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How Did Thomas Paine Influence The Declaration Of Independence

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Since ancient history, philosophers and political theorists have greatly influenced the structures of government and the overall beliefs of the people with their ideas. This was no different with the American Colonies during the 18th century. Philosophers like John Locke and Thomas Paine made the colonists question their political ties to the Crown when the British parliament put unfair measures over the colonies like the Tea Act and the Intolerable Acts. This eventually led them to break those ties and earn their independence by fighting the American Revolutionary War. The Thirteen Colonies strove towards independence because of its influence from historical philosophers and its unique location and circumstance. One of the biggest activists …show more content…

In the second paragraph, it states “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” (Declaration). This is taken almost right out of John Locke’s The Second Treatise on Government. He states that even in nature, man is “equal and independent” (Locke). Also, Locke says that everyone has natural rights which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He was obviously a huge influence on Thomas Jefferson when writing the Declaration of Independence. In fact, the next line says that “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government” (Declaration). This was also an important idea that made up Locke’s philosophy on government. Locke stated that any form of government which started to not function for the benefit of the people was a tyranny. It is the people’s “right to resume their original liberty, and, by the establishment of a new legislative, (such as they shall think fit) provide for their own safety and security” (Locke). This is parallel to the colonies’ situation. Britain was putting unfair taxes and measures on the colonists, so it was their right and duty to overthrow the current system of government and create their own according to Locke. Even though John Locke’s ideology was one justification for the American Revolution, he was not the only historic philosopher to have influence on the Declaration of

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Everyone has the right to pursue the freedom and security in his life, no one could be restricted it. It is the much of the writing that the Thomas Pain wrote about. The freedom and security which is very important in a people’s life. Then the “The Declaration of Independence” is based on his writing. Which

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Specifically, Locke’s ideas from his Two Treatises of Government heavily influenced Thomas Jefferson’s rationale for the propriety of America’s separation from England by expressing a great deal in the right to change the government, human rights trust and strong legislative.

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One of the biggest influences that John Locke had on President Jefferson was, what John Locke dubbed, “Natural Rights,” and what Jefferson called, “Unalienable Rights.” Meaning practically the same thing, these rights were very similar, and it is obvious that Jefferson’s version derives from Locke’s ‘Natural Rights.’ John Locke’s version stated that all peoples shall possess the following rights: Life, Liberty, and Property. In this case, life means, that people people will fight to live and want to survive. Liberty refers to being free, and being able to make one’s own decision.

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Notable figures involved with the Revolution harbored the concepts of the philosophes and instilled thoughts of liberation into the colonies. John Locke, an English philosopher, reflected on these ideals in Two Treatises on Government writing, “…whenever government tries to take away and destroy the property of the people or reduce the people to slavery, it puts itself in a state of war with the people,” (Document 1). Locke promoted individual thinking in the government that would later set the foundation of modern democracy in America. He did not favor the way government prevented popular sovereignty and believed that doing so would only lead to unrest with the general public, which was the case with Britain’s relationship with the colonists. Another figure originally from England, Thomas Paine, strived to convince Americans to separate from British oppression in The American Crisis.

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Thomas Paine was one of the best known political philosopher and pamphleteer back during the 18th century. “Common Sense” was the first published pamphlet that proclaimed the independence of America and one of his most famous piece of work. How did Thomas Paine influence the declaration of independence by writing “Common Sense”? “Common Sense” convinced a great amount of moderates to become patriots, additionally, some loyalist were persuaded by his writing. Also, he was able to express his feelings and wrote in a way that people commonly spoke.

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The American Revolution was a conflict fought between the American colonists and the British. The colonists were unhappy with what they perceived as a violation of their rights by the British. In events leading up to the American Revolution, the British were heavily taxing the colonists as well as neglecting them in terms of their demands and passing laws that were seemingly oppressive. The colonists who supported England were referred to as Loyalists whereas those who sought independence were known as Patriots. Between the years 1763 and 1783, the views on American independence were extremely complex as they varied depending on the time period, their religion, and where they were located.

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Locke wants people to stand up for the rights that they deserved. Jefferson wanted to create a government contract for the people, which would allow for them to become an independent nation. Locke’s declaration creates revolts and made the American people start thinking about what they wanted for themselves. His declaration caused damage to the great nation until Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence which united the people.

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Religion aside, the colonial's fought the revolution against King George, who imposed heavy taxes against the Colonials. America wanting to be free of imperial rule drafted the Declaration of Independence, which the document is a justification for the revolution, stating the need to be accepted as an independent nation. Thomas Jefferson opened the document with "The laws of nature and of God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires" This short excerpt emulates the ideals of John Locke and his views of natural

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Common Sense was an important stepping stone towards independence. Thomas Paine was a person who advocated and supported egalitarian principles. He believed that all people are equal and deserved equal rights and opportunities. Thomas goal was to influence to people in the Thirteen Colonies to stand for independence from Great Britain. The thirteen colonies were a group of British colonies on the east coast of North America.

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John Locke was all about the natural rights theory, these rights are given to us without a doubt because we are human, the government does not control these, and Jefferson became tired of fighting for his natural rights from Great Britain. Britain did not give America the same rights as they did their own citizens which is not right since the two where both under the same rule. So, Thomas Jefferson was done with putting up with this, because he believed that Americans had. What Locke meant by this and what Jefferson was trying to get across to Great Britain through the Declaration was that it is a person's right to declare their god given or natural rights and. Jefferson did just that he incorporated this view of Locke’s to justify his ideas

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During the years 1763 to 1783, the newly established American colonies found themselves in a situation where disagreements were becoming more common. This took place right after the French and Indian War and the nation had a prodigious amount of debt to pay. In addition, Great Britain started to place countless taxes and restrictions on the American colonists to help raise money to support the economy. This unfair treatment really angered some colonists which led to a disruption of order and rebellion in certain colonies. In order to suppress this chaos, the Continental Congress met and created the Declaration of Independence.

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Locke’s ideas from the Two Treatises of Government and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, were based upon the natural rights where power comes from the people. Both of his pieces contributed to revolutions, most importantly the American Revolution as power from monarchies was removed and democracies were created. Allowed for limited government power and all obligations were to the citizens. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding basis was on how the knowledge existence of God, certain moral truths, and laws of logic or mathematics pertained to the natural rights of

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The Declaration of Independence states: “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." The Declaration of Independence is a written version of our rights as humans in America. It is saying that every person is equal, with equal opportunities. The people are given rights at birth that can not be taken away. The document gives all the “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as basic human rights.

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The Declaration of Independence states, “--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”. In the article Why Government, it states, “But Locke also believed that governments should protect people’s natural rights.” Both of these quotes show that the purpose for creating government, is so that the protection of the natural rights of the people is ensured. Also, the idea that these fair powers are just what Men (human beings) are receiving and what they should receive from the creation of governments. Both of these quotes combine with each other, because of the pinpointed idea of how the government was created in order to benefit to the natural rights of the people, and to protect these

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Locke is a founder of the Common Sense pamphlet. He believed in government ruled by people. “He expressed the radical view that government is morally obliged to serve people, namely by protecting life, liberty, and property. He explained the principle of checks and balances to limit government power. He favored representative government and a rule of law.

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