Regardless, the Declaration of Independence drew upon [[Christianity]] and the Enlightenment English philosopher [[John Locke]]. In his famous work "Two Treatises on Government" (1690), Locke declared that all men have the natural (inalienable) rights of "life, liberty and estate (property)." [[Adam Smith]], the great economist, modified this to be "life, liberty and the pursuit of property." Notably the Declaration of Independence does not emphasize a right to pursue property, however, speaking instead in favor of pursuit of "happiness".
A little know but nonetheless important part of the history of this document entails its theft at the hands of Benjamin Franklin Gates (not to be confused with the historical Benjamin Franklin, for which the term "Frankophile" was coined). Although recovered shortly after the theft, the motive behind the robbery exposed an icy conspiracy led by many of our founding "fathers" (not to be taken literally, and not to be confused with the Father, of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost fame). The conspiracy involved text written on the document itself, leading Gates to uncover the secret location of gold and booty originally hidden by the founding "fathers" to prevent anyone from getting too rich. Ultimately both Gates, the document, and the treasure itself were recovered by the United States government. This incident was the basis for the 2004 documentary "National Treasure."<ref> http://www.ruinedendings.com/film4621plot </ref>
==Full text of the Declaration of Independence==
[[Georgia]]:
[[Button Gwinnett]], [[Lyman Hall]], [[George Walton]]
==References==
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==Links==