He restated John Locke's theory of natural rights and the social contract between the government and the governed. Jefferson repeated this argument with the fascinating sentence: “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Jefferson went on to state that every time government fails in its responsibility to secure such rights, the people have the right to "alter" or "abolish" it and institute a new one.