Lesson 1.8 · Unit 1 · RI.11-12.5, RI.11-12.8
The Declaration as a piece of logical structure
The Declaration of Independence is usually read as a statement of ideals. It is actually a legal brief, structured as a syllogism, and reading it as an argument shows why it has been usable by people its authors did not have in mind.
- The Declaration was adopted on 4 July 1776, drafted chiefly by Jefferson and revised by Congress.
- It has four parts: a preamble, a statement of principles, a list of grievances, and a conclusion declaring independence.
- The structure is deductive. Major premise about when government may be altered, minor premise from the grievances, then the conclusion.
- The grievance list is the longest section by far, which tells you what the document thought needed proving.
- It is addressed to a candid world, meaning foreign powers whose recognition and aid were needed.
- Congress removed Jefferson's passage on the slave trade, and the deletion is part of the document's history.
- The phrase "all men are created equal" was stated more broadly than its authors' practice, which is what later reformers used.
- Douglass, Stanton and Lincoln all argue from it, which this course meets in units 3 and 5.
Where students lose marks: quoting the second paragraph and ignoring the other ninety percent. The grievances are the evidence, and an analysis that skips them has skipped the argument.
The text. The Declaration of Independence, 1776. A founding document of the United States and in the public domain.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.
To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good... He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly... He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
Step one: lay out the deduction. Major premise: a government destructive of these ends may be altered or abolished by the people. Minor premise: this government has been destructive of these ends. Conclusion: it may be abolished, and these colonies are therefore independent.
Step two: locate each part in the text. The major premise is the second paragraph. The minor premise is the entire grievance list. The conclusion is the final paragraph. The document is a syllogism with the middle term documented.
Step three: count the proportions. The famous passage is one paragraph. The grievances run to twenty-seven specific charges. Four fifths of the document is evidence, which tells you what its authors expected to be challenged.
Step four: read "let Facts be submitted to a candid world". This is courtroom language. A candid world means impartial observers, and the audience being invited to judge is not Britain but France, Spain and the Netherlands, whose recognition and money the colonies needed.
Step five: notice the grammatical subject of the grievances. "He has refused", "He has dissolved", "He has kept". Twenty-seven sentences beginning with a single pronoun referring to the king.
Step six: state what that accomplishes. It personalizes the case against a man rather than a nation, which is diplomatically useful: France could support a quarrel with George III more comfortably than a quarrel with Britain, and the anaphora makes the pattern read as a design rather than a series of disputes.
Step seven: note the deletion. Jefferson's draft contained a passage blaming the king for the slave trade, and Congress removed it. A document asserting that all men are created equal, with its passage on slavery struck by the body adopting it, is a historical fact worth stating plainly.
Step eight: state why the overreach mattered. "All men are created equal" was stated far more broadly than its authors' practice. That gap is what Douglass, Stanton and Lincoln all use, and a document that had described its principle narrowly enough to match its conduct would have given them nothing.
Questions 1 to 5 are recall. Questions 6 to 10 ask for reasoning.
- Name the four parts of the Declaration.
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Preamble, statement of principles, grievances, conclusion declaring independence
- How many grievances are listed?
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Twenty-seven
- Who is the "candid world"?
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Impartial foreign observers, particularly France, Spain and the Netherlands
- What did Congress remove from Jefferson's draft?
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A passage blaming the king for the slave trade
- Which later figures argue from the Declaration?
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Douglass, Stanton and Lincoln
- Set out the document as a syllogism and locate each part.
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Major premise: a government destructive of these ends may be altered or abolished, which is the second paragraph. Minor premise: this government has been destructive of these ends, which is the entire grievance list. Conclusion: these colonies are therefore independent, which is the final paragraph. The Declaration is a syllogism with its middle term documented at length. Principles, grievances and conclusion are the three parts of one deduction
- What do the proportions tell you?
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The famous passage is one paragraph and the grievances run to twenty-seven specific charges, so roughly four fifths of the document is evidence. Its authors evidently expected the principles to be granted and the factual case to be challenged. An analysis that quotes the second paragraph and ignores the rest has skipped what the document thought it had to prove. Four fifths is evidence, so the facts were what needed proving
- Why does every grievance begin with "He"?
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It personalizes the case against a man rather than a nation, which was diplomatically useful: France could support a quarrel with George III more comfortably than a quarrel with Britain. The anaphora also makes twenty-seven separate complaints read as a single design rather than a series of disputes, which is what the minor premise needs them to be. It personalizes the case and makes the grievances read as one design
- What does "let Facts be submitted to a candid world" reveal about the audience?
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It is courtroom language, and a candid world means impartial observers rather than the opposing party. The audience being invited to judge is not Britain but the European powers whose recognition, money and navies the colonies needed. The document is a brief submitted to potential allies, which explains why it argues rather than merely announces. It addresses foreign powers whose recognition was needed
- Why did the overreach of "all men are created equal" matter?
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The principle was stated far more broadly than its authors' practice, in a document whose passage on the slave trade was struck by the body adopting it. That gap is exactly what Douglass, Stanton and Lincoln later use. A declaration that had described its principle narrowly enough to match its conduct would have been useless to every reformer who came after. A principle broader than its practice is what later reformers could use