Which of the following is true about how Thomas Jefferson uses social contract in the Declaration of Independence?

Question

People can and should overthrow the government when it violates the social contract.

Everyone is equal, including Indigenous Peoples and enslaved Africans.

People have the option to overthrow a government that violates the social contract, but this shouldn't be done in most cases.

Governments are allowed to violate people's life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

Answer 1

The statement that is true about how Thomas Jefferson uses the social contract in the Declaration of Independence is:

People can and should overthrow the government when it violates the social contract.

In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson articulates the idea that when a government fails to protect the rights of the people or acts against their interests, it is the right of those people to alter or abolish that government. This notion is foundational to the concept of the social contract, which asserts that governmental authority is derived from the consent of the governed.