itish government that violate these rights. Among these violations were; depriving in some cases trial by jury, cutting off trade with other nations and making the military superior to the civil authority. The pursuit of happiness to Jefferson was not a subjective term. Arguments have been made by people such as Amartya Sen that his definition of happiness was objective. True happiness is when the capacities of people are realized. When people are in an unhappy life their definition of happiness becomes adjusted. This recalls Paine’s argument that “a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”Jefferson also stated that “Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes.” This demonstrates that there must be very serious reason for dissolving the current government. The “long train of abuses and usurpations,” that were committed by the British government were reason enough to rebel. The cost of violating the natural rights of man and the pursuit of happiness is the consent of the governed. If a people feel that they are being oppressed in any way then the legitimacy of the government comes into question. The government must derive its power from the governed. People give up some of their rights and property for the security afforded by a governing power. If the sum of the investment into government is not reciprocated by equal amounts of security and opportunity then the government is unjust, abusive and must be dissolved. The men who argued against revolution often cited God and the bible for reasons against leaving the empire. They argued for the divine rights of kings therefore theorizing that going against the king would be going against God. Jonathan Boucher makes a theological argument that Christians; according to the Gospel must have “obedience which is due to the respective constitutio...
