According to Locke, political power and law are control over a group of peoples’ natural

rights with their consent. Meaning that the people relied on the government to protect their
natural rights and property. Laws are made by the government to protect each individuals’
property and natural rights. Government gets its power from the people and if the people feel that
the government is not doing a good enough job or are deciding to go against the people, the
people are able to dismantle the legislature and power is returned to the people or they are able to
create another legislature. The government must have laws that does not segregate poor or rich
people and is meant only for the good of the people. Also the legislature cannot raise or lower
taxes without the consent of the people and are not able to transfer law making to another group
without the consent of the people.

Montesqueiu believed that laws are a necessity and that all beings naturally have laws
that they follow. Saying that the laws of the kingdom show be relative to what is going on in said
kingdom. The three branches Montesquieu wanted were called the executive, judicial, and
legislative branches. The executive branch is lead by a monarch or a single person that holds that
kind of power. The legislative branch is to be lead by a group of nobles that represent the people.
With each having their own ideas and values and each deliberating apart of each other. The
judicial branch is to be led by local people that know what is best for the town.

The legislative branch has the power to create laws. The executive branch is given the
power to implement the laws that were created by the legislative branch. The judicial branch is
given the power to enforce the laws that are already implemented as they see fit. The branches
balance each other by having the executive branch be able to reject or accept the laws that were
created by the legislative branch. The legislative can override the rejected law if enough people
from the legislative vote to do so.

The slaves asked for two main things in their petition. One of them being freedom for
their children. The reason that was stated in the petition was that the mothers and fathers were
the ones that were forced into the slavery, but their children had and there had never been a
specified law that said their children were forced to be slaves for life. Stating that at the age of 21
for the children they could be set free and live on their own. It was also asking for the possibility
of being able to act upon their natural rights.

They are asking all the colonist to realize that the slaves are humans and not objects. That
everyone has a right to freedom and it is not something that should be taken away forcefully or
without consent. Also it is trying to tell the people that what they are doing to them is against
their natural rights. It relates the the Enlightenment thinkers because they were advocating for
the people giving consent and natural rights. Meanwhile they were taking the natural rights away
from the slaves.
 Paine believes that the origins of government is one that affects society negatively.
Thinking that government is a necessary evil. Stating that the purpose of government is to deal
with the problems that the people of the country do not know how to deal with.

He believes that the reason the government is bad is because it still follows that of
english monarchy. Stating that the problems with it is that there is still a monarchy tyranny
which was the king. The second being that of aristocratical tyranny which were persons of peers.
This lead to the commons being put in positions of power and causing them to believe that they
were more worthy and confident to hold the crown than the king was and the

The Colonies are rebelling because they believe that the british government is abusing
their power over the colonies. The colonies believed that when a government began abusing the
power that was given to them by the people they have the right to dismantle that government and
create a new that was better suited for them. Stating that the British government has been slowly
destroying the colonial legislatures for not allowing them to take the rights of the people. Also
saying that because of the forceful disbanding of the legislatures it has left the colonies open to
invasions.

The ideas in the declaration reflect Locke’s ideas in many ways. One of them being that
of the government was meant to protect the people and their rights, not take them away. Also the
idea of consent coincide with this also. Saying that the colonies never consented to the british
army/nazy moving in and staying there; the colonists were forced to quarter these soldiers which
they never wanted in the first place. Britain completely disregarded the idea that they needed to
ask for consent to do this and this caused anger throughout the colonies.