The Declaration of Independence, is one of Americas most treasured and revolutionary documents ever written, holds America as a great nation. It is documents like this that have shaped the nation. The foundation of America has been modeled by these documents and their authors, they have provided both revolution and resolution and serves as the philosophy and principles of the United States of America. However, Bruce Silver and Nancy Stanlick take on a different approach, suggesting that although these documents and authors have indeed provided the foundation to American Philosophies, the originality was not quite there, and thus cross fertilization between the ideas of others before them arguing that America looked at England first for inspiration.…show more content… Thomas Paine is the author of a revolutionary pamphlet Common Sense in where he proposes the United States be granted freedom from the English, setting up a political revolution. According to Silver and Stanlick (2004). “Common Sense inflamed further the passions of the radicals and helped move moderates and fence sitters to favor independence over compromise” (Silver and Stanlick. P.38). Thomas Paine pleaded his case for the American Revolution. Thereafter comes Thomas Jefferson who was also an American president, is well known for being the writer of the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of independence includes all the basic fundamental ideas that make up this nation, one of the most known quotes from the Declaration of Independence…show more content… His language is similar to Locke’s Rational over moral sense. The authors stated that a call for independence and the philosophy that supports it are indebted to philosophers thoroughly at home in England, the nation of America’s oppressors (P.46). Moving on to John Adams, the second president of the United States. Adams had a dilemma, he wanted a republic but he had too much knowledge of republics fragility thus bringing about an equilibrium that made up his philosophy. “In this instance, argued Adams, there was a virtue in imitation; the English constitution was ‘the result of the most mature deliberation on universal history and philosophy). (P.54) Lastly, the final founding father that Silver and Stanlick focus on is James Madison. Here they examine The Federalist Papers, which in series of eighty-five essays describe how the new government would operate and explaining why it was the right choice. (P.54) Although there were other authors to this, Madison’s contributions made him stand out with his arguments. According to Silver and Stainlick, his contribution helped as a “cornerstone in an expansive republic that had no precedence anywhere else in the
