Question

How did the social contract theory influence Thomas jeffersons writing of the Declaration of Independence

Answer 1

Jeffersons justification for independence rested heavily on John Lockes theory of natural rights because he believed that the British government was depriving the colonists of natural equality and liberty. He claimed, All men are created equal (Declaration of Independence); this idea is based on Lockes belief that the state of nature is a state also of equality (Locke 287). Furthermore, Jefferson claims that people are endowed with certain unalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (Declaration of Independence). In Lockes Second Treatise of Government, he claims that people have a right of self-preservation (Locke 292)(i.e. the right to life), which extends to the right to things that affords for their subsistence (Locke 293) therefore creating the right to property. Thomas Jefferson also used Rousseaus social contract theory to justify his assertion of independence. Jefferson stated, Governments are instituted deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed (Declaration of Independence). The idea of consent stems from Rousseaus On the Social Contract. He stated that this contract was a reciprocal commitment (Rousseau 433) between people in a society and the government they create.