Liberalism in Early American Literature :: essays research papers

Liberalism is the foundation of America. This ideology is found in the country’s early fledgling literature and in the very document that made America free. Both the selected works of Phyllis Wheatley and Thomas Jefferson are actively working for the ideology of liberalism, which is a political ideology that is against any system that threatens the freedom of the individual and his natural rights and prevents the individual from becoming all the individual can be, specifically the importance of human individuality and the freedom of humanity from subservience to another group. The natural rights of man, in the words of John Locke, are â€Å"life, liberty and property.† These passages compliment each other because they are both in the support of the ideology of liberalism and support the freedom of all members of the human race. The big picture that is at stake is that the ideology of liberalism was the principle founding ideology in America and it was presence was felt in the social context via literature. The importance of human individuality and the freedom of humanity from subservience to another group was a crucial point in the ideology of liberalism. Therefore, when liberalism is found in literature, it carries the same determining factors. In a section of the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson writes â€Å"He has incited treasonable insurrections in our fellow-subjects, with the allurements of forfeiture and confiscation of our property.† This language supports liberalism because Jefferson makes it clear that the â€Å"treasonable insurrections† were not caused by the people themselves but by King George III, i.e. an overbearing government and therefore it places the â€Å"fellow-subjects† in a subservient position. Another support of liberalism by this quote is the mentioning of the â€Å"confiscation of our property† which is, by way of John Locke, an infringement of natural rights and therefore an infringement of human indivi duality. Since Jefferson is condemning these infringements, he is then supporting the opposing view, which is liberalism. Jefferson also writes â€Å"He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating it’s most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This statement is actively working for the ideology of liberalism by stating the life’s most sacred rights are life and liberty, which goes back to the statement by John Locke. By using the term sacred, Jefferson has created a sense of religiousness in his argument.