Machiavelli, The Prince And Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration Of Independence Essay Examples

Machiavelli wrote The Prince in the early 16th century, c. 1513 and was dedicated to Duke Lorenzo de’Medici of Florence, who had recently taken power (Holler 2). It is believed by some to have actually been inspired in part by Ceasare Borgia in his quest to conquer lands for a kingdom of his own. At this time in history, Italy was divided into several kingdoms or principalities, each ruled by a different family. Machiavelli who had worked as a government official and who had also visited France wrote The Prince, as a guide for the effective rule of one’s kingdom. It is considered by historians to as the first work of modern philosophy and political thought.
Machiavelli write, “Hence it is necessary for a prince wishing to hold his own to know how to do wrong, and to make use of it or not according to necessity” (Machiavelli 164). Machiavelli makes a convincing argument that prince must do what need be done to protect himself and his reign at any cost: the means justify the ends. “it will be found that something which looks like virtue, if followed would be his ruin; whilst something else, which looks like vice, yet followed brings him security and prosperity” (Machiavelli 166). Machiavelli proposes throughout The Prince, that a Prince must do what he must to assert his principality and maintain it. Morals and virtue have no place in being a successful ruler. According to Holler, Cesare Borgia who was cruel in his conquests and dealings and Romulus (cofounder of Rome) who killed his brother Remus, both took whatever steps necessary to ensure a strong leadership (Holler 3).
“And for support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor” (Declaration of Independence par. 6). The signers of the Declaration of Independence were finished with King George of England and his Parliament. Up until this time, the colonists had tried to reason and negotiate with England in regard to taxes and laws that they felt were unfair and unnecessarily harsh. Many governors and judges in the colonies were viewed as nothing more than “puppets” of the monarchy.
The economy of the colonies was vibrant, profitable and varied. The New England colonies built ships, The Southern colonies provided agriculture and international trade and The Middle Colonies were producing tobacco which was in high demand. Parliament began passing laws and taxes on the navigation, importing and exporting of goods. Parliament viewed the colonies as a source of revenue for England (McAllister 250). By the middle of the 18th century, the colonists were becoming intolerant at this attitude towards them. In 1764, The Sugar Act imposes taxes on sugar and other important imports to the colonies to help finance their war with France. The Stamp Act passed in 1765, taxed stamps and every piece of printed paper. These taxes were paid directly to England and not state legislators. There were violent confrontations between the colonists and the British Army. In January 1770, there was a squabble between the Sons of Liberty and soldiers in New York and in May of that year the Boston Massacre occurred. Open and organized rebellion for occurred in 1773 with the Boston Tea Party. In the spring of 1775, British soldiers attempt to quiet violent rebellion and weaken the militia in an attempt to capture ammunition and supplies in Lexington and Concorde, Massachusetts.
In August of 1775, King George proclaimed the American Colonists were “engaged in open and avowed rebellion” (Proclamation of Rebellion). Parliament quickly passed the American Prohibitory Act which made all American vessels and cargo forfeit and property of England. It was then discovered that King George had been negotiating with German mercenaries to fight the colonists.
It would seem that King George III had been reading Machiavelli’s, The Prince and putting its advice to good use in respect to the colonists. He had established English leaders in the colonies and a military presence, but this strategy was proving to be ineffective. He was not maintaining an atmosphere of peace in the colonies. Instead he began taxing them excessively and using force unnecessarily. The colonists felt that negotiations would never be successful. In order to obtain their freedom from this tyranny they vowed to take whatever means were necessary to achieve their ends, freedom. In The Prince, Machiavelli espouses the philosophy that a successful ruler must commit deeds that are perceived as evil or bad but it is for the good of his kingdom and his subjects. The colonists felt that their king was committing misdeeds but the subjects who benefitted were the English, not the colonies.
