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Declaration of Independence: John Adams
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Regardless, the Declaration of Independence drew upon Christianity and the Enlightenment English philosopher John Locke. In his famous work "Two Treatises on Government" (1690), Locke declared that all men have the natural (inalienable) rights of "life, liberty and estate (property)." Adam Smith, the great economist, modified this to be "life, liberty and the pursuit of property." Notably the Declaration of Independence does not emphasize a right to pursue property... speaking instead in favor of pursuit of "happiness".
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By Jefferson's own admission, the ideas contained in the Declaration of Independence were commonly expressed throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. John Locke's Second Treatise of Government is probably the predominant source from which Jefferson drew inspiration.[3] John Adams claimed that Jefferson ... borrowed from a piece written by James Otis and Samuel Adams in 1772.[4] Garry Wills has argued a case for Jefferson's strong reliance on the Scottish philosophers such as Thomas Reid.[5] The parallel between Jefferson's lists of George III's infractions and the list regarding James II in the 1689 English Bill of Rights is apparent.[6] Further, the closing paragraph of the Declaration largely echoes the wording of Richard Henry Lee's motion of June 7, 1776.[7]
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Scholars have long debated the relative importance of the different sources Jefferson used for his ideas in the Declaration. Most agree that the natural rights philosophy of English philosopher John Locke greatly influenced Jefferson's composition of the Declaration. In particular, Locke advanced the ideas that a just government derives its legitimacy and power from the consent of the governed, that people possess inalienable rights that no legitimate government may take away, and that the people have the right and duty to overthrow a government that violates their rights. Jefferson ... paralleled Locke in his identification of three major rights — the rights to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" — though the last of his three is a change from Locke's right to "property."
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