Summary Of John Locke's Second Treatise Of Government

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.

John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, published in 1690, greatly influenced the United States Constitution,

His ideas of the separation of powers are present in the United States Constitution and are used in American government today. In Book XI Chapter 6 of Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu says of legislative and executive powers: “When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical manner.” This idea can be found in Article I, Section. 1 of the Constitution: “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.” In Article II, Section. 1 of the Constitution: “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” Montesquieu says of judiciary power, also in Book XI Chapter 6 of Spirit of Laws of judiciary power: Again, there is no liberty, if the judiciary power be not separated from the legislative and executive. Were it joined with the legislative, the life and liberty of the subject would be exposed to arbitrary control; for the judge would be then the legislator. Were it joined to the executive power, the judge might behave with violence and oppression.” In Article III, Section. 1 of the Constitution: “The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and

An intermediary body established between the subjects and the sovereign for their mutual communication, a body charged with the execution of the laws and the maintenance of freedom, both civil and political.” This is represented in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” The idea of popular sovereignty is present in the Preamble to the Constitution, “We the people of the United States...do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of