Final answer:
The Preamble of the Declaration of Independence introduces the equal rights of people and the purpose of a government to protect those rights, drawing upon John Locke's Enlightenment principles.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first two sentences of the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence lay out two key ideas for a new government: the concept of equal rights and the purpose of a government being to secure these rights.
The famous assertion that "all men are created equal" and "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights" is a reflection of Enlightenment principles concerning universal human rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Furthermore, it is stated that governments exist to protect these rights, and when they fail to do so, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish the government and establish a new one that serves these ends.
These ideas were heavily influenced by the philosopher John Locke's theories of natural rights and the social contract, and even though there was some contention about including the phrasing about equality due to issues like slavery, the principles set forth in the Preamble formed a foundational ideological basis for the new American government's legitimacy and purpose as laid out in the Declaration of Independence.