Foundations of America Based on the concept of natural rights

Natural Rights What are some examples of the rights enjoyed by American citizens? Are some rights more fundamental or basic than others? How are these rights guaranteed and protected in the American political system?

Before American Government Kings and Queens ruled over countries and whatever they said was the law. (Monarchy) The Enlightenment: A time period when people had no individual rights until brave men spoke up and encouraged democratic revolutions to throw off the king and queen if they denied you your natural rights

Locke and Rousseau

John Locke The man responsible for starting the enlightenment and natural rights concept Locke assumed that humans carried into modern society rights that the gov’t couldn’t take away such as life, liberty, and property. Locke rejected the idea of Divine Right: The belief that kings and queens were chosen by God to lead

Jean Jacque Rousseau He combined the idea of individual rights with the need for social cooperation He formed his own philosophy in his “Social Contract”: Idea that people give up some individual rights and agree to follow laws of the gov’t in order to benefit society Blueprint for our society today

Along comes America The concept of Natural Rights, a Social Contract, and the Enlightenment inspired people to fight for their rights by starting the American and French Revolutions These beliefs in the idea of Natural Rights appear in several important documents including the Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, and most importantly, the Constitution

The Declaration of Independence! Written in 1776 mostly by Thomas Jefferson, it declared that the U.S. is now free and independent of Great Britain! It did not set up a new gov’t, but simply explained why the colonies wanted to become their own nation

The Declaration of Independence Key ideas from the Declaration: 1. People have natural rights 2. Governments get their power from the people 3. When a gov’t fails to protect those rights, the people have the right to abolish that gov’t

The Declaration of Independence With the signing of the Dec. of Independence on July , and our victory in the American Revolution in 1781, the United States now officially exists. The next challenge is to create our new government!