USA HISTORY

THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION 1700 1774

THE FIRST GREAT AWAKENING RELIGIOUS REVIVAL AND AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Whose philosophical ideas about life and liberty influenced the way that Thomas Jefferson worded the Declaration of Independence?
A
Thomas Hobbes
B
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
C
John Locke
D
Adam Smith
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Complete answer: Jefferson was influenced by John Locke’s philosophy of freedom, government, and natural rights that challenged the power of England’s monarchy in Europe over the colonies in America.

Detailed explanation-2: -Most scholars today believe that Jefferson derived the most famous ideas in the Declaration of Independence from the writings of English philosopher John Locke. Locke wrote his Second Treatise of Government in 1689 at the time of England’s Glorious Revolution, which overthrew the rule of James II.

Detailed explanation-3: -Jefferson’s draft was also influenced by George Mason, a plantation owner in Virginia. Mason wrote a phrase similar to “pursuit of happiness” in his draft of “Virginia’s Declaration of Rights.” Jefferson was probably influenced by Dr. William Small of Scotland as well.

Detailed explanation-4: -Jefferson and other members of the founding generation were deeply influenced by the 18th-century European intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment. Enlightenment philosophy stressed that liberty and equality were natural human rights.

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