Question

Throughout the Declaration of Independence, the authors repeat the word usurpation, which means “to seize something without right.” Based on the context of the document, analyze the meaning of the word and its possible connotations, or additional non-dictionary meanings that this word might imply. Why do you think the authors of the Declaration chose to repeat this specific word in the text?

Answer 1

In the Declaration of the Independence, the word usurpation is used to imply “the unlawful suppression or denial of citizens' rights.” It might have also been used to imply oppression, exploitation, injustice, confiscation, torment, persecution, coercion, intimidation, etc. The authors of the Declaration chose to repeat the word to emphasize the point that the impositions of the King on the colonists were both abusive and unlawful.

Answer 2

They chose that word because it implies that the colonies never actually belonged to the king but rather to the people. The king is a usurper, meaning that his claim over the colonies is without any right. By repeating it often it sort of becomes ingrained in the reader and the reader adopts this when analyzing and talking about the declaration and the war of independence.