In the early beginnings of our country, there was much controversy over the land that our forefathers claimed for their own. In the eyes of the settlers, they were the first to discover the land, so it was theirs to claim. The colonies had grown and developed independently of Great Britain, the citizens of the newly discovered land believed that because of " the laws of nature and of nature's god entitle them," (Dec. of Independence.), they should declare independence. The greatest minds of the time wrote up a document that would become one of the most famous documents in the history of the United States. After its creation, America began to expand west into unexplored territory that was inhabited by the Native Americans. In response to the intrusions of the Native American lands, the Cherokee Council created a document that stated the grievances of the Cherokee Nation publicly. The Cherokee Nation wanted the government of the United States to know that the Native American People were being violated by the U. S. expansion into the west. Both the Declaration of Independence and the Cherokee Memorials have similarities as well as differences that help each document express its purpose. The documents use stylistic devices such as tone, diction, and detail to convey their purposes to the audiences. .
Tone describes the channel of how a speech, or document is communicated to its intended audience. Using the appropriate tone is crucial in getting the purpose across to the desired audience. In both the Declaration of Independence and the Cherokee Memorials, the difference of tone is apparent in the meaning of each documents. In the case of the Declaration of Independence, the tone is confident, yet abused in describing its list of grievances; unlike the Cherokee Memorials, which is proud, yet humbled in describing its list of grievances. The writers of the Declaration of Independence feel as though they are absolutely just in declaring independence from Great Britain.
