Using the following passage from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's 1763 book The Social Contract to answer the following question
Which quotation from the Declaration of Independence shows the influence of the idea of the social contract on the founders of the United States?
Which following passage?
To answer this question, we need to compare a quotation from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's book The Social Contract with a quotation from the Declaration of Independence. By examining the key ideas and principles of the social contract theory, we can identify similar themes in the Declaration of Independence.
First, let's look at a relevant passage from Rousseau's The Social Contract:
"Each of us puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the general will; and in a body we receive each member as an indivisible part of the whole."
In this quote, Rousseau highlights the concept of individuals voluntarily coming together and forming a collective body governed by the general will.
Now, let's examine the Declaration of Independence to find a quotation that echoes these ideas. One excerpt that illustrates the influence of the social contract theory is:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
This excerpt demonstrates the idea that governments exist to secure and protect the natural rights of individuals, and that these governments derive their authority from the consent of the governed. The notion of consent, or the agreement of individuals to form a government, aligns with the social contract theory.
In conclusion, the quotation from the Declaration of Independence that shows the influence of the idea of the social contract on the founders of the United States is: "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."