Preview

How Did John Locke's Social Contract Influence The Declaration Of Independence

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
546 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Did John Locke's Social Contract Influence The Declaration Of Independence
How did ideas of Locke's Social Contract influence the Declaration of Independence? John Locke’s ideas influenced the writing of the Declaration of Independence by the discussion of equal rights, purpose of the government, and what the people should do to an abusive government. Both in the Declaration of Independence and in the Social Contract John Locke, they list that men should have equal rights. Also they both state the purpose of having a government. Lastly, they say what the people should do if the government does not protect these rights. In the Social Contract by John Locke and in the Declaration of Independence they state that men have rights. In the Social Contract it says “Men have rights by their nature… We give up our
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    AP Government study guide
    • 2262 Words
    • 10 Pages

    AP Government study guide

    b. The ideas of American philosopher, John Locke, greatly influenced the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Locke believed that it was the responsibility go the…

    • 2262 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did John Locke Contribute To The Declaration Of Independence
    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Did John Locke Contribute To The Declaration Of Independence

    Many ideas in the Declaration of Independence were derived from the work of John Locke. John Locke was a 17th century writer who made many important contributions to modern political philosophy. He wrote the Second Treatise of Civil Government, a book that reflected Locke’s ideas of the State of Nature and how government should be run. Thomas Jefferson was an 18th century American politician and writer who drafted the Declaration of Independence. John Locke’s views formed the philosophical basis of the Declaration of Independence because John Locke’s views brought up the idea of inalienable rights of life, liberty, and property and that the social contract is impermanent.…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Formal Amendment Process Pros And Cons
    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Formal Amendment Process Pros And Cons

    1. Locke claimed that men are naturally free and equal as part of the justification his view on political government. the result? " A social contract where people in the state of nature can conditionally transfer some of their rights to the government, this is in order to better ensure the stable, enjoyment of their lives, liberty, and right to own property."(Schmidt…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing Thomas Jefferson And The Declaration Of Independence
    • 119 Words
    • 1 Page

    Comparing Thomas Jefferson And The Declaration Of Independence

    Thomas Jefferson’s writings and The Declaration of Independence are similar to the Federalist papers written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist papers reflect the same American themes that Thomas Jefferson wrote about like all men have inalienable rights. McMichael states, “The arguments reflect, as does the Constitution itself, the ideas of John Locke and the concepts of ‘social contract’ and of the natural rights of man” (McMichael 355). The arguments in the Federalist papers have themes like the natural rights of man from John Locke. The natural rights of man are life, liberty, and property, and these are like Thomas Jefferson’s inalienable rights (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) in The Declaration…

    • 119 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Locke's Influence On Society And Government
    • 66 Words
    • 1 Page

    John Locke's Influence On Society And Government

    In the midst of the Enlightenment Age, a time when philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke were forming new ideas of society and government, a war had started between Britain and its American colonies. The colonists claimed their government was failing to provide for its citizens, sharing Locke’s views of the natural rights of men that a government was meant to…

    • 66 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Locke's Influence On The Declaration Of Independence
    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Locke's Influence On The Declaration Of Independence

    In This essay I will be explaining Locke's point of view on the influence he had on the Declaration of independence.…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Enlightenment Philosophers Dbq
    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Enlightenment Philosophers Dbq

    John Locke's main idea during the Enlightenment was having natural rights for human equality but especially men. Furthermore, textual evidence I have found to support my thesis is in document A it says “ we must consider what state all men are naturally in and that is a state of perfect freedom to…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did Thomas Paine Influence The Declaration Of Independence
    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Did Thomas Paine Influence The Declaration Of Independence

    Thomas Jefferson may have written the Declaration of Independence, but he could not have accomplished such a feat without the help of Thomas Paine and John Locke. Both Locke and Paine were some of the most influential men in the early years of American history. Paine wrote Common Sense, a pamphlet that challenged the rule of the American colonies by England. Locke wrote “Two Treatises of Government.” The second treatise was the most influential to the Declaration and it is focused on the Theory of Civil Society. These are the men that gave early American colonists the drive to independence and made America what it is today.…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Locke's Social Contract
    • 130 Words
    • 1 Page

    John Locke's Social Contract

    The Main Thing Is That The People Wanted To Practice There Religion And The King Wanted To Have Everything Saying Screw The Tea Party They Wanted To Be Free And King Didnt Let Them To That. And The Social Contract Yes. John Locke‘s famous treatise, Declaration of the Rights of Man, describes his philosophy of ‘life, liberty, and the right to own property‘. This concept led to the ideal of a social contract, where the ruler is subject to the will of his people. In context on the American Revolution, Locke provided a basis for the war advocates, who stated that as the King of England violated their social contract, so too should they be free from him. Locke‘s idea circles around and creates the central, unifying idea of…

    • 130 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Influence Of John Locke's Natural Rights Philosophy
    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Influence Of John Locke's Natural Rights Philosophy

    As stated in the Preamble, “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” (Preamble, Declaration of Independence). This proves that in the Declaration, they used the natural rights philosophy to simplify the idea that all men are equal and have equal rights. The Natural rights philosophy influences this statement because it derives almost exactly from Locke’s ideas and proves the connection between these two ideals and connected and…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Most Important Influence On The Declaration Of Independence
    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Most Important Influence On The Declaration Of Independence

    This is a document based essay about the most important influence on The Declaration of Independence. The most important influence was The Great Awakening because it was an emotion packed Christian movement that went through the colonies between the 1730s and the 1740s. The Great Awakening was a cry for individual’s rights and independence. It led the People to be able to break away from tyranny. The ideas from The Great Awakening are what led to The Declaration of Independence. These ideas are what make The Declaration of Independence such a strong document and are the heart of the document. They are like the hard drive to a computer. The Declaration of Independence states that everyone has equal rights and those rights are given by God.…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Natural Right and Utilitarianism
    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Natural Right and Utilitarianism

    Locke's concept of the social contract is to protect people's rights. According to Locke the contract is between the people and these branches of government that they set up. The reason government arises the social contract between people, is because that people want to live longer and better. The legitimacy of the government comes from the fact we consent to set up that authority and protect our natural rights. For example, if we designate a group of people as the executive power to enforce our law, in that case they will be part of the contract, and we contract them to do certain job since they are protected by the natural right. But if the executive power will abuse the system, by brutalize someone or be racist to them, then we will be able to remove them, and that's how rebellion and political change is built into Locke's system, which will be very important for a revolution.…

    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Declaration Of Independence Outline
    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Declaration Of Independence Outline

    The Declaration of Independence addresses natural rights of man as well as man’s consent to be governed.…

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Classical Liberalism Analysis
    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Classical Liberalism Analysis

    Locke pointed out only human being have natural liberty. Meaningly, he argued that tied on 'the bonds of civil society'. But there was a premise a community for their comfortable, maintenance of peace to each other, their right to protect the safe and property. Locke assumed people need an establishment of a civil society to resolve conflicts courteously from government in a state of society. His political 'social contract' theory became a cornerstone of the Declaration of Independent of America; it is a good example how theory influences society. Jane Nicoll discussed "The liberty granted within this contract in exchange for protection from the warring tendencies of…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Was The Declaration Of Independence Important
    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Why Was The Declaration Of Independence Important

    This nobody has the right to, but himself.” John Locke truly believes in the right to “life, liberty and property.” He believes that when someone violates the social contract, he now longer has these “natural rights.” Locke once said, “the Natural Liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the authority of man, but only to have the Law of Nature for his rule.” John may not have been completely correct in the eyes of everyone, but we are all born with our rights.…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics