What document was the Declaration of Independence based on?

Answer 1

The Virginia Declaration of Rights was written in May 1776 and is considered the basis for the Declaration of Independence, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Bill of Rights.

Answer 2

In writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson drew most clearly on the ideas of English philosophe JOHN LOCKE. Locke wrote the "Natural Rights Philosophy," which was part of a larger work entitled "The Second Treatise of Civil Government," and became the foundation for the Declaration of Independence. The "Natural Rights Philosophy" includes the ideas that:

All men are born with "natural rights" (to Locke, these rights were life, liberty, and the right to own property).

That the government works for the people (not the people for the government).

That to be legitimate a government must have the consent of the governed.

And that the people have the right to overthrow a government that is not protecting the natural rights of the people.

These ideas appear in the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, and form the rational for independence. It is ironic that the colonists used the ideas of an Englishman to justify independence. Gandhi used Locke's ideas, too, when arguing for the independence fo India in the 1930s and 1940s.

Answer 3

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In the true classic sense of the word, it was a liberal idea -- breaking from the traditional. But in reality, it was very much a conservative thing -- breaking from BIG government and establishing a small, localized government that would not over tax the people. *later* Dear raoul, Congratulations. Two whole tours. Wow. I'm retired military. I was in El Salvador, Grenada, Panama, Desert Shield/Storm, Somalia and a few places I'm not to mention. Sadly, when I was Spec. Op.s, I lost 47 men in 2 1/2 years. I lost 13 men in 3 nights in Desert Storm. No real point to this other than to say that I am one of those less than 1%.

Answer 4

Much of the declaration was based on the philosophy John Locke and his second Tretise of Government

Answer 5

If you want the IMMEDIATE predecessor I'd say "The CONSTITUTION of Virginia". For the a major ENGLISH 'parent' I'd go back to the English Bill of Rights of 1689.

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EXPLANATION

There are actually MANY documents in the background of the U.S. Declaration of Independence which helped to shape its structure and content, and even some of its language.

But, to begin with, if you want ONE document that may have been the most IMMEDIATE 'shaper' of the Declaration (though ITSELF going back to others), the answer would have to be the Virginia Constitution, adopted late in June 1776.

This is a little different from the typical answer (the one others have already given) -- the Virginia Declaration of Rights (VDR), penned by George Mason (June 6, 1776). It is true, however, that some language from the first few paragraphs of this document is reflected in the opening section of the Declaration of Independence. (If you continue on with it, you will also see the sort of language later used in the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution.)

The Virginia Constitution INCLUDES the VDR. But , but it ALSO goes on with another section, outlining the GRIEVANCES which justified the state's setting up its own new government, followed by a brief sketch of the form of this new government (as we expect with a "Constitution"). This section is based on a "Draft Constitution" written chiefly by Jefferson himself. (The committee charged with drafting the whole document was comprised of Jefferson, Mason and James Madison.) Note that the GRIEVANCE section parallels the central (main!) section of the US Declaration.


Here are the additional texts:

Draft Constitution - http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/jeffcons.htm

A copy of Jefferson's draft, with this editor's note -- "This draft profoundly . . was THE DIRECT PREDECESSOR of the Declaration of Independence. Shown here is Jefferson's litany of abuses by King George III, a topic of great weight in the Declaration."
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trt003.html

The Constitution of Virginia (as passed June 29, 1776)
http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=105


BUT this is not a very historical way to look at it all! Because the language, structure and arguments of the VA documents was hardly brand new or unique! You will, in fact, find a number of parallel sorts of documents about the same time.

A couple of examples -- note esp the list of GRIEVANCES in them:
Constitution of New Hampshire - January 1776
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/nh09.htm
Constitution of South Carolina - March 26, 1776
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/sc01.htm

You also might want to look at some related language in documents from October 1774 -from the FIRST Continental Congress:
Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/resolves.htm
The Articles of Association
http://www.constitution.org/bcp/art_assoc.htm



And NONE of these were new creations of the 1770s! They all built on a well-established ENGLISH foundation. This was NOT first of all on John Locke's writings, as some think, but on actual POLITICAL DOCUMENTS with a history that goes back long before Locke. (Note, despite Locke's useful working out of and "packaging" of ideas, his notions of government 'by the consent of the governed' were not new with him. In fact, this whole idea of self-government was well developed in the British colonies from the time of the Puritan "covenants" for organizing churches and state governments, from the Mayflower Compact on.)

The most important of these documents is the "English Bill of Rights" of 1689, explained in its formal title as "An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown"
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/england.htm

This document begins with list of GRIEVANCES/abuses (list of wrongs done by King James II, justifying his removal), followed by a list of RIGHTS, then the acknowledgment of William and Mary's rule (in light of their agreement with these 'terms'). Note that this document even FUNCTIONED much like the Declaration! It justified a major change of government, based chiefly on the listed wrongs of the monarch.

(And, as you may have guessed, its list of "rights" opposing the abuses is part of the inspiration for the many colonial letters and documents listing their complaints against the British government... including the list in the Declaration, AND later for the "Bill of Rights" for the U.S. Constitution .)

Answer 6

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/virginia_declaration_of_rights.html