Declaration

We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.  —Declaration of Independence (1776)

Locke
John Locke, age 65

Liberalism

British philosopher John Locke was one of the founders of modern liberalism

  • Ideology of SELF (autonomy)
  • 18th-century:  Property (“pursuit of happiness”) and Natural rights
  • 19th-century:  an evolution toward prioritizing markets & interests (capitalists)
  • 19th-century: an evolution toward prioritizing human rights (abolitionists)

Republicanism

American revolutionaries who embraced Lockean liberalism for individual rights also believed in a governing philosophy of republicanism to manage a contentious society

  • Ideology of SELF-GOVERNMENT (democracy)
  • 18th-century:  virtue, disinterest, separation of powers
  • 19th-century:  an evolution toward legitimizing partisanship

KEY DATES

1688 // Glorious Revolution

1775 // American Revolution

TEXT

Declaration of Independence (1776)