Answer:
From the Declaration of Independence:
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
Explanation:
I read this passage and noted the following ideas have origins in the Enlightenment of Europe:
1.The “separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them” – reflects the European philosophy of natural laws and natural rights. It means people are born with rights. Separate and equal station means every person, whether rich or poor, powerful or weak, has rights.
2.“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,”- reflects the social contract that people give the government its powers
