John Locke and the Enlightenment

John Locke was one of the most famous thinkers of the Enlightenment. His ideas for a modern democracy had heavily influenced Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. One of the main ideas of the Declaration of Independence was that the people should have the right to vote who their leader should be, meaning that the government gets its power from the citizens. The Declaration of Indepedence also states that people have the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The Government is supposed to defend these rights, but the Declaration of Independence also says that If the government becomes corrupt, or fails to protect these rights, that the citizens can overthrow it.