Compare And Contrast Paine And Thomas Locke

1. Compare the backgrounds of Jefferson and Paine; did Paine have an advantage or disadvantage by not being born in the colonies? Explain.

Two men, both fighting for the same cause during the American Revolution took different sides in the French Revolution because of their political views. Thomas Paine took the side of the French, opposing his own country, because he believed in a system where people can govern themselves. Edmund Burke took the side of the English because he was supporting his country and believed in a system where there needs to be a higher power to keep people in their place. Thomas Paine was a radical in the way he thought and believed in a total reform of the way people were living at that time. Burke was a Conservative and believed that things were fine just the way they were. Paine also believed in Thomas Jefferson’s statement all men are born equal

Both Thomas Jefferson and John Locke share a lot the same ideal in their writings. They both believe in the rights of people that are natural and should be given to all. The Declaration of Independence focuses on the rights of people that should be to everyone. These rights are emphasized through the belief that a government shouldn’t be allowed to violate these rights. Locke focused a lot on equality as stated here “A state also of equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another” (Locke 31). Jefferson used this as a part of his writing to inspire freedom to the American people. Jefferson and Locke believed equality to be a unalienable right of all people.

Thomas Paine also was a pro-equality man during his time. His strong beliefs led him to the writing and publishing of a scholarly pamphlet called “Common Sense”. "Common Sense" was a direct message to the people of America. It entailed what they were fighting for. Equality. Equality within the government and equality amongst one another. The role of inequality came about long, long ago. Dating back to the origins of the Grecians and Romans, it was said that they “were strongly possessed of the spirit of liberty but not the principle, for at the time they were determined not to be

Both John Locke and Thomas Jefferson believe that people have certain natural rights and that it is the government’s job to protect these rights. Their documents were both written for revolutions, although they were two very different revolutions. Ultimately, a revolution in Europe influenced Locke to write the Second Treatise on Government. The Second Treatise on Government was important because it influenced the way many later philosophers would view government. One philosopher influenced by Locke was Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence used the same philosophy as Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, but it also held great significance in that it was the first time a group of colonies had successfully separated from a world power like Great Britain.

Our country’s founders didn’t come up with the ideas of our government’s structure and beliefs by themselves; they all were greatly influenced by many different people, including some of the philosophers of the Enlightenment period. However, one of these philosophers in particular shaped a founder’s ideas more directly than the rest. Ultimately, John Locke directly and greatly influenced Thomas Jefferson’s political philosophy and agreed with the majority of his beliefs, which can be seen especially in the Declaration of Independence and the fundamental ideas each man emphasizes in his works. While there are a few small differences in their philosophies, they are still so similar that Jefferson has even been accused of plagiarizing parts of Locke’s compositions.

Thomas Paine was born in Norfolk, England on January 29, 1737 to a middle-income family. His father was a Quaker while his mother was an Anglican, therefore, constant family arguments about religion became part of Thomas life (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2). He did not have much of formal education as he quit schooling at the age of thirteen years and began working for his father. He was baptized in the Anglican Church that his mother attended. His father had forbidden him from learning the Latin language while he was in school though he wanted to learn it. His father specialized in craft staymaking and this was the skill that Thomas learned while working for his father (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2). Thomas had tried running away from home twice, failing in his first escape, but was successful in the second. He escaped to London and then went to Margate where he continued to work as a craft staymaker. He also preached in a church called Methodist persuasion. It was during this time that he married Mary Lambert who died during childbirth (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2). Several incidents had a significant impact on the life of Thomas such as working as an officer in an excise service, teaching in a school in London, as well as being appointed a member of the debating society at the Headstrong Club. Thomas later married Elizabeth Ollive in the year 1771. Thomas died on 8th June 1809 in Greenwich Village in New York City in

John Locke believed that everyone had a series of God-given rights—a natural moral law, and people gave rights to the government when it came to how they should be ruled. Locke is responsible for some of the most influential writings on liberty. His writings helped influence Thomas Paine’s ideas about revolution. James Madison, one of the writers of the bill of rights, was influenced greatly by Locke, and the French philosopher Voltaire called him “the man of great wisdom.”

