This led to the political American Revolution. The Continental Congress was soon developed and was put in every colony for government. During this time period of a craving for independence, a man named John Locke had a powerful influence on how American’s fought for independence. Locke’s philosophy was “life, liberty, and the right…
How did ideas of Locke's Social Contract influence the Declaration of Independence? John Locke’s ideas influenced the writing of the Declaration of Independence by the discussion of equal rights, purpose of the government, and what the people should do to an abusive government. Both in the Declaration of Independence and in the Social Contract John Locke, they list that men should have equal rights. Also they both state the purpose of having a government. Lastly, they say what the people should do if the government does not protect these rights.…
One major Enlightenment thinker in history is John Locke. Locke had a myriad of ideas that evolved into the American government and continue to thrive today. One right that Locke influenced is the “right to petition the government for redress of grievances” (US Constitution). Although Locke never directly stated that humans should petition the government, he took it a step further. Locke believed it was the right of the people to overthrow a corrupt government.…
John Locke wanted everyone to have the "right to life, liberty, and property" which is used in the Declaration of Independence as the "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." His ideas of the social contract, in which everyone in a society is accountable to one another, and the idea of governments deriving their power from the consent of the governed were both revolutionary concepts in 1776 that made their way into the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.…
Also Locke thought that people share the same natural rights, which are life, liberty, property. Life is referred to people fighting to survive. Liberty means that people want to be as free as possible to make their own decisions. Property represents the fact that people want to own things that help them survive, such as land and food and tools.…
Also, Locke had the idea of “social contract” which is the concept that…
Our Earth has been the home to a multitude of great thinkers. These thinkers were scattered throughout the generations from the Romans all the way to the 20th century; however, the time period with the most philosophers was the Enlightenment Age. During this time there were many thinkers such as Voltaire and Thomas Hobbes. One thinker in particular who contributed a great deal to history was John Locke. His work is still influencing the lives of people across the world 300 years later. He rethought the moral role of government, created a new theory of knowledge, introduced the use of reason, and reminded people of their natural rights. The combination of these four things made him the single most influential philosopher…
John Locke, an English philosopher was a major part of the growth of the rebublican view during the Enlightenment era.1 Locke was a brilliant teacher at Oxford University and wrote many books about education.3 Locke’s excellent teachings and books allowed his opinions to be valued by many people.3 Locke made an impact on political ideals by publishing the “The Reasonableness…
In John Locke’s time of influence, he made a strong impact on many people’s idea of life. He was a strong advocate for the idea that each human had a purpose and they are given many rights from their first breath. In the eyes of Locke, the Natural Rights Philosophy was that all living things should have laws pertaining to their own lives and these laws serve for the preservation of their existence and that no one should stand in the way of any human achieving these rights. In correspondence with him establishing these ideas, many people agreed with this theory and expanded upon it. The Declaration of Independence and the foundation of our Government had many strong connections with the ideas that Locke established in his Natural Rights Philosophy. With his views being exhibited to many, it was clear that he was very impactful to the Declaration of the Independence. Many topics stated in the Preamble were supportive and in favor of the viewpoints of Locke’s Natural Rights Philosophy.…
His theory of government by the consent of the governed as a means to protect"Life, liberty and estate" deeply influenced the United States' founding documents. His political theory of government by the consent of the governed as a means to protect "Life, liberty and estate" deeply influenced the United States' founding documents. Between 1652 and 1667, John Locke was a student and then lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, where he focused on the standard curriculum of logic, metaphysics and classics. In 1666 Locke met the parliamentarian Anthony Ashley Cooper, later the first Earl of Shaftesbury. The two struck up a friendship that blossomed into full patronage, and a year later Locke was appointed physician to Shaftesbury's household. For the next two…
From around 1650 to the late 1700’s, the Age of Enlightenment dominated philosophical thought in Europe and led to revolutionary change in the structure of government and way of thought. The intellectual and cultural movement provided a new way of thought that was based on reason, progress and the scientific method. Certain thinkers and writers believed they were more enlightened than others and strived to create a more successful idea of how society should be run. They believed that human reason could be used to fight ignorance, tired rituals, corrupt traditions and tyranny. They valued reason, progress, and liberty. John Locke (1632-1704), an English philosopher, was one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment and has left…
John Locke says that a person is born with natural rights; the following rights are life, liberty, and property. He believed that the government should protect the people. Which means if the people have a democratic government they should be protected.…
Locke’s social contract theory inculcated in The U.S. Bill of Rights by his argument that governments, by virtue of the ‘social contract,’ are responsible for protecting the natural rights (life, liberty, and ownership of property) of citizens and he was in favor of participation of the people in government affairs, and their input is clearly embedded in the Declaration of Independence of 1776. We know that the Bill of Rights stipulated freedom of speech and prohibited cruel and unusual…
Locke believed that humans, by nature, had the right to protection of life, health, liberty and possessions.…
His Essay on Human Understanding claimed the optimistic thought of tabula rasa, everyone is born with a blank slate. He also said that all ideas are derived from life experiences. John Locke also rejected the rule by divine right belief which led to new beliefs on ways to govern. In his essay he argued that sovereignty did not reside in the state but that it resided in the people. John Locke in his Second Treatise of Civil Government also spoke of natural rights of the people, which was extremely optimistic for the time. According to Locke, the three natural rights were life, liberty, and property. This optimistic belief meant that the monarchs had to give the people those three things. Locke also advocated the idea of a social contract in which the government serves the…