The Rights of the Colonists

Parallelism is the presentation of different pieces of content in the same format or structure. Adams’s text consists of three sections that in turn discuss the rights of the colonists as men, Christians, and British subjects. Although the sections are not of equal length, dividing the essay into segments allows Adams to make a multi-part appeal that defines the essential rights and liberties of the colonists. This format both organizes the essay into digestible segments and makes it possible for Adams to reiterate essential points in multiple contexts, thus repeating (a common device in argumentative and persuasive essays) key themes and ideas. Adams roots the notions of rights in different elements of the colonists’ identities, including their religion, nationality, and basic humanity. A refutation of the rights of the colonists would have to address each of these categories and the various pieces of evidence mentioned within them, such as foundational British political documents and widely accepted Enlightenment principles. 

An essential image that Adams uses is slavery. The image is consistent across revolutionary documents of this era and notable for its irony. Owning slaves was legal in some colonies before and after they claimed independence from Britain, yet colonists used the image to communicate their own “bondage” under the British Crown.