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.
Thomas Paine, the author of Common Sense, a 79-page pamphlet, grasped the attention of many and later influenced
Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence. Paine’s own common sense and hard life greatly influenced his writing of Common Sense. With consideration of the people in mind, Paine wrote it simply, as well as boldly, so that the common person could understand it. Paine wrote Common Sense because he believed that the colonists had outgrown the need of English domination and that they should be allowed their independence. “We have it in our power to begin the world over again” (Paine). This meant that America was going through a new revolution, that they should kick things off right from the start, and that from the beginning, freedom formed the essence of American nationalism. So, in this sense, Thomas Paine left an impact that changed public opinion in favor of independence.
John Locke, the author of the First and Second Treatises of Government, expressed his view of the government and the people. Locke explained how the government should properly support its people in a way that protects their “life, liberty, and property” (Locke). He explained how a system of checks and balances would limit the government’s power. Locke was most definitely in favor of a representative government and rule of law. He publicly declared that tyranny was wrong.
Tyranny is the exercise of power beyond right, which nobody can have a right to. And this is making use of the power any one has in his hands, not for the good of those who are under it, but for his own private, separate advantage.When the governor, however entitled, makes not the law, but his will, the rule; and his commands and actions are not directed to the preservation of the properties of his people, but the satisfaction of his own ambition, revenge, covetousness, or any other irregular passion. (Locke)
According to Locke, the government should not be able to make any decisions without the consent of the governed. Locke supported rebellion if a government were to violate any individual rights. John Locke influenced the idea of self-government more than any other leader of his time.
The Declaration of Independence was a document that was written by Thomas Jefferson, and reflected the ideas of Thomas Paine and John Locke.
One such thing that was similar to the works of Thomas Paine and John Locke would be the line that 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….That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” (Jefferson). Jefferson’s line relating to the equality of all men was taken from Locke’s idea that no person should have authority over another because all men are created equal. “The state of nature is also a state of equality. No one has more power or authority than another. Since all human beings have the same advantages and the use of the same skills, they should be equal to each other” (Locke). Additionally, Jefferson develops his ideas of “unalienable rights,” again, from John Locke’s “Two Treatises of Government.” Locke states that, “The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it. Reason is the law. It teaches that all men are equal and independent, and that no one ought to harm another in his life, liberty, or possessions” (Locke). Jefferson takes his statement about life, liberty, and possessions, and forms what he calls the “unalienable rights” to life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.
Finally, the last major idea addressed from the Declaration is that, “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” (Jefferson).
These are the aspects of Thomas Paine’s and John Locke’s work that influenced Thomas Jefferson in his writing of the Declaration of Independence. Without Paine and Locke, our nation would probably not have developed as well as it has done since the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Works Cited
Jefferson, Thomas. “Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention,
1774-1789.” The Library of Congress: American Memory. The Library of Congress, n.d.
Web. 24 Feb 2014.
Locke, John. “John Locke: Two Treatises of Government (1690).” La Costa Canyon High School
Social Sciences Department. La Costa Canyon High School, n.d. Web. 24 Feb 2014.
Paine, Thomas. “Common Sense By Thomas Paine.” ushistory.org. Independence
Hall Association, 2011. Web. 24 Feb 2014.