How Did The Enlightenment Influence The Declaration Of Independence

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The Declaration Of Independence July 4, is more than a national holiday with fireworks and picnics. The real reason for the celebrations is The Declaration Of Independence. This document was adopted by the Second Continental Congress of the American colonies as a result of the British behavior toward them, including taxation without representation. The American colonies wanted self government. This revolutionary idea was influenced by the Enlightenment in Europe. The concepts of the Enlightenment that were written about by the philosophes, such as, human dignity and thought, personal autonomy, people's power to reason, and to liberty and happiness. The Declaration Of Independence is a true document of the Enlightenment. The Declaration of Independence was both influenced by and influenced the Enlightenment by including and expanding upon the ideals of the Enlightenment. In 1776 men from all thirteen colonies got together in the Second Continental Congress to discuss breaking away from Britain. King George III did not respond to…show more content…
He was Thirty Three years old. He was not a good speaker but he was an excellent writer . John Adams said of Jefferson, “During the whole time I sat with him in Congress, I never heard him utter three sentences together.” ( http://classroom.monticello.org) . Jefferson worked on the draft of the Declaration of Independence for two weeks. The whole committee rewrote The document. The Congress ratified The document on July 4th, 1776. The main idea of the Declaration of Independence was that all men are created equal and have natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is the Government's obligation to protect these rights. If a government fails to protect these rights, the people can revolt and set up a new government. Many of these ideas came from the philosophers of the Enlightenment in

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