Question

1.What are the common themes in these two passages? What are the critical differences?

2. In what ways does Jefferson build on the ideas presented by Locke?

Answer 1

1. What are the common themes in these two passages? What are the critical differences?

Both passages speak about Thomas Jefferson and John Locke’s works. The differences are that Thomas Jefferson said that he did not use any book to write the Declaration of Independence. But on the other passage, you see the inspiration by John Locke’s work.

2. In what ways does Jefferson build on the ideas presented by Locke?

Thomas Jefferson built the Declaration of Independence inspired by John Locke’s work. During the Declaration of Independence Jefferson explained the reason that the colonies were separating from the British, he listed all actions that the King took in order to prejudice the colonies, for example, taxes. This way, he built the idea that is was the right of the People to institute a new government when the one that is there is destructive of the rights of those People. This way he used Locke’s idea to justify and give legitimacy to the American Revolution.

Answer 2

.1 They have as common themes: private property, power exercise and people's rights (including liberty and safety).

Locke was writing about legislators but Jefferson wrote about any form of government and its organization.

2. Jefferson developed his concept of the Right of the People over any form of government from John Locke's concept of original liberty. The confrontation between the legislators and the people stated in Locke's text became a principle to organize power from people's rights of safety and hapinness in the Thomas Jefferson's text.