Social Contract and The Divine Right Theory

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Today’s democracy took centuries to create. It was not an easy process. It took a rebellion and a revolution by the English people from England who were displeased with the Divine Right Theory and the abuse by the kings. The Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, and the Declaration of Independence are three important concepts and documents that show us how we moved from the Divine Right Theory to a Social Contract.

During the medieval period, the Divine Right Theory stood in place. The Divine Right Theory was a doctrine that stated that the king had his right to rule by God; questioning the king would be challenging God’s authority. This theory gave the kings their right to abuse his authority without it being questioned. He did not allow his people to pass laws, if he did, he did not sign them causing them to be defective. The king forced his people to give up their rights in order to create a new law, and when it came to making that law, the king would call men together at an inconvenient time so that the proposals would not go far. King Henry did not allow us to choose our own judges; he chose them for us so that his side would win. He did not even think to have juries for our trials; only one judge to decide the verdict. Due to the abuse done by the kings, the people gathered to form the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta is a document of King John, signed on June 10th of 1215 that limited the power of the king. Despite his greed, King Henry was pressured into signing this document by the church and by his Barons. This was the first document in history that ever challenged the Divine Right Theory. This initially was the beginning of constitutional government in England. It ultimately proved that the king’s power can be limited through ...

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...ocial Contract by only allowing powers from the consent of the governed, giving the people the right to abolish a government that didn’t suit their interests, and allowing them to institute a new one. The document supported Laws of Nature or Natural Rights. The Declaration of Independence stated that the government was to provide safety and happiness to its people. As said in the document, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This document, unlike the other documents, was fully on Social Contract. The government was no longer ruled by someone for their own interests, nor did it contain a bit of right to the Divine Theory. For these two reasons, this is why this document is still in practice.

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