Which author wrote the Declaration of Independence and drew on Locke's ideas about consent of the governed and natural rights?

• A. George Washington
• B. John Adams
• C. Benjamin Franklin
• D. Thomas Jefferson

Answer: (D)

The key idea here is recognizing how Enlightenment thinking influenced the writing of the Declaration and identifying its author. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration and drew directly on John Locke’s ideas about consent of the governed and natural rights. Jefferson argues that people are endowed with rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that governments derive their authority from the consent of the governed to protect those rights. When a government becomes tyrannical and fails to safeguard these rights, people have the right to alter or abolish it. While George Washington led the military fight for independence and John Adams and Benjamin Franklin contributed to the broader effort and to the drafting process, Jefferson is the principal author of the document.