Reason and Revolution

Reason and Revolution

By saying natural laws Thomas Jefferson meant the laws of science. These laws were being discovered by scientists and introduced to the people in this period of time during the Age of Reason. Scientists like Isaac Newton began to question themselves why things happen. They didn't believe like the people at these days did that things happened because God said so. So peoplelike Isaac Newton search for answers for many unanswered questions and explained them. He explained the laws of gravity mathematically. This laws change the way humans viewed the universe. People now began to use their God given reason to think. Natural laws also show up in the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. At this period of time the idea of progress was new to the people. Benjamin Franklin was one of the first persons to start with this idea. In his autobiography "Poor Richard's Almanac," he talks about how he could make himself better by making up a list of things to follow.

Benjamin Franklin 1767

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This was totally new. Now people wanted to make improvement in their lives and society. They wanted to be as best as they could. Now that they had "reason" they could determine without reading it straightly bible what was good and bad for them.

Divinely ordained hierarchies were when the kings ruled because they told they had the divine right to and they were God's ruler on earth. But Thomas Jefferson says it isn't like that and that the own people should choose their rulers democratically. People should have social contracts with the government. Contracts which protect their natural rights of life, liberty, and property. If they didn't like their government or the government was oppressive and violated their rights they could reform it through rebellion. You could...