where did the founder get the idea for the declaation of independance?

Question

i wold rilly like u to help me out in this class

Answer 1

Actually, the answers that focus on John Locke and other Enlightenment thinkers totally miss the fact that Locke's ideas and language only help account for one small piece (in the 'preamble'), and even then not directly.

The bit from Locke, the overall structure, the basic argument and much of the CONTENT of the Declaration is based on OTHER documents -- most importantly, STATE declarations and constitutions written just before it (esp. Virginia's, which Jefferson had a hand in), and a document written by the FIRST Continental Congress two years earlier...

And all of THESE are partly modeled on the "English Bill of Rights" of 1689 (NOT Magna Carta! that may have inspired all of these people but did little to nothing to shape the structure or wording of what they wrote).

Here are links to each of these documents below, along with a few notes of WHAT they contain that is reflected in the Declaration. There are THREE main documents you can look to.

1) English Bill of Rights, 1689

This document was written by Parliament to justify its rejection of the rule of James II just after they replaced him with William and Mary in the "Glorious REVOLUTION" Note that this closely parallels what the Declaration is doing -- two days after voting independence, they issue this statement justifying to the world WHY they rejected this King's rule. The Bill of Rights includes a LIST of "abuses" by the King against British "rights" that justify this step -- a number of the abuses (and related rights) are echoed in the documents below.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/england.htm


2) "Declarations and Resolves" of the First Continental Congress (October 1774)

This document issues more of a WARNING and PLEA with Parliament and the King to rescind the "Intolerable Acts" (Britain's angry reaction to the Boston Tea Party),
a) beginning with an appeal to their RIGHTS - which includes the Lockean stuff about "life, liberty..." but connecting this to their TRADITIONAL rights as Englishmen (as reflected in English political documents) and the rights they enjoyed under their charters and "compacts" (going back to the Puritan founders of New England). In other words, the colonists' ideas and arguments about their "rights" are NOT all based on Locke

b) laying out their COMPLAINTS --how these rights have been violated. Again, notice the specific parallels between this list and that in the Declaration of Independence.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/resolves.htm


3) State declarations and Constitutions (1776, etc)

see esp. Virginia's State Constitution, drafted in May-June 1776 ---
a) the opening "Declaration of Rights" --drafted by George Mason- repeats appeals to "life, liberty, property. . . and HAPPINESS!" found in Locke and the Declarations & Resolves, but ALSO (again) more about the traditional rights of Englishmen

b) the rest = a list of abuses justifying their declaring independence, followed by a brief "frame of government" (the actual "Constitution" part)--drafted by Jefferson. The abuses echo those of the documents already listed.

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

Compare similar documents by other states -
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


By the way, some may note that Locke was active at the time of the Glorious Revolution and had some input in the political events of that era. True. But note that the writing of Locke that influenced the founders' thinking -- the Second Treatise of Civil Government-- was published in 1690 (though worked on through the 1680s), just AFTER the "Glorious Revolution, partly to JUSTIFY what had just been done. Thus they could hardly have been the basis for Parliament's actions.

Answer 2

The Declaration wasn't just an Idea it was a statement from our founding fathers who gathered to write this letter informing English that they were on their own and didn't need their assistance anymore because of the taxation without being allowed any representation in the Gov't. Gee kinda like it is today

Answer 3

John Locke, Thomas Hobbes and the Magna Carta for starters. Also, Thomas Hooker.