for PhD doctorate only

Thomas Jefferson – The Declaration of Independence

Pre-reading Questions

1. Under what conditions may a people alter or abolish their government?

2. Why does Jefferson consider King George a tyrant?

Questions for Critical Reading

1. What laws of nature does Jefferson refer to in paragraph 1?

2. What do you think Jefferson feels is the function of government (paragraph 2)?

3. What does Jefferson say about women? Is there any way you can determine his views from reading this document? Does he appear to favor a patriarchal system?

4. Find at least one use of parallel structure in the Declaration (see p. 78 in the section on Jefferson’s rhetoric for a description of parallelism). What key terms are repeated in identical or equivalent constructions, and to what effect?

5. Which causes listed in paragraphs 3 through 29 are the most serious? Are any trivial? Which ones are serious enough to cause a revolution?

6. What do you consider to be the most graceful sentence in the entire Declaration? Where is it placed in the Declaration? What purpose does it serve there?

7. In what ways does the king’s desire for stable government interfere with Jefferson’s sense of his own independence?

Calendar Question

How does the document seem to define independence? Use this definition as a basis for your own. To what extent does your definition agree with Jefferson?

Journal Entry