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Locke's Two Treatises Of The US Constitution

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A country based on an individual's natural rights and free will, in the land of opportunity, being an American citizen has a very important role in our society. Electing local and national government officials, and making changes in your community is evident through your democratic elections. But what key ideas and elements lay the foundation for a functional and effective governing body? The fundamental ideas of Baron de Montesquieu, John Locke, and the English Bill of Rights all preach the same values of limited government run by the people, and are all assets that were indoctrinated in the creation of the U.S. constitution.
The Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states,”Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, …show more content…

It states“All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”. John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government outlines Locke’s personal opinion on how a government should act as an entity, and how it should respond to the people. Locke’s work has been an inspiration for several governments including England and the U.S. because of his popular ideas of a minimal government ran by the people. In Two Treatises of Government Locke states,“Whensoever, therefore, the legislative [power] shall transgress [go beyond; break] this fundamental rule of society, and either by ambition, fear, folly, or corruption, endeavor to grasp themselves, or put into the hands of any other, an absolute power over the lives, liberties, and estates of the people, by this breach of trust they forfeit the power the people had put into their hands for quite contrary ends, and it devolves [passes] to the people; who have a right to resume their original liberty, and by the establishment of a new legislative”. In this excerpt he outlines the fact that he believes a government

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