The Declaration of Independence

How does the Declaration of Independence define a tyrant? And how convincing is the argument the signers make that George III was a tyrant?

The Declaration of Independence does not establish any laws for the United States. But how do its ideas influence the Constitution or other documents that do establish laws?

The Declaration of Independence declares it a “self-evident” truth that “all men are created equal,” but many of its signers owned and believed in their right to own slaves. Does this fact minimize the power of the document? Why or why not?

How is the Declaration of Independence structured and why? How does the structure contribute to the persuasiveness of the text?

Since much of the text of the Declaration of Independence was inspired by the writings of Locke and Mason, and since the document was edited by the Continental Congress, how fair is it to describe Jefferson as its author? What parts of the text are uniquely his? What does it mean to be an author of a document with so many signers?

What does the use of collective plural pronouns such as “we” and “us” contribute to the Declaration of Independence? Why does the text use these terms?

Compare the Declaration of Independence to another nation’s founding documents. How does the language of one compare to the language of the other? Which uses language more effectively?

Why has the Declaration of Independence been quoted so frequently by writers and politicians? What linguistically makes it endure?