Essay/Term paper: Common authors

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Humanities Essays

Few political documents have affected the world quite like

the American Declaration of Independence or the French

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. The

repercussion of each have had a profound effect on world

history up to this point. But why did these documents have

such an effect? The answer lies in the common

philosophical backgrounds of the two. The writings of

Rousseau, Locke and Montesquieu all contained ideas that

were later used by Thomas Jefferson and the National

Assembly to compose the two documents. Rousseau's

ideas of a social contract, which states that the general will

and the people were sovereign, and if a king abuses the

liberty of the people they have a right and a duty to dissolve

the current government and create a new one (McKay,

581), were central to both documents. Jefferson had

Rousseau's ideas in mind when he wrote the Declaration of

Independence. The history of the present King of Great

Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and

usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of

an absolute tyranny over these states...a prince, whose

character is thus marked by every act which may define a

tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people...we

therefore...solemnly publish and declare, that these United

Colonies are...independent states... (Jefferson, 1-2). The

reasons, such as suspension of colonial legislatures,

impressment of American sailors and the importation of

mercenaries (Jefferson, 2), given for the dissolution of the

political connections that the American and British people

have held for over 100 years all relate to the King's

tyrannical tendencies and the peoples right to choose a

different government. The edict also states that although

petitions of grievances were issued, the King turned a deaf

ear. The Declaration of the Rights of Man is not only built

on the social contract, but also on Rousseau's idea of

general will of the people. He defines the general will as

being, "Sacred and absolute, reflecting the common

interests of the people, who have displaced the monarch as

the holder of the sovereign powers. (McKay, 581)"

Passing and enforcing arbitrary laws are considered to be

an act of tyranny and a substantial reason, according to

Rousseau, to declare the current government void and

establish a new one. Article VII clearly states that arbitrary

laws and orders cannot exist.(Sherman, 100) The fact that

this is distinctly stated implies that arbitrary laws were being

passed and enforced under Louis XVI. Article VI states

that law is the expression of the general will every citizen

has the right to participate personally or through his

represenative.... (Sherman, 100) Locke's ideas of natural

rights, the rights of human beings to the pursuit of life,

liberty, and property (McKay, 524), is clearly stated in

both declarations. In the Declaration of Independence,

Jefferson used the exact words in the preamble - life,

liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - in which he uses

happiness to mean property.(1) He also cites examples of

the arbitrary suspension of liberties by George III such as

the right to peaceably assemble, taxation without the

consent of the colonists, maintenance of a peacetime

standing army, and the right to a trial by jury.(1-2) A

reference to natural rights also appear in the preamble of

the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Article II of the

proclamation directly states, "The aim of all political

associations is the preservation of the natural ... rights of

man (which are)... liberty, property, security and resistance

to oppression. (Sherman, 99-100)" Article IV defines

liberty as: The freedom to do everything which injures no

one else hence the exercise of the natural rights of each

man has no limits except those which assures to the other

members of society the enjoyment of the same rights.

These limits can only be determined by law.(Sherman, 100)

The rights of freedom from arbitrary imprisonment and the

idea of someone accused of a crime is innocent until proven

guilty (Sherman, 100) were all laid out by the national

Assembly and run parallel to Locke's ideas about human

rights. Montesquieu's ideas of the courts being the foremost

protector of liberties (577) is used as a reason for the

break with Great Britain. The justices of the admiralty or

naval courts that existed in colonial America served at

"King's Pleasure" rather than "Good Behavior", ensuring

that the decisions of the courts would be biased in favor of

the King. The right to a trial by jury was also suspended for

those who broke the laws laid down by the Navigation

acts. The colonials expressed these concerns in the

Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of the Rights

of Man also hold Montesquieu's interpretation of the

courts. It provides for the right to a trial and freedom from

punishments that are not strictly and obviously

necessary.(Sherman 100) It also holds that all men are

equal in the eyes of the law. Both the Declaration of

Independence and the Declaration of the Rights of Man

and Citizen have common roots in the arguments of the

Enlightenment, and in the Enlightened philosophies

Rousseau, Locke and Montesquieu. Rousseau's idea of a

social contract, Locke's natural rights, and Montesquieu's

idea of the courts being the defenders of liberties all came

into play when the two documents were written, and in

being written, the culmination of the Enlightened thinkers

came to their peak.