John Locke was a philosopher and political scientist. He had many interests and produced a number of writings that influenced future leaders. One of these leaders was Thomas Jefferson, who was involved with the aid of America and the act gaining independence from Britain. The Declaration of Independence and Locke’s views on government contain many similar aspects. These ideas includes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (natural rights); the protection that is provided by the government for these rights; and the altering or abolishment of government if it fails to provide and protect the rights of the people.
The Primary objective of all leaders should be to control citizens. A society that allows authority to be challenged will never succeed. This source depicts an authoritarian or totalitarian view of what a governing body should look like. The author suggests that the primary objective of government should be the “control of the citizens”, and therefore that the individuals should entirely obey said government.
“The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges everyone: and reason, which of that law, teaches all of mankind, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.” this quote show that locke wanted all people to trust each other and to treat each other how they would want to be treated, with respect and trust that you have the best intentions for others not just yourself and to prove that you are not selfish. “Nothing was made by God for man to spoil or destroy. And thus considering the plenty of natural provision there was a long time in the world, and the few spenders… there could be then little room for quarrels or contentions about property so established.” Locke believed that if all men were to treat each other and all of their property equally there would be no arguments or fights over anything because everyone has equal things and equal opportunities in life.
John Locke DBQ When reading the Declaration of Independence it is apparent that Thomas Jefferson drew inspiration from John Locke’s Two Treatises on Government. This inspiration is apparent from the way Jefferson drafted our nation’s founding document. John Locke’s Two Treatises on Government heavily influenced Thomas Jefferson’s rationale for the propriety of America’s separation from England.
New England was fed up with the Church of England and the Puritans wanted to recreate their own religion which they thought was more what God had believed was the intended belief. They both decided that neither of them like the way England was set up and said that England was no good for their beliefs. They planned to leave England and go to the new world to set up a life where their children had the chance to be raised in a perfect society with no corruption. Concentrated on town life and industries, they made a living off of fishing, whaling and shipbuilding. Whale oil was key because it made their lamps.
The United States Constitution guarantees citizens’ rights such as freedom of speech and religion, right to a speedy and public trial, and right against unreasonable searches and seizures. With these rights come responsibilities such as paying taxes and obeying federal, state, and local laws. Some are voluntary such as voting and being an active participant in the community. Citizenship rights outlined in the United States Constitution stem from Second Treatise of Government, Spirit of Laws, and Social Contract. These documents emphasize the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democracy and provided the basis for the Constitution.
There are many principles of government from the Declaration of Independence that are still valid today. One principle is that all persons are rightfully sovereign over their own affairs, which do not infringe upon the rights of others. This principle is still valid because we should have rights and ownership to our own property, and no one should be able to take that property away. It makes sure that what you own doesn’t affect other people, and protects their property as well. The government created to protect the rights of the people, and is consented by the governed, is also an important principle.
Locke believed that people were born with natural rights that included the right to life, liberty, and property. Locke argued that people formed governments to protect their natural rights, so the best kind of government was one with limited power and was accepted by all citizens. Locke said that a government has an obligation to the people it governs, therefore, the people have a right to revolt if the government fails at its obligations. Like many other Enlightenment philosophers, John Locke’s ideas reflected on the checks and balance system as well as the Declaration of Independence. For example, in the Declaration of Independence, it says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
John Locke was a 17th-century philosopher and political thinker who created the basis of republican government and inspired the Founders of the United States, in particular, Thomas Jefferson. In agreeance with Thomas Hobbes’s theory of the origins of government coming into existence due to mankind in the form of social contracts, he argued that since people created government it should thus do what the people demand and protect their rights. This is detailed in his famous work Second Treatise of Civil Government in which he argues that rulers are given power through consent of those governed and thus must protect their human rights, which he believed included life, liberty, and property. If government were to fail in protecting those rights, the people had the right to overthrow the existing government for one which would uphold order and provide and protect those rights. He also argued that government had immense power that could be abused and lead to dangerous outcomes such as controlling those governed.
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
Kacie Lee 2/2/18 Tomasetti AP World P.6 ID #18 1. John Locke (476-477) John Locke was an English philosopher during the period of Enlightenment. He believed that rulers should take care of the people and he defined the government as a relationship between the king and the people. He wrote the Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690) which says that people have give political ability to the king, but they still have the privilege of life, freedom, and possessions.
He divided property into two ways, private and common. Locke believes that God is in charge of the world. In chapter v. of property, Locke states, “God, who has given the world to men in common, has also given them reason to make use of it to the best advantage in life, and convenience.” Locke used labor to say common is a way to private property. By a man doing labor, he can call property private.
It can be hard to find your political view. Sometimes it takes time and research on political issues in our country and around the world. There are two popular political views; conservative and liberal. The definition for a conservative; is holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion. Liberal definition is; open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.
Marx had the same approach as government is needed to protect people’s properties but in term of common property with large existence. Marx argued in such a way that government or the state has the capability to decide how the resources should be distributed, preventing the capitalists from creating surplus (Frank, 2005). The capability of government for Locke is in law perspective, not economic perspective- acts as an umpire to arbitrate human’s self-preservation desire and harmonize the interest of different public (Garth, 2011).
In Locke’s book, The Second Treatise of Government, he builds up to the justification of private property through his account of man’s natural state. In the natural state, each person equally, as a group has the entitlement to resources of nature, and not one person had more ownership over the natural materials. However, this is problematic since resources are only helpful when intended for individual use. It seems that only if divided for personal use, can the resources of the earth be useful. As a human, Locke believes that we have the right to survival and the means to survival are through natural resources.
