Asked by ruth
What was the single most important influence on Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence?
Responses
John Locke's Second Treatise on Government
John Locke's Second Treatise on Government
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract
Voltaire's Candide
Voltaire's Candide
Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan
All Answers 1
Answered by
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John Locke's Second Treatise on Government.
Locke's ideas — natural rights, government by consent, the social contract, and the right to alter or abolish oppressive government — are the direct intellectual sources for Jefferson's language (e.g., "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness") and structure of the Declaration.
Locke's ideas — natural rights, government by consent, the social contract, and the right to alter or abolish oppressive government — are the direct intellectual sources for Jefferson's language (e.g., "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness") and structure of the Declaration.
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