ideas and influence Flashcards
voltaire
no state religion
state and church should be separate
influenced thomas jefferson
thomas hobbs
people are eveil and selfish - need absolute monarchs to tell them what to do
john locke
people are born with 3 natural rights
life, liberty and property
abolish if they’re violated
government should protect these rights
montesquieu
spearation of power
executive - president
legislative congress and senate
judicary - law courts and supreme government
stand alone - unbiased
rousseau
government and people
social contract - have the right to overthrow the government
thomas paine
wrote ‘common sense’ - 120,000 copies sold in january 1776
accessible to less educated people
didn’t copyright it though
gave away profits to george washington’s continental army - army read book
thomas jefferson
used no books or pamphlets to help write the declaration of independence
influenced by george mason
read john locke’s work
abraham lincoln called him ‘the most distinguished politician
wrote a constitution in virginia
not creating anything new
came in late
sam adams
sons of liberty
committees of correspondence
quotes from ‘common sense’
‘small islands, not capable of protecting themselves are the proper objects for kingdoms to take under their care; but there is something absurd in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island’
‘one of the most strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings is, the nature disapproves it, otherwise, she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind an ass for a lion’
paine’s arguments against british rule
part 1
it was absurd for an island to rule a continent
america was not a british nation, but was composed of people all over europe
even if britain were the mother country of america, that made her actions more horrendous, for no mother would harm her children so brutally
being a part of britain would drag america into unnecessary european wars and keep her from international commerce at which america excelled
paine’s arguments against british rule
part 2
the distance between the two nations made governing the colonies from england unwieldly. if some wrong were to be petitioned in parliament, it would take a year before the colonies received a response
the new world was discovered shortly before the reformation - the puritans believed god wanted to give them a safe haven from the persecution of british rule
britain ruled the colonies for her own benefit, and did not consider the best interest of the colonies
