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How Did Thomas Jefferson Influence The Declaration Of Independence

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Thomas Jefferson's influences in writing the Declaration of Independence.
Abstract:
Continental Congress adopted a statement which claimed that 13 colonies are sovereign states under a name United States of America that is no longer the part of the British Empire. This statement/document is known as the ‘Declaration of Independence’, the ideology of which is influenced by the thinkers of Enlightenment Era especially John Locke and Rousseau. The philosophy of equality, fraternity, liberty, governance based on social contract and religious freedom are the core of United Sates Declaration of Independence. The credit goes to Jefferson who merged the philosophies in such a way that this very document was idealized by other colonized countries to …show more content…

He was appointed to a committee to come up with a statement in favor of independence. The Congress appointed John Adams, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston and Thomas Jefferson the most renowned member. Jefferson was not a commanded speaker but a prolific writer. Ultimately the committee chose Jefferson to draft the declaration; a prestigious document in the history of United States which is known as ‘Declaration of Independence’. Jefferson changed one thirds of his words and took two and half weeks for the final draft. His work brought together and harmonized a variety of opinions of the then famous philosophers and …show more content…

Jefferson believed people have natural rights which shows that John Locke had a great influence on him. The writings of Jefferson was not plagiarized but they had a tinge of Lockean philosophy. Jefferson was of the view that government is for all and it should benefit everyone not just the rulers. He had borrowed the idea of government as our natural right from Thomas Paine. Furthermore, the phrase ‘pursuit of happiness’ (Landau) expresses he had influence of writings of George Mason particularly that of Virginia’s Declaration of Rights.
Thomas Jefferson once said that he didn’t consider writing declaration a duty on him by merely inventing new ideas but to spread common sense on the subject to mankind. His words on ‘Life, Liberty and pursuit of happiness’ articulates that he had borrowed his ideas from the thinkers of enlightenment era. Jefferson’s words against slavery made Congress to have in-depth debate and due to the complexity of slavery issue the language against slavery was taken out from the Declaration of

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Jefferson 's contributions to the develpoment of democracy in the United States was unmatched by anyone. He wrote the document the founded our nations freedom and independence. " He was one of the two or three key philosophical thinkers of his time that laid the ideological foundation of America"(Jacobson). His ideas and philosophies are what shaped our country into what it is today. He was also a large supporter of the spread of knowledge. "

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Thomas Jefferson, the newly named chief draftsman, wrote the highly famous Declaration of Independence in 1776. The enlightened ideas and statements he used in the document were nothing close to new, adapting John Locke's classic theme of government, along with the doctrine of natural rights. Though Jefferson's message was far from original, the way he eloquently described the right to independence as if it was a novel near its final draft, drew in readers. Yes, his way of speaking was splendid beyond words but what seems most impressive was his capability to criticize the king not once, not twice, but twenty-eight beautiful times, each more marvelous and inspiring than the last. His final insult tied the long list together magnificently, "A

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When comparing documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists, one must consider the dates on which they were drafted upon along with the current state of American government. These two points are necessary when determining the reasoning behind why each document was drafted. The Declaration of Independence was the first of these three documents to be written and was used to establish that the citizens of the United States of America were free from the rule of Great Britain. The second of these documents to be written was the U.S. Constitution. Many of the articles in the Constitution derived from the ideas of basic human rights that Thomas Jefferson expressed should

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Jefferson was a Founding Father of the United States of America, and did participate in the writing of the Declaration of Independence. This was influential for the US because the Declaration of Independence made America a separate country for all of it’s inhabitants. Also, Jefferson hosted a strong government.

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