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There are a number of writings that are credited with influencing the creators of the Declaration of Independence. Specifically, the works of John Locke and Thomas Paine were a huge influence on Thomas Jefferson.
According to the Declaration of Independence, the purpose of the government is to secure natural rights for the people. Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration, borrowed this idea and many others from the work of political philosopher John Locke.
The consent of the governed is an idea born of the enlightenment and the writings of John Locke. This is the idea that a government gains its power via the willingness of the people to support it. The US system expresses this notion by holding elections in which the people (the governed) select their representatives to govern (there by giving consent).
That man has the natural rights given by God and that when the government no longer protects these rights that the people have the right to change the government. He then lists the reason/charges against the King to back up that the king is no longer protecting these rights. The basic message and belief is that the people of the 13 colonies should be free from British rule.
The Sedition Act made it illegal to rebel against law and to publish any anti government writings.