Question

Which of the following sentences from the Declaration of Independence best shows the influence of John Locke? Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes… The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it. When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

The sentence from the Declaration of Independence that best shows the influence of John Locke is:

"Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it."

This sentence reflects several key ideas that were central to John Locke's political philosophy, such as the idea that governments derive their legitimacy from the consent of the governed, and that individuals have the right to alter or abolish a government that fails to fulfill its obligations to protect their rights and liberties. These ideas were influential in shaping the political thought of the American Revolutionaries, and were included in the Declaration of Independence as a way of justifying the colonists' decision to break away from British rule.