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How did the Declaration of Independence justify rebellion?

When drafting the Declaration of Independence—and, it underwent major revisions before its final version was issued, the first draft having drawn comments from Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and others—Thomas Jefferson provided a list of grievances against the British Crown that collectively, he argued, justified revolution. Drawing from the writings of English philosopher John Locke and Virginia farmer/delegate to the Constitutional Convention George Mason, Jefferson prefaced his list of grievances with an affirmation of general principles...

When drafting the Declaration of Independence—and, it underwent major revisions before its final version was issued, the first draft having drawn comments from Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and others—Thomas Jefferson provided a list of grievances against the British Crown that collectively, he argued, justified revolution. Drawing from the writings of English philosopher John Locke and Virginia farmer/delegate to the Constitutional Convention George Mason, Jefferson prefaced his list of grievances with an affirmation of general principles that should inform government, such as “that all men are created equal [and] that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” It was when such “rights” were revoked or restricted by government that grounds for rebellion existed:



“when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”



It is immediately following these historic words that Jefferson listed the grievances the colonies had against the king, including among that list the accusation that he, the king, had “excited domestic insurrections amongst us.” Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, and others were learned individuals well-read in theories of governance. They understood that a “declaration of independence” had to be justified by a clear recitation of the reasons for this momentous action.

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