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How did the enlightenment insire declaration of independence
How enlightenment thinking influenced the declaration of independence
How did the enlightenment insire declaration of independence
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It is understood that John Locke played a key role of influence on Thomas Jefferson. This influence can be seen through Jefferson’s writing on the nation’s founding document. This document is called the Declaration of Independence. John Locke, the English Enlightenment philosopher wrote his Two Treatises of Government to refute the belief that kings ruled by divine right and to support the Glorious Revolution of 1688 (Doc 1). This piece of political philosophy provided many explanations for the people’s rights and obligations to overthrow a corrupt government.
In the preamble Thomas Jefferson speaks about the laws of nature and how all men need to have equal rights, which is very similar to what John Locke wrote. This shown when Thomas Jefferson writes that “Nature and of Nature's god entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind.” A similar statement can be found in the Two Treatises of Governments in which it is written that “ The state of nature is also equality” . This shows that Thomas Jefferson took John Locke's idea and reworded it and put it in the Declaration of Independence. The evidence and explanation show that he took a big idea of John Locke's writing and put it in his own.
John Locke DBQ When reading the Declaration of Independence it is apparent that Thomas Jefferson drew inspiration from John Locke’s Two Treatises on Government. This inspiration is apparent from the way Jefferson drafted our nation’s founding document. John Locke’s Two Treatises on Government heavily influenced Thomas Jefferson’s rationale for the propriety of America’s separation from England.
The Declaration of Independence was inspired by John Locke’s ideas and Thomas Paine’s. Similarly, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizens was inspired by the Declaration of Independence. By proxy, this means they are both based on the ideas of John Locke and of Thomas Paine. The Declaration of Independence was the
Locke’s justification of revolt, based off of the theory of natural rights, was what gave Thomas Jefferson the background in writing The Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence from the declaration written by John
Influence of the Declaration of Independence on The Constitution The Declaration of Independence was written by the founding fathers (John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington) of America to disunify from the power of George III, the British king. While under the domination of Britain, America felt like their rights were being contravened. Using the grievances they endured from the king, America created a constitution that protected the rights they felt that they never had. Overall,The Declaration of Independence set a pavement for the Constitution. The Founding Fathers felt that the only way to correct the dereliction they felt they suffered from the king, was to
The founding fathers also took in Locke’s ideas of establishing a Democracy. Locke was fond of the United States for creating their own republic filled with independence and creating their own constitution. Locke is seen as one of the most influential philosophers to influence Thomas Jefferson’s statements in the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson took Locke’s words of, “life, liberty, and property” and changed the word “property” to
With John Locke’s ideas on how the government is legitimized and the natural rights individuals have and Adam Smith’s philosophy that focused on how to limit the power of the government and protect the rights citizens had with the economy. These ideas could be seen shaping the ideas of the well-known leader in the American Revolution name Thomas Jefferson who ended up constructing the Declaration of Independence. Within Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of independence, he included the ideas provided by both John Locke and Adam Smith. With both John Locke’s idea on natural rights and how the government is given legitimacy. The idea that people are born with certain rights and the government cannot give or take them away.
As a member, he was picked to draft the Declaration of Independence, a document that reflects John Locke’s ideas of government's obligation to protect the people's natural rights, with the help of Benjamin Franklin and others. Locke wrote that all men have a natural right to "life, liberty, and property", which Jefferson changed to "the pursuit of happiness" when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Locke also wrote that government is an instrument of the people's will, and the people had the right "to alter or abolish" unjust governments. This argument has been used by many revolutionaries, but Jefferson was one of the first to use Locke's ideas to justify revolution. The principle of popular sovereignty was also an important point in the Declaration.
Throughout the revolutions of the 18th century, the ideas of political philosophers manifested in some of the most pivotal moments of the time. Perspectives from political philosophers like John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Charles Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau largely affected the origins and outcomes of these renowned events, as their ideas reflected religious freedom, sovereign power, equality, and liberty. These influential ideas are displayed in important documents such as the US Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the French Declaration of The Rights of Man. The viewpoints of John Locke heavily influenced the American Revolution with his perspectives revolving around individual rights,
Since the existence of the United States, official documents have been created to protect the rights of the people. Each of these documents had been shaped by the thoughts and beliefs of prominent thinkers. For instance, English philosopher John Locke greatly influenced the American Revolution, which later led to ideologies conveyed in the Declaration of Independence. He strongly supported the concept that the government is morally obligated to protect the people and uphold their rights to life, liberty, and property. He also believed
The main idea of the Declaration of Independence was unalienable rights. The document states that some rights are not given to people they are born with them, these rights are called unalienable rights. In the document they do not state it directly they say “the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them”. The Declaration also created freedom of opinion. In the document it stated this “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind”.
John Locke was a philosopher and political scientist. He had many interests and produced a number of writings that influenced future leaders. One of these leaders was Thomas Jefferson, who was involved with the aid of America and the act gaining independence from Britain. The Declaration of Independence and Locke’s views on government contain many similar aspects. These ideas includes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (natural rights); the protection that is provided by the government for these rights; and the altering or abolishment of government if it fails to provide and protect the rights of the people.
Locke lived during the enlightenment period and contributed to political policy. So much so his works were foundational to the Declaration of Independence. Locke considered equilibriums of society and believed that certain fundamental rights and a balance of the rights would be the first step to a better society. The natural rights included life, liberty, and property. But most important of all the natural rights was the right to defend these rights if these rights are infringed upon.
This document was written by many intelligent thinkers because they knew what they needed to add into the document so that the colonists would agree to be separated from the British and steer their way to freedom. The Declaration stated that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” this quote shows that the writers of this document knew what the colonists wanted because this one sentence is remembered and has been taught for decades (Thomas Jefferson). The Declaration of Independence had an influence that was connected to the American Revolution through the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was said to be the inspiration “which inspired the American Revolution and French Revolution;” the Enlightenment writings showed impact on the American Revolution because after this war the fighters went back to their Enlightenment ways and supported the rights of the people (“Enlightenment”).
