Jean-Jacques Rousseau Influence on the Declaration of Independence

One reason that The Declaration of Independence was so influential was that Thomas Jefferson’s claims against the King of England were easy to understand and logical. Typical complaints include “For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us;” and “For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” Jefferson uses plain language that everyone can understand to point out large injustices done by the king. His statements about the King are short and to the point. He does not waste any words or bore the reader with abstract writing or excess words and thoughts. He goes from one point to the next to the next in such a fashion that the reader’s concentration is never broken. His points are logical and everyone living in the colonies at that time and many people around the world probably had some idea of the incidents behind all his grievances against the king. Jefferson raps up the injustices done by the king by declaring the United Colonies to be free and independent states.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was an Enlightenment thinker during the eighteenth century and is most noted for his work The Social Contract. The Social Contract published in 1762 and is a philosophical document that expresses the ideas of popular sovereignty. Popular Sovereignty is a form of government in which “the doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that those chosen to govern, as trustees of such power, must exercise it in conformity with the general will.” This is basically a fancy way of saying that the people have the power of authority of their government and the people should decide how they are governed. Like The Social Contract, the Declaration of Independence is a document that sets out to explain the relationship between a government and its people based on an an understanding of that relationship. The Declaration of Independence was composed by Thomas Jefferson in 1766, and shares many of the same ideals as The Social Contract. The Social Contract and the Declaration of Independence are more similar than different because Jean-Jacques Rousseau influenced John Locke, whose Social Contract Theories directly influenced Thomas Jefferson during the writing of the Declaration of Independence.

The Declaration of independence was a great successful document written by Thomas Jefferson a great idealist and a man from the age of enlightment, he was a great writer and was the one chosen to write the declaration of independence, he wrote it with a lot of thought about how people’s emotions would be, how they would react, and how it would work all to their advantage, and with very rhetoric language he wrote this document, stating truths and lies about what was happening in the colonies at that time.

In the making of the United States, there were many events that are important. This paper intends to highlight a few of those events including; Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and the Federalist Papers. Many events in America’s history helped to establish the United States as a free and independent country. The Declaration of Independence in particular explains the rights and freedoms that Americans. Each document is like a stepping stones that leads to the next and building upon the pervious document.

It is not surprising that Rousseau's philosophies lead to the beginnings of both the American and French revolution. Jefferson and the other members of the Continental Congress have become capable of molding these thoughts into a document that will act as a philosophical outline for the founding of the United States. The Declaration of Independence allows the founding fathers an opportunity to build on some of the Puritan ethics of the founding new country of America and to justify their independence and establish a republic based on democracy and personal freedom from government

The Founding Fathers of the United States relied heavily on many of the principles taught by John Locke. Many of the principles of Locke’s Second Treatise of Government may easily be discovered in the Declaration of Independence with some minor differences in wording and order. Many of the ideas of the proper role of government, as found in the Constitution of the United States, may be discovered in the study of Locke. In order to understand the foundation of the United States, it is vital that one studies Locke. A few ideas from Hume may be found but the real influence was from Locke. Rousseau, on the other hand, had none.

The job of drafting the Declaration of Independence fell to the youngest member of the committee, Thomas Jefferson. In composing the declaration, Jefferson drew on ideas from the Enlightenment, especially those of John Locke. Not only did the declaration represent a milestone in the history of the United States, it also turned the political philosophies of 18th century Europe into real political practice.

Jefferson’s trip to congress gave him good recognition for his literature, science, and talent of composition. However, Jefferson insisted Adams make the draft. Adams stated the reasons why he would not do it, and told Jefferson he could write it ten times better, because he knew Jefferson's words would make it iconic. When Jefferson wrote the paper, Adams was delighted by the quality and information on it. When they reported it to the committee, the congress cut off about a quarter of it, and left all that was exceptionable. They knew it wasn’t just a paper and the Declaration of Independence was important. Therefore, Jefferson proved to be a talented candidate to write the Declaration of

The economic, military and civil grievances were essential in drafting the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration is one of the most admired and eloquent proclamations in American history. The document’s goal was to announce the independence of the original thirteen colonies by listing grievances concerning the tyranny of King George III of Great Britain. These original colonies were the first to come together to form the United States. It was adopted in its final form on July 4, 1776. The prominent author of the Declaration was Thomas Jefferson. He was one of the colonial Founding Fathers in Virginia. In 1769, Thomas Jefferson began his political career when he was elected to the House of Burgesses. A renowned author of prose, he was appointed to the Second Continental Congress to draft the Declaration of Independence. This notorious archive was vital to the sustainability of the colonies through economic, military and civil wellbeing.

Enlightenment thinkers, also known as philosophers had a major impact on the American and French Revolution. Philosophers from the 1700s influenced the making of two documents known as United States’ Declaration of Independence and France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens. The Declaration of Independence is a document that was written in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson. It reflects the beliefs of enlightenment philosopher, John Locke. Written in 1793 by Marquis de Lafayette, the Declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen was influenced by the beliefs of Voltaire, another Enlightenment thinker. John Locke didn’t like the idea of absolute monarchy. He favored the idea of self- government and equal rights. Locke believed that the

“As the "silent member" of the Congress, Jefferson, at 33, drafted the Declaration of Independence” (Freidel, 2006). Jefferson believed in the Constitution and as Senator of the state of Virginia, abided by it. The words of The Declaration of Independence written by Jefferson remain part of the verbiage today, "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" (Biography.com, 2014).

Eugene R. Sheridan is a member of the Princeton University Department of History and Senior Associate Editor of the Papers of Thomas Jefferson. He has written books and articles on a number of subjects in early American History. To begin with, the author cites specific achievements that Thomas Jefferson made, starting with the contributions he did when he was part of the Continental Congress. “As a member of the Continental Congress, he proclaimed in the imperishable prose of the Declaration of Independence the values of liberty, equality, and natural rights that always have been at the heart of the American experiment in self-government” (Sheridan 64). He specifically speaks about his participation as the main author of the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson was one of the youngest signers of the Declaration of Independence, 99and the third president of the United States of America. Jefferson was extraordinary with words, stringing them together seamlessly so that to deny his word was unheard of. Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence, but he plagiarized the ideas from an enlightenment thinker John Locke. Locke believed that man was born

“We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” Thomas Jefferson believed those words as he chose to write the Summary View of the Rights of British America, The Declaration of Independence, and the Virginia Constitution. Jefferson retained many powerful beliefs about the freedom and rights of America. Jefferson was an amazingly gifted writer. He knew what he wanted to express and how to put it into words. These writings along with many more played an immense part in gaining America the freedom we enjoy today.

In 1776, since Jefferson was a member of Continental Congress, he was chosen to draft the Declaration of Independence, since he was a member of Continental Congress. (Brief…Jefferson, 2005). Looking back in High School, the class discussion about The Declaration of Independence was that Jefferson predicted the coming of great changes in America within the times that he lived in. He wrote this document for the American Citizens at the time, and it still exists today. The Declaration personified many of the ideas that separated the colonies from England and therefore the process of creating a new country begun.