Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence is a representative piece of Enlightenment writing that demonstrates the great influence that the work of John Locke must have had on him. Jefferson adapted Locke’s concept of an inherent “contract” between the rulers and the ruled, explaining how rulers only rule through the consent of the governed. This means that they enjoy the “right” to change the terms of this contract. He used this idea of a contract to justify the revolt against King George III and the formation of an independent confederation of former colonies that became the United States. He further elaborated that slavery was either a violation of “natural rights,” possible only through the consent of the enslaved, or through a continuous state of “war” between ruler and ruled.
