose the best answer. Relationship Among Ideas Part 2: Based on the counterclaim you identified in the previous question, which statement below is an example of Jefferson's rebuttal?

"He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. This is the correct answer because who is this "He"? It is George III, King of England and Ireland (1760 – 1820) and it refers explicitly to the list of grievances that Jefferson is about to provide. Jefferson calls these "his invasions on the rights of the people". Furthermore, the previous statement clearly criticizes dissolving long established governments and by stating that King George has done exactly that, Jefferson very cleverly deflects this anticipated blame towards King George himself.

Question 3 (1 point) Choose the best answer. Author’s Methods: Which statement below is a claim that Jefferson makes about governments?

"That to secure these rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness), Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." This sentence states that the power of a Government is the result of the consent of the governed and that the main purpose of such government is to secure the inalienable rights of the men who institute such government. The word institute is also important since it states that governments are not the creation of monarchs, aristocrats or divine providence but of the people. This signals an irreversible departure from the tenets of monarchy and "divine right".

Question 4 (1 point) Choose the best answer. Author’s Methods: What is the persuasive effect of Jefferson's language in the closing paragraphs?

Jefferson uses pronouns like "we" to show that the colonies are unified and excited to rally against Britain. This is definitely the correct answers, not only Jefferson uses the world "we" repeatedly throughout the text but he also confronts it with the "He" that the colonies are against, that is to say, King George III. By doing this he shows that this is an issue of a privileged minority against a vast majority and he underscores this opposition by closing his text with the key words "representatives", meaning that Jefferson and the Founding Fathers represent all the American colonists, who are all united against the King and its monarchy.

Question 5 (1 point) Choose the best answer. Structure: Looking back over the entire text, what is distinctive about the structure of Jefferson’s argument?

Jefferson opens with ethos statements to prove why you should listen to him; Lists logos statements that detail what King George did wrong; Ends with pathos to encourage the colonies to support him.

This is the correct answer since ethos defines the "beliefs and worldviews of a culture, a people, of a country and here, that ethos is that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights". This is in line with the philosophies of 18th century Enlightenment.

Logos defines the set of logical reasons or arguments that the American colonists are providing to explain their irrevocable decision. All the wrongs that He inflicted upon the Colonies as well as the attempts by American Colonists to communicate and work with the Monarchy in order to resolve them satisfactorily.

Finally, pathos refers to the compassion and sympathy that Jefferson is striving to elicit from all those who will read the Declaration of Independence. He starts that explaining that Americans still consider the British as "brethren", but that they have been deaf to the plight of Americans. He reiterates the pain that these "Oppressions" have inflicted upon the American Colonists and finally requests the protection and assistance of the "Creator" since they are risking their "Lives, Fortunes, and sacred Honor" for their cause. These pleas intend to render the American Revolution sympathetic for the British subjects and the rest of the World (France, especially).

I know this is a very long answer but this is more a series of questions than one single question.