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John Locke's Influence On The Declaration Of Independence

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Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) had studied political science and had read Locke's Two Treatises on Civil Government while he was in college. He was very impressed with the ideas of John Locke, especially with the idea that no government could exist without the approval of the people. Jefferson also believed that if a government treated its citizens unfairly, the citizens could break away and form a new government.

In the summer of 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. He used many of the ideas and even some of the exact words of John Locke in this work. This Declaration was the foundation of the new nation that was to be called the United States of America.

The ideas of Locke were very influential because the frontier of the American colonies must have seemed very much like the state of nature that Western political thinking had described. Some of the early colonists, such as the Pilgrims in 1620, made compacts or contracts with each other. These compacts were much like those in the state of nature described by both Locke and Hobbes. The Declaration of Independence is a compact between the people of the colonies. People believed that they were living without government, almost in a state of nature. …show more content…

The first two paragraphs are called the preamble and contain most of the political thoughts that you have studied in this unit. The remainder, or body, of the Declaration lists the specific actions of King George that the colonists thought were

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1. The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. The purpose of the declaration was to separate the colonies from Great Britain and to give reason for this severance. The preamble gives the reasons why they must separate themselves and why they cannot tolerate a foreign ruler. Jefferson wrote his first draft of the declaration, and when he showed it to Congress there was an intensive revision process totaling 86 changes, these changes must have been made extremely precisely when you think of the severity of this text.

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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.

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The Declaration of Independence is a letter to King George III of Great Britain from the American Colonists who are upset of their poor treatment. The Colonists develop their claims by listing what the King has done unfairly, then explain their previous attempts to petition. Their Purpose is to separate the United Colonies from the British Crown in order to live a better life that is not dictated by one man. They establish the righteousness of their beliefs and their want to leave. The Colonists empathise pathos by repeating the same phrase “He is…”.

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John Locke believed this as well, that the citizens should be able to change the government if needed. However, this also showed what Thomas Jefferson was going through. He was not only founding a government, but he was rebelling against one. He disliked the idea of monarchy, and giving total control to the government. This further shows that John Locke had an influence on Pres.

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The Declaration of Independence is America’s political tradition founding document. It expresses the underlying ideas that form the nation of American, that is, all men are created equal and free and hold the same inborn, natural rights. Therefore lawful governments must be based on the approval of the governed and must secure their rights. The Declaration of Independence notified the world of the unanimous decision of the 13 American colonies to detach from Great Britain.

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Thomas Jefferson wrote this document that the declared the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were no longer under British rules. The colonies became independent states. Their purpose was to create an ideological nation because in an ideological nation the people and the government are hold together by a set of ideas. The solution that the Declaration of independence declared that all people have inalienable rights, requiring life, liberty, and

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The Declaration of Independence and the colonists were influenced by many philosophers in multiple ways. The king also influenced the colonists yet he didn’t have any speech close to speak the mind of the colonists such as the philosophers did. The words that were presented on paper from just a person’s thoughts sent a lot of messages in the 1700’s. Multiple of these thoughts on paper mostly had an effect on opinions. Thomas Hobbes, a philosopher known for his original perspective on the world, was one of the few who impacted the colonists.

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• Thomas used Aristotle’s view of natural law to justify the authority of the Roman Catholic Church in political as well as religious matters. For the purpose of explaining the fundamental reasons of law he used Aristotle’s philosophy and added the use of an eternal ruler. John Locke • John Locke had a distinct influence on the writers of the American Constitution by advocating for human rights and liberty through democracy. In saying so, he believed that the mass majority of ordinary people can be capable of giving consent to their governor/ruler as opposed to the Monarch government. However if the ruler did not comply with the needs of the people, Locke believed that the public had the justified right to rebel.

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How did the declaration of independence get influenced by ideas during the Enlightenment? The declaration of independence could not have been done without John Locke. The Enlightenment period was a time where people questioned their rights and this led to philosophers questioning their government and their rights as a person. John Locke was one of the most famous philosophers during the Enlightenment period and believed in an idea known as “state of nature” which meant everyone was born with life, liberty, and property. John Locke wrote a book called “The Second Treatise of Government” in which he talks about natural rights and mentions, “Men agree to enter into society to preserve (keep) their natural rights to life.”

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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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Declaration of Independence Precis Thomas Jefferson in his historical document, The Declaration of Independence (1776), asserts that the colonies should break free from Britain’s tyranny. Jefferson supports his assertion through the use of anaphora, parallel structure, imagery, emotional appeal to patriotism, and logical appeal to the colonist’s basic rights. Jefferson’s purpose is to advocate for the separation of Britain and the colonies in order to escape the British tyranny that King George imposes on the American colonists. Jefferson writes in a measured tone for the British parliament, King George, and for colonists who have been a victim of Britain’s oppression.

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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.

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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.

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