The Declaration of Independence, created in 1776, is an excellent example of the reasoning approach used by the people of that age. The Declaration of Independence follows a strict structure, introducing the area of concern and developing the creators’ arguments. As such, “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations […] To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world” (Jefferson). To ensure the necessity of the Declaration, the authors explain that they have “Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury” (Jefferson). The King’s unlawful behavior is the strongest argument presented to logically support the assumption that the people’s natural rights were violated.
In addition to the Declaration, Abigail Adams’ Letter to John Adams also demonstrates how a fair-minded strategy might be used to support one’s reasoning. Written in a more poetic manner, Adams’ work perfectly summarizes the situation surrounding her, discussing the authorities’ neglect: “The Eyes of our Rulers have been closed and a Lethargy has seized almost every Member”(Adams). To substantiate her thoughts, Adams masterfully introduces citations from other reputable sources, providing additional support to her claims (Adams). For instance, she quotes: “Tis a Maxim of state That power and Liberty are like Heat and moisture; where they are well mixed every thing prospers, where they are single, they are destructive.” These citations strengthen the writer’s message and illustrate that scholarly ideas were of significant importance during the Age of Reason.
However, an example of the contradiction between sound reasoning and superstition can be found in Stephen Vincent Benét’s We Aren’t Superstitious, a work explaining the witch hysteria in Salem. Benet perfectly exemplifies the irony of the Salem events: “Susanna Martin’s only witchcraft seems to have been that she was an unusually tidy woman and had once walked a muddy road without getting her dress bedraggled” (Benét 49). Another instance is the woman who was the primary source of voodoo and ghost stories: “To Boston Jail with her [Tituba]—but she had saved her neck” (Benét 49). Tituba was never hanged despite her excessive knowledge of witchcraft-related themes and was later sold by the Colony.
Works Cited
Adams, Abigail. Letter to John Adams. Personal correspondence, 1776.
Benét, Stephen Vincent. “How a Few Hysterical Women Incited the Folk of Salem to a Frantic Lust for Blood”. Esquire, 1937, p. 46.
Jefferson, Thomas. Declaration of Independence. 1776.