Cosway, for many of the revolutionaries independence was, at bottom, an emotional or sentimental--issue. But the emotional pitch of the war grievances was also part of a rhetorical strategy designed to solidify support for independence in those parts of America that had yet to suffer the physical and economic hardships of war. As late as May 1776 John Adams lamented that while independence had strong support in New England and the South, it was less secure in the middle colonies, which "have never tasted the bitter Cup; they have never Smarted--and are therefore a little cooler.

(12)The Persistent use of “he”and “them”, “us” “our”, “we”and “they”personalize the British-American conflict and transfigures it from a complex struggle of multifarious origins and diverse motives to a simple moral drama in which a patiently suffering people courageously defend their liberty against a cruel and vicious tyrant. It also reduces the psychic distance between the reader and the text and coaxes the reader into seeing the dispute with Great Britain through the eyes of the revolutionaries. As the drama of the Declaration unfolds, the reader is increasingly solicited to identify with Congress and "the good People of these Colonies," to participate vicariously in their struggle, and ultimately to act with them in their heroic quest for freedom.In this respect,as in others,the declaration is a work of consummate artistry.from its eloquent introduction to its aphoristic