Question

The year is 1776. The family of philosopher John Locke has brought a lawsuit against Thomas Jefferson for copying Locke's ideas. Locke's family claim that Jefferson's "Declaration of Independence" plagiarizes Locke's ideas from Two Treatises on Government.

You are the judge ruling on the case. You must research how Jefferson's ideas compare to Locke's and determine whether or not Jefferson is guilty of stealing Locke's ideas. Your paragraph opinion (a court document explaining how you arrived at your decision on a case) should contain the following:

explain at least 2 ideas of Jefferson and Locke that are similar
explain at least 1 idea of Jefferson that is different from Locke's
determine whether or not Jefferson is guilty of plagiarism
explain why or why not

Answer 1

In answering this question, you will need to examine the two documents and the ideas that emerged from both about natural rights.

A good answer would examine the phrases "life, liberty and property" (Locke) and "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" (Jefferson) as a foundation for a possible claim of plagiarism.

Jefferson's defense would not deny that Locke was a major influence on Jefferson but that Jefferson took it further than the idea that civil society is solely formed around the protection of property rights, which is why he included happiness instead of property.