"...that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -that whenever any form of government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and
to institute new government, ..."
- Declaration of Independence, 1776
Ernest Rode
Which political idea had the greatest impact on the document excerpted above?
Federalism
Force theory
Social contract theory
Divine right of kings