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Compare And Contrast Jefferson And Declaration Of Independence

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Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin will forever be remembered as great men of stature and character. The similarities of these two brings them in the same conversation continuously when discussing history. Luckily for America, these men graced us with their presence on earth during the same time. Imagine without these two together, how different the Constitution or Declaration of Independence might be. This essay will compare and contrast Thomas Jefferson, the third President of this great nation and a fellow Founding Father Benjamin Franklin by discussing their views on deism, self-reliance and standards of character; all setting the standard for people in America as written by these two Founding Fathers during their time on earth and …show more content…

The very essence of the Enlightenment Era was to test reason into each notion and each traditional assumption of ancestors. Once reason was applied to revelation Jefferson and Franklin began to follow deism. Deism is defined as the belief in a supreme being, who remains unknowable and untouchable. God is viewed as merely the creator of that is life and the principal of rationality in the universe (allaboutphilosophy.org). Jefferson and Franklin had their interest perked by the writings of earlier generations who believed the world moves forward without God’s supervision as a self-operating and self-explanatory organism (allaboutphilosophy.org). “The laws of life reveal themselves through the light of reason and nature” as believed by Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. “Reliance on the power of reasoning exchanges faith for human logic (Johnson)”. Franklin and Jefferson spent much of their later years on earth explaining that reason builds the most successful future for America and declares the character standard for successful happiness of each individual …show more content…

Franklin declared that hard work and sacrifice was the corner stone in the “American way.” This promotion of self-reliance paved the way for generations from all over world to come to America and pursue their happiness. Thomas Jefferson endorsed John Locke’s phrase which was also promoted by Franklin in the idea of the “pursuit of property.” While assisting in drafting the Declaration of Independence Jefferson changed the quote to “The pursuit of happiness,” becoming the most famous phrase in the Declaration of Independence (Hamilton). To this day in 2018, people of Iraq can quote America’s phrase from the Declaration of Independence “The pursuit of happiness.” Immigrants from all over the world migrate to American in the search of a true and honest life in search of liberty and the pursuit of

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