John Locke, an Enlightenment-era philosopher, influenced the American movement for independence. Locke believed that all people were entitled to natural rights. Which quotation from the preamble to the Declaration of Independence refers to natural rights?
Answer
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“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
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“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
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“[I]t is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
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“[T]hey are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Explanation
Natural rights are rights people possess inherently, rather than rights granted by government. The quotation saying people are “endowed by their Creator” with “unalienable Rights,” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” directly describes those rights. Choice A is about the source of government’s authority, not the rights themselves.
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