The words of The Declaration are powerful, “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the Right of the people to alter it or abolish it” (Declaration of Independence par. 2). When the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1776, they were disappointed and angry that neither King George not the Parliament had even bothered to respond to their official list of grievances. The majority of the colonies were ready to take up arms against the British. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” sold over 100,000 copies and was the most popular publication ever circulated at the time. The resentment for England had spread all over the colonies. The manner in which England and her king treated the colonists was the perfect combination as a precursor for a revolution. The colonists were angry and tired by the economic, social and political adversities they were facing from England.
The American colonists had every right to engage in a violent rebellion against the England. The Declaration of Independence states, “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States” (Declaration of Independence par. 2). Philosophy had introduced many ideas that were directly influential for wanting to escape from tyranny. Unlike so many societies before them, the colonies had geographic distance from their tyrant. They had a strong economy and unlimited natural resources. Their leaders were intelligent, well informed and shared their ideas. The colonists possessed ingenuity and creativity. They had no fear of the monarch and his armies. At no time in modern history was a society so well set for revolution.
The writings of John Locke, Montesquieu, Diderot and Rousseau all inspired the colonists. They had discussed both in parlors at home, in local and colonial legislatures and ultimately at the Continental Congress the ideas put forth by these great thinkers. Rousseau put forth the idea that man was self-sovereign; only he could choose who could rule him (Magee 127). In the case of a monarchy that the colonists had, they had no choice in their leader. Montesquieu expressed the idea that there were three forms of government: monarchies, despotisms and republics (Magee 132). The Founding Fathers recognized that they were already under the rule of a monarchy which they perceived as a thinly veiled dictatorship. A republic would be the perfect form of government for the colonies when they achieved their freedom: people who have their liberty and a government that was chosen by them. John Locke who proposed the idea that humans were reasonable and tolerant by nature. He maintained that government was established to civil society. Through a social contract, men surrender some of their rights to a government which will protect and serve them (Magee 105). Diderot wrote about free will and how it related to man (Magee 123).
The Declaration of Independence lists twenty six grievances against King George. They include practical matters such as: restricting immigration; establishing “offices” and filling those positions with his supporters; cutting off trade with the rest of the world and the imposition of exorbitant taxes; calling together legislatures in inconvenient and uncomfortable places. Other reasons cited are: deprivation of a trial by jury; suspension of state legislatures; acts of aggression at sea and on land; maintaining armies and forcing the colonists to feed and provide shelter for them; made the military independent of civil power; and interference with the judicial system and appointing unfair judges. The colonists thoughtfully and intelligently outlined their argument and provided an abundance of proof to begin the revolution.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” (Declaration of Independence par. 2). The colonists used the means of a revolution against the English King and government in order to achieve two ends. The first end was independence from the monarchy, the second was to begin the first democracy the modern world had seen on a wide scale. At the time of the writing of The Declaration of Independence, Jefferson and the other representatives at the Second Continental Congress knew exactly what they were doing. They were acutely aware that this document would be met with anger and retaliation by the English government. They were prepared for a full scale fight in order to achieve the freedom they sought.

Works Cited

Cavallo, Jo Ann. “On Political Power and Personal Liberty in the Prince and the Discourses.”
Social Research: An International Quarterly 81.1 (2014): 107-132. Web 19 Mar. 2015
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Holler, Manfred. “Niccolo Machiavelli on Power.” Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung 149
(2007): 1-28. Web. 19 Mar. 2015 <http://ssrn.com/abstract=956093>
King George III. “Rebellion in the American Colonies Address”. London, England:
October 27, 1775. Web 20 Mar 2015 <http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/procreb.html>
Machiavelli, Nicolo. The Prince. United States: Project Gutenberg, 2012. Ebook.
Magee, Bryan. The Story of Philosophy. New York: D.K. Publishing, 1998. Print.
McCallister, J. “Colonial American, 1607-1776.” Economic History Review 42.2 (1989):
245-259. Web 19 Mar. 2015 < http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=2&sid
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pdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=10141520>