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Hobbes, Locke, Declaration of Independence

The theories created by Thomas Hobbes and later, John Locke, greatly influenced American Government. The Declaration of Independence was based on these theories, and the ideals of the Social Contract Theory.

Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher who set the basis for the ideas of John Locke. His beliefs were that man lived in a "state of nature", where the fastest and strongest ruled. It was truly survival of the fittest, where people had to constantly watch their back. The "state of nature" was anarchy and chaos. Thomas Hobbes believed that because of the constant fear, man gave up their absolute freedom for the leaders to protect them. These beliefs were a direct challenge to the Divine Right Theory, were the rulers were chosen by God. Almost all of Hobbes' writing were destroyed when he was thrown in prison for challenging the King, but a man, named John Locke, found the last bits of Hobbes' writings.

John Locke was also an English philosopher who expanded on the ideas of Thomas Hobbes, and created the Social Contract Theory. He believed that all people were born with natural rights, life, liberty, and property. The Social Contract Theory stated that if government did not protect your natural born rights, that the people had a right to revolt. This theory, created by the ideas of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, was the basis for the American Declaration of Independence.

The Social Contract Theory was the basis for the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson. The beginning of the Declaration talks about peoples' natural born rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Thomas Jefferson talks about how Government is supposed to protect these rights, not abuse them as England had done. The next part of the Declaration is charges against the King, and gives justification for the colonies to break away from England, following the idea that if a government is not protecting your rights, you may revolt. The charges against the King included, but weren't limited to: taxation without representation, placing soldiers in citizen homes, and limiting self-government.

Using these occurrences, the Declaration of Independence directly used the ideas of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke to give reason for the revolt against the monarchy of England. 

I am not sure how correct this essay is but I thought it was pretty good!