Question

The Declaration of Independence marked a permanent break between the colonists and Great Britain. How is this historical document significant to the concept of rights in United States history?



A
It asserts that most rights should be granted to citizens by the government, and helped establish the concept of voting rights.

B
It affirms that the state has a right to establish an official religion as long as all citizens are ensured equal treatment under the law.

C
It states that some rights will depend solely upon the law, and helped establish the importance of the judicial branch of government.

D
It argues that some rights are granted to citizens simply because they are human beings, and helped establish the concept of human rights.

Answer 1

It argues that some rights are granted to citizens simply because they are human beings, and helped establish the concept of human rights. The Declaration took many of the Enlightenment ideas of men like John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Aristotle, and Voltaire (to name a few) and put them together in a real situation as no one ever had before. They turned the ideas into practice. Jefferson primarily took Locke's ideas especially those related to the rights of man and his relationship with government. He highlights the idea of the "Right to Revolution". This was Locke's idea that when a government didn't keep up it end of the deal then the people had the right to revolt, overthrow the government, and create something new.