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John Locke's Second Treatise Of Government

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In the Second Treatise of Government, John Locke introduces many innovative ideas, such as the government’s role in protecting its citizens’ natural rights, consent of the governed, and the right of the people to overthrow a government that did not properly protect their rights, all of which played an important role in the development of the French and American Revolutions. In the Second Treatise, one of the main ideas articulated by Locke is that a government is formed in order to protect the people’s natural rights, or as Locke states , “for the mutual preservation” of the people’s “lives, liberties, and estates, which [Locke] call[s] by the general name ‘property’ ” (Locke, p. 37). Locke considers these three rights to be the most valuable …show more content…

72). It was this very idea, originally formulated by Locke in his Second Treatise, which had the most influence on the American and French revolutions. In the American Revolution, American colonists accused England of becoming abusive of its powers by taking away many of the colonists’ natural rights that Locke believed was the government’s job to protect(PWH, p.662-665). For instance, one of the main grievances made by the colonists against the king of England was “for cutting off [the colonists’] trade with all parts of the world,” essentially violating the colonists’ rights of property (Jefferson, p.73). Similarly, in the French Revolution, the Third Estate believed that property is an “inviolable and sacred right” that nobody can be denied, of which the first two estates were guilty of violating. (Declaration of R.M.&C, p.91). Additionally, the Third Estate believed that they were unfairly represented in the government, especially in contrast with the clergy and nobles of the first two estates, despite the fact that the Third Estate consisted of most of the population (PWH, p. 665-666). As such, Locke’s revolutionary idea of overthrowing a corrupt government inspired both the Americans and the French to declare a revolution against their respective governments.and begin their quest for

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