Comparing John Locke And Thomas Jefferson's Declaration Of Independence

Haider Qazi

Gregg Bergersen

HIST 1301

13 September, 2014

“John Locke vs. Thomas Jefferson”

John Locke's Second Treatise of Government and Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence are two of the most significant texts of all time. Many countries around the world have used these texts as the foundation for their declaration of independence. These authors laid the base for the knowledge of the State of Natural Rights of human being which is the establishing bases of our government. We can understand that The Second Treatise of Government and the Declaration of Independence are very identical in their message, which clearly substantiate Locke's work influenced Jefferson. Unpredictably as it is, Jefferson has been suspect over the times for plagiarizing John Locke.

The most significant similarity between both writings is that

they are strongly focused on the belief that all men are created equal and have the right to be happy in their life. Locke enlightens us that humans have natural rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of property. Jefferson restates this claim as absolute rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Simply both documents mention that no person is above or superior to another person and that everyone is equal. The natural law of man is not under the authority of man, but ruled by the Natural Laws. Also they state that those natural rights can't be taken away because humans are born with rights that are governed by natural laws and not by a government. The wordings in both of these writings are nearly identical in explaining these rights of Nature.
The State of Nature is addressed by both authors in their documents. Both authors used the State of Nature as the source for their ideal government. Jefferson believed that if one set of government is not functioning appropriately under the State of Nature, then the people should separate from it and commence a new solitary, because this is what the Law of Nature enables them. Locke states that everyone is free under the State of Nature and under a government. However, if the government contravene the laws of nature then the government must be overthrown. Both Locke and Jefferson use the Law of Nature as the best style of government that could be achieved.
Jefferson believes the people should be in charge and decide the government.

He says the people have the right to amend or eliminate the government and create a new one that will work in the best interests of them and protect their safety and pursuit of happiness. Locke states this idea, but in a different way. In his article he refers to this as the authority to penalize a crime, to protect mankind by having the authority to prevent something from occurrence. In other terms of this the public can modify, eliminate, or generate innovative laws and government.

In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson brings up many crimes that King George III committed not in favor of the colonies. 1One in particular, which was “He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.” Locke makes the point in his essay that we are not to ignore laws that need to be passed. If that law needs to be passed, then no person should keep it from passing. He makes it clear that what needs to be

done.
The most important similarity in the two works is the call for representation in government. The idea that people rule the government through representatives is the basis for their ideas. This sparked both authors to write these works. The differences in their writings are very slim. Jefferson took straight from the Second Treatise of Government because it expressed exactly what the Declaration needed to say. In a sense, the first portion of the Declaration is just a summed up version of Locke’s article. However, John Locke went into extreme detail and gave reasons and purpose for his ideas. Jefferson stated in the simplest way the principles that the colonies wished to establish.
Another difference is in the manner upon which they were written. Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence as a statement to establish just cause for the actions that the colonies were going to take. John Locke wrote his essay as an excuse of the Glorious Revolution, therefore, stated his view of the ideal government and how it is supposed to be governed. Although they have similar principles, they were written for different reasons.
One difference is in the content. John Locke heavily addresses the right of property. The idea that if one puts labors into something, then that person owns it. Jefferson, however, never addresses this point in the Declaration. This would have strengthened the Declaration even more by claiming the colonists own their land because they work it.
In conclusion, it is clear that “The Second Treatise of Government and the Declaration of Independence are based on the same ideology of equality, and these ideologies govern our people today. What these men wrote changed the world, its governments, and the way we think of our civil rights as human beings.