How did the ideas of John Locke shape Americans' search for principles in the period leading up to the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War?
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ArsenicAndOldLace
ANSWERS: 2
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John Locke's Two Treatises talk about "natural rights" of life, liberty and property. He wrote of the social contract between a government and those being governed. Jefferson was undoubtably familiar with Locke's writings. It clearly greatly influenced the thrust and wording of the Declaration of Independence (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness [the last words being Jefferson's extrapolation]) and the justification for breaking away from Britain. The idea that George III had broken the social contract allowing him to rule the colonies - and therefore justify a revloution - was based upon Locke's writings.
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Not only did John Locke's writing affect Jefferson, but they also had an effect on the thinking and wrting of Thomas Paine. In turn, Paine's Common Sense, had a huge effect in stiffening the resolve of the colonists in fighting for independence from Britain.
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