The social contract theory of John Locke states that government is created by the people and governed by the consent of the majority, which means that the people give in to the government only in a way that they are protected by the law in return, and that those who break the law must suffer the consequences.

The government that is elected and agreed to by the people, or in case of taxation without representation not consented by the people, can only take care of its citizens legislatively and judicially if the people comply with their tax obligations. What contradicts Locke’s conception of government is taxation without representation, because Locke’s conception of government is based on the consent of the people, while the form of government that provides for taxation without representation is not based on the consent of the people. These two concepts are completely different, taxes without representation suppresses the people, while Locke’s government is in the purpose of flourishing.

Taxation without representation is a form of government that commands the people to pay taxes while excluding them from participating in the formation of the governments policy. It contracts Locke’s conception of the government because **in social contract theory the government is not excluding the people from the formation of it**.

*Thomas Jefferson* was a lawyer and **the primary author** who drafted the legal documents **of the Declaration of Independence**. Jefferson first gained recognition in his youth when he wrote an essay arguing for the independence of the colonies, so it is safe to say that he was a person who advocated for justice.

The Declaration of Independence is based on the natural rights which belong to everyone, and theory that the government is created in the consent of the people so that it can protect their *natural rights*, and therefore is for the people. Jefferson drew these ideas from the enlightenment thinker John Locke, in which he firmly believed, to create political philosophies that would later shape the Constitution.

*Thomas Jefferson’s drafted documents* were **crucial writings** in the Declaration of Independence on which **the United States is based upon to this day**.

The Second Continental Congress united the 13 colonies, forced the mobilization of the Continental Army and formed the first government of the United States.

At the second Congress, last efforts to make peace with the Great Britain were made. **Debates centered on achieving independence peacefully** and without bloodshed. The effort failed as King George III. rejected the petition as the entire movement was considered “an unlawful assembly and a den of traitors” from the British point of view.

However, the most important thing was that the public supported it and stood behind the ideas of the Declaration. the movement would not be possible without the support of the people, and the ideas of the Constitution were already beginning to live by the people standing up for what is right, and protecting their freedom and rights. War was then declared after Britain refused to accept the ideas of the American Congressman.

The ideas in the Declaration of Independence created the (con)federal idea as all of the colonies wanted to have a high degree of autonomy while at the same time belonging to a wider and stronger national unity.

The federal government would be tasked to protect some of the rights and the state governments would be given authority over others. This fact helped foster the concept of limited power, as the central government and the states would check each other’s power.

In addition to the conceptual identities that the Declaration of Independence provided, it also changed how citizens think of their identity. Before the Declaration of Independence, people living in the colonies were nationally British, but afterward, they became citizens of the United States of America.

The Revolutionary War started from the tensions between the locals of the colonies and the Crown’s representatives. The colonies agreed upon the principles set out in the Declaration, some of those principles are self-evident truths , equality and human rights. Monarchical force did not agree upon those principles because it was self biased and imposed
actions that would ultimately benefit the monarchy.

With the revolutionary war breaking out and eventually ending, it showcased that **the accepted ways of the monarchies** were actually **the opposite from what is right**, opposite of popular sovereignty which should be the goal. This is bigger than just winning a war because it left an imprint that influenced people and governments.