How Did John Locke Influence The Declaration Of Independence

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John Locke’s Influence on the Declaration of Independence The Enlightenment Era blessed the world with many influential and wise philosophers whose ideas are still taught and used today. An extremely significant philosopher was John Locke, who strongly believed in natural rights. Thus, the natural rights philosophy was born. Locke’s ideas, especially the natural rights philosophy, paved their way into many important documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, where a majority of his ideas are found. On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the first draft of the Declaration, was visibly impacted by the propositions put forth in the natural rights philosophy such as Locke’s idea of having individual rights, a limited government, and the right to revolution. Without the theories of John Locke and the revisions by Thomas …show more content…
According to the We the People, the philosophy states, “the people’s right to create whatever form to government they believe best suits their needs”(pg.17). Locke implies that it is within the rights of the people to rebel against a government that doesn’t fit their needs and protect their rights properly. This right is reflected in the Declaration of Independence, it states “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 a new Government”(Declaration of Independence). This implies Thomas Jefferson has substantially influenced by John Locke, however he modified the right to revolution. He expressed that the people were able to either correct what they believe is wrong with government, or they can completely abandon the system and start over. On terms of the right to revolution, John Locke’s idea was more physical and violent, while on the other hand, Thomas Jefferson proposed a more rational approach since the time period was more modernized at the
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