Which Enlightenment ideal were the colonists upholding when they declared their independence?
1 Answer
The Declaration of Independence basically quotes John Locke
an Enlightenment philosopher from England Who said that people have a God given right to life liberty and property.
Explanation:
Most Enlightenment philosophers were from France, and were antagonistic toward religion. John Locke was from England and was speaking from the tradition of the basic rights of "Englishmen" said that people had the rights to life, liberty and property. Thomas Jefferson changed it to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The ideal was that people do not get their rights from the government but have an inherent right to liberty, able to choice who they want to rule them. Life, the right to a jury trial and the rule of law. and the pursuit of happiness and property. That what people make, earn and produce belongs to the people, to use as they wish and not to the government.
