The Declaration of Independence Influence on History

The Declaration of Independence was a product of Enlightenment philosophy and specifically of the theories of John Locke. Underlying assumptions of the Declaration include that government is a social contract, only valid with the explicit approval of the people who are governed but not lorded or ruled over. Jefferson recognized also that historical changes enable the emergence of new systems of governance and political culture: “in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another.” Grounded in reason and rational thought, the Declaration also lists reasons for “the separation” of the former colonies from the Crown. Locke’s writings demonstrate an “anti-authoritarian” streak, one that allowed him and other Enlightenment philosophers—and also the Founding Fathers—to take the great leap towards self-governance (Uzgalis, 2017, p. 1). John Locke’s affirmation of liberty, freedom, and equality continue to resonate in the American consciousness.
Locke’s Two Treatises on Human Government offer some of the clearest indications of how the English philosopher influenced Jefferson. In Locke’s First Treatise, the author claims that all humans are born free, and refutes the idea that monarchic rule is necessary to reflect divinely ordained order, or necessarily legitimate by nature of their historical fact (Uzgalis, 2017). In Locke’s Second Treatise, the author discusses two of the main principles that would make their way into the Declaration of Independence. One of those principles is the principle of positive rights: people have “inalienable rights” to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” (Declaration of Independence). Those rights are inalienable in that they are nearly sacred in nature; they exist a priori. The government is subordinate to those rights but also has a duty to protect and affirm those rights. The second principle of Locke’s that found its way into the Declaration of Independence is that the government is a social contract. Government is not a small group of ruling elites exuding arbitrary power over others, but a group of people self-aware of their inalienable rights. The people can decide when and how the government should act, and what powers that government should have. In the Declaration, it is stated that government must have “the consent of the governed.”
Unlike the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence is written in universal language that does not specifically refer to the United States of America. The Declaration speaks about universal human rights and universal ethical principles upon which all governments can and should be formed. Because the Declaration was written in universal language, it continues to be the inspiration for similar documents proclaiming human rights and freedoms (Kaiser, 2015). When a government becomes tyrannical, it has upset the social contract and violates human rights. In cases like these, it is “the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.” Jefferson is also careful to include a clause that precludes popular uprisings or revolutions based on whim: “Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes.” American society has a long history supporting public protest against the government, but has built in safeguards against illegitimate uprisings of angry mobs.
One of the most important clauses in the Declaration is that “all men are created equal.” The principle of universal equality was understood at the time to mean only white males. It took several more centuries for the principle of human equality to be extended towards the other half of the population, showing how the Declaration has built into it the potential for change. Like Locke’s original theories, the Declaration is imperfect and contains anachronistic language. The Declaration, for example, ironically refers to the “merciless Indian Savages” in the same document that affirms universal inalienable rights. Nevertheless, the theories of Locke and the Declaration remain the foundation of the modern worldview affirming human rights, liberty, and government based on social contract.




References

Declaration of Independence (1776). http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/
Kaiser, D. (2015). How the Declaration of Independence can still change the world. Time. 2 July, 2015. http://time.com/3934144/declaration-of-independence-not-outdated/
Uzgalis, W. (2017). The influence of John Locke’s works. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/influence.html