Government Through the Eyes of Some of History’s Best Minds

            Rousseau was a Swiss philosopher whose thoughts helped influence the French revolution. He enjoyed inquiring of his government because it helped him understand and even come to love it more the more he learned about the interworking’s of his government. He also believed, as citizens, everyone has rights and should be knowledgeable of the way their government operates.

 Near the beginning of his work, Rousseau debates the comparison of slave to master and citizen to ruler. His main argument is that they are not similar because while the slave relinquishes his rights for subsistence from the master, the ruler relies on the people to provide for him. Rousseau is concerned with the sovereignty of the people and he believes that the individual is separate from the state. For example, in times of war, if the “enemy” lays down their arms then you should not kill them because the fight is with the country as a whole not each person. Due to this belief, Rousseau would complement a leader that avoids, at all cost, destroying or taking private property of its citizens and unarmed citizens of other countries as well. However, Rousseau also contradicts himself with his belief that the common will is greater than the will of the individual. He means that the need of the entire society is more important for the ruler to consider than the happiness of one citizen. A government system that resembles  Rousseau’s beliefs is a representative republic. For example, while a republic attempts to give their citizens the ability to participate in government and rights so that the individual can obtain personal happiness, if the need were to arise, the government would choose the option best fit for the entire country not just the individual. However, there is no government that truly fits exactly what Rousseau believed is the best form of government.

            Thomas Jefferson is credited with writing the most famous literary work in American history: The Declaration of Independence. In this text, Jefferson and the rest of congress are explaining to Britain that their complaints have went unanswered for long enough and that America would no longer be part of Britain. They also write of the natural born rights of all people. The belief are that all men reserve the right to be free is common between the writings of Rousseau and Jefferson.. A large portion of the Declaration is committed to listing reasons for the need of a split between the two countries. Many of these reasons Rousseau would agree are just reasons for a ruler to be despised. However, the main similarities end there. Jefferson writes of the right of men to stand up to an unjust rule and to create their own

            When Thomas Jefferson wrote The Declaration of Independence, he was very sure that this was the only course of action. He stated that the British armies and political figures in America had been warned on multiple occasions of their transgressions that were unwarranted and extremely unjust. The citizens had voiced their complains to Parliament and they were unanswered. Americans were faced with harsher taxes, unjust actions, and, occasionally, with the unnecessary deaths of their fellow community members. The members of congress in America had enough time to think through many different options; however, this was the only feasible course of action after their previous attempts. Jefferson and the rest of Congress where acting out of necessity of the people of America. If Rousseau were to offer any advice to Jefferson, he would most likely say that the people of the land should do their best to uphold their end of “the social contract”. However, he would also say that the contract does not allow for one of the members to be offended against without the rest of the body. This means that if one of the members of the community were to be injured or taken advantage of then the rest of the community would “feel” their pain. Jefferson would most likely agree with this advice and continue to pursue the same path that he was traveling.