Big Question:
• Who influenced Thomas Jefferson
and the rest of the founding
fathers to get independence from
Great Britain?
• Thomas Paine and John Locke
No, not that John Locke!
The Ideas of John Locke
• John Locke was an Enlightenment philosopher
whose ideas influenced the American belief in
self-government.
The Ideas of John Locke
• Locke wrote that:
– All people are free, equal, and have
“natural rights” of life, liberty, and
property that rulers cannot take away.
– Government and people in a contract:
• People agree to respect the laws
• Government agrees to respect
people’s rights
Locke’s Social Contract
The Ideas of John Locke
• Government and people are in a contract
– People respect/follow laws
– Government respects peoples’ rights
• If the government violates people’s rights,
that government has lost its right to govern
the people
• Therefore, people have
nnn
the right to overthrow
their government
Thomas Paine and
Common Sense
• Thomas Paine was an English immigrant to
America who produced a pamphlet known as
Common Sense that challenged the rule of the
American colonies by the King of England
• Common Sense was read and acclaimed by
many American colonists during the mid1700s and contributed to independence from
Britain
Common Sense (Jan. 1776)
So what did Common Sense say?
• All men are created equal; therefore, kings
and queens should not be in power
• American colonies should have an American
Constitution; British laws only benefit Britain
• America is not just a British nation; it’s a
nation of other immigrants and nations in
power (Netherlands, France, Germany, etc.)
• If England goes to war, the colonies suffer.
Why?
Paine’s best argument?
• Even if Britain were the "mother country" of
America, that made her actions all the more
horrendous.
• In other words, what
mother would treat her
children so badly?