Rhetor: Jean Jacques Rousseau

Credentials:

Philosopher
Political theorist

Presuppositions:

Strongly believed in natural liberty
Strongly opposes social stagnation in civil societies.

Audience: The article was addressed to the public as an inquiry if there exist any legitimate and sure administration rule where men get treated as they are, laws as well. As citizens born in a free state must elect their leaders, they have a moral duty as well to question their actions.

Presuppositions:

Despots exercise civil laws on citizens to deny them their natural liberty.
Civil liberty discourages man from exercising their strength hence creating limited rights.

Purpose: To inquire and persuade. Rousseau’s article denounces the beliefs that civilization in society reduces social stagnation as a result of reduced lawlessness (Rousseau, 2018). Rousseau’s inquiry aims at addressing various causes of social stagnation resulting from the replacement of natural liberty with civil liberty. His assertion got based on the idea that individuals involved in political structures are making less effort towards addressing the issue of social stagnation.

Exigency: Continuing social stagnation in civil societies affects the equal chances that individuals have in society to achieve their potentials. Man loses his unlimited rights and natural liberty to everything he tries and succeeds to achieve. However, what a civil society brings to man is civil liberty and authority to control all their actions (Rousseau, 2018).

Reflection: Natural liberty allows man to utilize their full potential to achieve their desired goals. Natural liberty allows man to achieve this aspect with unlimited access to rights, as compared with civil liberty that limits rights enjoyed by man. The ruling class in a civil society imposes a civil duty on the public, thus resulting in uneven social distribution. Therefore, civil liberty results in social stagnation as there exist unequal power control between members of the ruling class and the public.

Brief 2: The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson (1776)

Rhetor: Thomas Jefferson

Credentials:

B.A Law from William and Mary College
Governor of Virginia (1779)
Vice President under John Adams administration (1797-1801)
Become the president of the United States serving two terms in office (1801-1809)

Presuppositions:

A firm believer in natural liberty and social equality.
Advocated for the abolition of slavery.

Audience: Jefferson’s statement got directed to the full house of the Second Continental Congress, including John Adams and Benjamin Franklin in 1776. It took the Continental Congress about two and a half days to scrutinize Jefferson’s statement.

Presuppositions:

Civil liberty infringes unalienable rights bestowed to men by their Creator.

Purpose: Jefferson’s statement was one of the most potent and beautiful equality and liberty testaments in world history (Jefferson, 2019). Jefferson’s idea was to bring an end towards exploitation of human by civil laws imposed by legislatures, but instead, they should champion for what suits their electorates.

Exigency: The document portrays the ideal American society characterized by natural rights to humanity, hence promoting equality among individuals. He goes ahead to point out that all men are equally created and that they are endowed certain unalienable rights by their Creator (Jefferson, 2019). Among such rights include liberty, the search for happiness, and life. The document then continues to enumerate grievances specific against King George III for absolving the loyal American colonies to the British Crown (Jefferson, 2019).

Reflection: Civil liberty prevents men from exercising their unalienable rights as endowed by their Creator. Civil liberty promotes the denial of rights to life, for instance, when an individual gets regarded as dangerous towards the wellbeing of others. The ideal American society, as stipulated in Jefferson’s document, maintains social equality as men get regarded as equal. Therefore, Jefferson’s document is a critical element for an ideal society since it helps to promote social equality and liberty.

References:

Jefferson, T. (2019). The Declaration of Independence. Verso Books.

Rousseau, J. (2018). The Origin of Civil Society. e-art now.