Michelle F. answered • 09/03/24
PhD in American History with 20+ years of college teaching experience
John Locke, an English enlightenment figure, argued that all men have a right to "life, liberty, and property"--white, propertied men, that is. Additionally, in his Two Treatises of Government, he argues that the people and their government form a contract--that the people consent to be governed, and that the government acts for the best of the people. If the government breaks this contract--by not governing wisely or by limiting the natural rights of men--the people have a right to form a new government, one that will listen to the people.
Locke's philosophy can be seen in action behind most colonial protests, such as against the Stamp Act, the Tea Act, and forming the continental congress. Finally, the idea of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" can be found in the Declaration of Independence as well as the assertion that the colonies had a right to break away from Great Britain due to the king's treatment of the colonies--in reality, the colonists really opposed Parliament's unfair rule of them, but laid the blame at George III's feet.
