Machiavelli and Rousseau's effect on America

Rousseau

Rousseau would approve of a democratic society where people have a lot of freedom and are not under oppressive tyranny of the government. He would support a ruling body that  rule as little as possible, fulfilling only the social contract. Even though he inspired the making of our constitution I do not think it would please him, because we have more of a republic than a democracy. This allows less voice from the public and more from the elitists and politicians. I do not think his vision for society is neither naïve nor unattainable. With a few adjustments to our constitution I think his ideas would be realized.

 

Machiavelli and Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was very much unlike Machiavelli but in the instance of the creation of the Declaration of Independence he would have agreed with the statement "The end justifies the means". Jefferson states that it becomes necessary to break the bonds to a government and knows that this will cause conflict. Still he and the other founding fathers press the issue of independence, knowing that the goal of independence will justify the lives lost for it. In other cases I think he would have disliked Machiavelli's principles because it is the same logic that is always used by rulers to justify their actions.