Ideological influences of the Declaration of Independence/Rights of Man?

[shitty wok]

What documents were the main influences of America's Declaration of Independence and France's Declaration of the Rights of Man? I know the English Declaration of Rights was relevant, but what else? And what unprecedented ideas did the framers of each Declaration introduce?

[Area51]

Magna Carta, mother fucker, have you read it?!

[vazilizaitsev89]

Originally Posted by Area51

Magna Carta, mother fucker, have you read it?!

this. and John Locke

[ReclaimPublicSpace]

mostly john locke. in fact, thomas jefferson all but plagarized john locke's essay on the rights of man and the social contract he makes with his ruling government. locke says that man has god-given rights that cannot be denied by a government: life, liberty, and property. thomas jefferson and other colonial elites of that time did not want the lower classes (i.e. the slaves, indentured servants, and backcountry folk) to have a right to own property. otherwise, after the american revolution, he would have had many thousands of angry men knocking on his door demanding their piece of land. so he changed it to the mysterious "pursuit of happiness." strange that the american revolution is the only revolution that has been fought in the name of "happiness."