Declaration of Independence and Rights

Brace Thompson

002/10/003

The Declaration of Independence and The Declaration of the Rights of Man were both influential and understandable to the New England society. The Enlightenment started the ideas written down in these documents,

beginning in the 1600’s. The Enlightenment was caused by the ideas of many men in the Scientific Revolution. Thinking logically was the key to a new way of life. There were so many men who first influenced this change of thinking, and of interpreting society: Bacon, Descartes, and Copernicus were a few of the many to contribute. John Locke was the most influential on the Enlightenment by bringing the ideas that people were born with a clean slate, and that people had the right to life, liberty and property. Locke and others were the start of the change in everybody’s life in America and should be recognized, not just Thomas Jefferson.

The philosophes of the Enlightenment were made up of men who used their senses and did not just get brainwashed by the church; they used logic and observed human life style and put it all together. John Locke was one of the most logical men in the Enlightenment because he looked at the people and realized that they are not born sinful; they are innocent babies who are neither good nor evil: “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights” (The Declaration of Rights of Men and of the Citizen). This statement relates to Locke’s idea that when you are born you have a “blank slate,” so when a baby is born it is harmless and free. In both documents natural rights or unalienable rights are mentioned: “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness” (D.O.I). and “liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression” (D.O.M). The two documents just modified Locke’s statement, but for the most part they are his ideas. The three natural rights were part of the people’s Social Contract, and if the government did not respect this, then he said the people had the right to start a new government: “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their duty, their right, to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security” (D.O.I). This is another idea by Locke that influenced the Declaration of Independence. Locke was and still is now very important to our new society; his ideas led America in the right direction towards independence.

Baron de Montesquieu was a big influence on the two documents as well. He did something a little bit different than Locke; he went around the world observing other society’s laws and constitutions including ancient ones as well. He concluded in a book that to have a good balanced government there needs to be separate layers where no one section is more powerful than the next: “A society in which the observations of the law is not assured nor the separation of the powers are defined has no constitution at all” (D.O.M.). The separation of powers made a tremendous difference when they started up a new government because there was no room for one group to overpower another. A balanced monarchy could finally be assembled.

“Law is the expression of the general will” (D.O.M.). This statement was taken right from Jean Jacques Rousseau. He believed that people shared common views and attitudes, which he called the “General Will.” His idea was that the government should be based on the people’s consent and what would be best for the people. He was the first to really express that the people should have the power to change something to what is best for their community and the Declaration of the Rights of Men lets it be known to all of America.

Voltaire was very much against the church but he recognized that people should be able to say their opinion: “I do not agree with a word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” This is a very powerful unselfish statement that later led to freedom of speech, written in the Declaration of Independence: “No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law” (D.O.M.). This statement was a big change from England’s past policies and was most appreciated by the people.

There are many men from the Enlightenment who influenced these two

Documents. Thomas Jefferson wrote their ideas in a document, which just concluded a lot of what these men said. The Enlightenment was the best influence on these documents leading towards America’s independence.