John Locke and the American Declaration of Independence

Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes the importance of John Locke's philosophy on the American Declaration of Independence of 1776. The paper examines various segments of Locke's "The Second Treatise of Civil Government" and shows how the textual language within the Declaration of Independence reflects his philosophy. The paper discusses the historical proof that Locke was not merely a secondary influence on the document but that he was a main philosophical component of the birth of the American republican ideology.

From the Paper:

"The first philosophical basis of the Declaration of Independence was found upon Enlightenment philosophers, such as John Locke. In many ways, the development for a new phase of human freedom was being known through such terms as "natural rights", which were based on new perspectives about Nature and the way that human beings interrelated within a government prospectus. Although some may argue that Locke played a minor part in the many influences on the document, it is apparent that his philosophy is paramount to the anti-monarchical disposition of the Continental Congress. The dictates of new governing principle relied on the importance of human liberty for all, not simply the few that controlled government."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Becker, Carl. Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas. New York: Vintage, 1958.
• Ellis, Joseph. What Did the Declaration Declare? Mill Creek, Washington: Bedford Books, 1999.
• "The Declaration of Independence." 2006. U.S. History. Org. 30 October, 2006. <http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/index.htm>
• "The Declaration of Independence and Natural Rights." 2006. Constitutional Rights Foundation. 30 October, 2006. < http://crf-usa.org/Foundation_docs/Foundation_lesson_declaration.htm>
• Locke, John. The Second Treatise of Civil Government. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing, 1980.

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