why did Thomas Jefferson write the declaration of independence? and what were some of his techniques?

Question

techniques such as repitition.

3 reasons why he wrote it.

Answer 1

Your first question is a bit unclear -- Do you want to know why JEFFERSON ended up writing the document, rather than someone else doing it? Or do you want to know why the Declaration was written AT ALL?

I'll try to answer both, beginning with the second one (which is, I suspect the one you wanted).

1) WHY a Declaration?

a) The Declaration was, in one sense, an afterthought. The MAIN thing Congress was doing was getting ready to vote on a resolution offered by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia (at the request of the Virginia House of Burgesses),

"that these states are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states. . . "

But the delegates of some of the colonies were hesitant about declaring independence at this time, wanting to try to negotiate a bit longer. It was thought that writing a formal declaration would help convince (and give time enough, to convince) those delegations

b) To make a public, open defense/explanation to the whole WORLD, to show that what they were doing was justified. (This is specifically stated in the first paragraph of the Declaration.)

c) "That was how it was done" -- the form of the Declaration is largely modeled on earlier English documents, esp. the "English Bill of Rights, 1689" which had likewise been a formal statement listing the abuses of a king (James II) when Parliament essentially deposed him and replaced him with William and Mary. Unlike earlier documents from Congress --petitions of grievance seeking to resolve the issues between them (and listing their complaints against PARLIAMENT, not the King) -- this was a form which specifically cited the KING's behavior and declared their rejection of his rule.

For that matter, the Declaration by Congress was actually following the lead of several of the colonies which had already issued their own.


**Note that this 3rd point explains much of the "technique" or patterning of the document. Jefferson did NOT come up with it on his own, but borrowed freely from forms like the English Bill of Rights and the Declarations of the states/colonies.


2) So why did JEFFERSON write it?

From Question 1 it is clear that it was not his own idea.

Also, note that though Jefferson wrote MOST of it, not only did he borrow from other documents, but there are many things in the document that others played a part in. The committee charged with writing it may have outlined the basic structure and contents it might have, though they freed him to write the draft himself. They also suggested changes, esp. John Adams and Ben Franklin (some of which we have in their own hand). And then there were changes that Congress as a whole made to the document before accepting it.

Actually, John Adams offered a humorous explanation that, while likely not exactly correct, has some merit to it:

"Jefferson proposed to me to make the draft. I said, 'I will not,' 'You should do it.' 'Oh! no.' 'Why will you not? You ought to do it.' 'I will not.' 'Why?' 'Reasons enough.' 'What can be your reasons?' 'Reason first, you are a Virginian, and a Virginian ought to appear at the head of this business. Reason second, I am obnoxious, suspected, and unpopular. You are very much otherwise. Reason third, you can write ten times better than I can.' 'Well,' said Jefferson, 'if you
are decided, I will do as well as I can.' 'Very well. When you have drawn it up, we will have a meeting.'*
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/jefferson.htm
(see his fuller account there)

There is some substance to these entertaining & oft-quoted reasons (humorously expressed in the song "But, Mr Adams" from the Broadway musical "1776" - http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/1776originalcastrecording/butmradams.htm)

But Jefferson's recollection was a bit different, and the following is probably a better explanation:

a) The first decision was for Jefferson to be chair of the'committee tasked with drafting the declaration. THAT choice goes a long way towards explaining why he was the writer

Jefferson was chosen AS a Viriginian, since Virginia's lead was considered very important to the endeavor

The New England colonies strongly supported independence, but others tended to thing them too extreme. The support of Virginia (the largest state) was deemed critical in getting other colonies (esp. the lukewarm Middle colonies) to join the effort. In keeping with this, Richard Henry Lee had gone to Virginia to seek a resolution for independence and returned to place it before the Congress.

Since it was his own resolution, legislative courtesy would ordinarily call for Lee to be asked to chair the committee chosen to draft the declaration which was to outline the reasons for that resolution. But when Lee asked to return home to his sick family the evening before the committee was selected, it was decided to appoint a fellow Virginian to chair the committee (though Adams's letter disputes this). In that case, it may have been something of an accident that Jefferson was on the committee to begin with.
http://www.citizensoldier.org/decdrafters.html
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/revwar/book/chap4.html

b) Once asked to chair the committee, however, it was probably assumed that he would take the lead in drafting the document. That was the normal procedure (and the fact that Adams was also busy chairing another a committee would re-enforce it).

c) His known ability with the pen probably contributed to his choice for the committee AND then to draft the document. But it should not be forgotten that Adams and Franklin were capable writers themselves. (The other two members of the committee would not be likely candidates. Robert Livingston [NY] was not completely in agreement with the effort, and Roger Sherman [CT] was not a gifted writer.)

Answer 2

The Declaration of Independence was also strongly influenced by Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense and from the Enlightenment. It even borrowed one of the sentences; the line "life, liberty, and the pursuit of property" from Common Sense was changed to "among these are Life Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". "The pursuit of Happiness" was also a line from Common Sense, that was used in a different part of the pamphlet. This is not particularly plagiarism, as Sense was very influential to Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers, as well as most Americans as a whole. Thomas Paine's Common Sense contributed many ideas to the Declaration. Philosophical background The Preamble of the Declaration is influenced by the spirit of republicanism, which was used as the basic framework for liberty. In addition, it reflects the concepts of natural law, and self-determination. Ideas and even some of the phrasing was taken directly from the writings of English philosopher John Locke. Thomas Paine's Common Sense had been widely read and provided a simple, clear case for independence that many found compelling. According to Jefferson, the purpose of the Declaration was "not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of . . . but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent, and to justify ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to take."

Answer 3

here are some links to help you,there you will find everything
hope it helps
http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration.html

Answer 4

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