Rhetorical appeals in the Declaration of Independance

To begin, Thomas Jefferson coordinates with appeals to pathos, or appeals to emotion with his argument. From the Declaration of Independence here are two quotes that demonstrate appeals to pathos: “He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people” and “He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.” These, as well as many of the other facts listed could be seen as appeals to pathos merely because his use of vivid precise language that depicts how oppressing the old form of government was by evoking a response in a reader of feeling the emotion, feeling sad, angry, or sorry after reading it. These are one of many facts Jefferson was pointing out in the Declaration of Independence and are just examples of his use of language and wording to appeal to pathos.
All of these facts, as they may be structured to appeal to pathos, also exist as a logos appeal. Before listing them Jefferson states: “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.” Following this quote he lists all of the facts about the old government. This is an appeal to logos because it also shows the logic involved with why the United States was declaring its independence. Showed in these facts were all very logical reasons for the colonies to declare their independence and they also make it very hard to argue for the case of not declaring independence.
In this list of facts there are also ethos appeals to back up his argument. A lot about what he exposes in these facts call on wrongdoings of the old government which makes the reader really question morals in general and their state of existence under the old government. This appeal focuses on making the reader especially consider the ethics involved with the old leadership and by proving that it is unethical, or making the reader feel that way, it serves as an ethos based appeal. An example from this list is “He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.” This shows how it is against the morals of most people for judges to be dependant and make decisions based on the government and how much they are payed.
What makes this entire document so effective is that in this list of facts, they all serve as appeals to pathos, logos, and ethos at the same time.