His writings had a great impact in the perception of the leaders of America. John Locke was an English philosopher who highly influenced the Founding Fathers. He highly believed in natural science and in the growing middle class and represented the principles of the Enlightenment. In an essay Locke wrote concerning human understanding in 1690, Locke denied the idea of native beliefs and argued that every individual is born with a blank mind and that it is the environment that shapes the individual. Thomas Hobbes 's belief that kings govern by divine power was rejected by Locke. He believed that every human being was born equal and that the surroundings in the environment was what molded everyone. Locke argued that people are blessed with some natural rights such as liberty, life, and property. Locke was the philosopher that exposed the concept of governmental checks and balances which later became the foundation for the U. S. Constitution.

The 1770s proved to be a time of much chaos and debate. The thirteen colonies, which soon gained their independence, were in the midst of a conflict with Great Britain. The colonies were suffering from repeated injuries and usurpations inflicted upon them by the British. As a result of these inflictions, Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry addressed these injustices, and proved to be very persuasive through providing reasoning and evidence that moved many colonists to believe that to reach contentment and peace the colonies had to rid themselves of British rule. Henry and Paine were successful in swaying their audience, not only because of the rhetorical strategies used, but also because they were passionate about the cause they were committed

John Locke and Edmund Burke were two champions for the theory of change in the world of political philosophy during the seventeenth century. Locke is largely known for pushing liberalism in influencing the American and French political revolution period while Burk is known for taking a more placid approach to promoting modern conservatism. Set out in different time period, both thinkers focus on the purpose of the government, its structure and functions, laws of nature and the characteristics of man in and out of nature as a state. It is quite common to misunderstand and misinterpret the aspect of the revolutionary fight as a collective calling for everyone. Not everyone was an intransigent fighter for the revolution, a fact that has often clouded our current notions and ideals in identifying the true assessment of the mind state of the political period in late 18th century. Understanding this, it becomes easier to vision the element of division in terms of personal perspective and mindset, with various powers of thoughts colliding with each other. As such, Locke and Burke represent a political contentious period where these two philosophers who were not necessarily on polar opposites stand strong in championing their beliefs and remain worth contenders.

Jefferson was born and brought up in a very wealthy family and since his family had the means, he acquired a good education and was a very adroit scholar. On the other hand, Paine was born and brought up in a poor family. Owing to their differences in social standing, Paine settled for lowly jobs while Jefferson was bequeathed much wealth by his parents. Nonetheless, Paine, having not been born in a colony, had an advantage, especially in the advent of the French and American Revolution. While in Great Britain, Paine had cherished the disposition of fighting for the poor by advocating for better pay and working conditions. He was working as an excise officer. Moreover, his tough upbringing furthered his advocacy for the United States independence.

It is clear that many of Paine’s ideas were influenced by Enlightenment thinkers such as Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu. For example, in critiquing the British monarchy, Paine shows how he was influenced by Locke. Locke believed that under the Law of Nature all men were born equals, none with more power than any of the others unless blessed by a God to be more powerful. Paine believes, as he states that “Mankind being originally equals in the order of creation...” are only divided amongst the distinctions which are natural, such as male and female, or heavenly such as good and bad. However, “...the distinctions of men into kings and subjects…” is unnatural according to both Paine and Locke, as it is neither a divine nor natural distinction,

Two of the most influential and celebrated modern political thinkers, Karl Marx and John Locke, have made countless insightful and compelling arguments, expressing their ideas on various conditions of the individual, state, and the interactions between the two. Marx was a German political thinker who was best known for his works with idea of communism and social class divisions. Locke was an English philosopher famous for his social contract and is known as the Father of Liberalism (CITE). Despite the paramount success these men achieved, they had radically different views on the idea of property and the description of freedom, finding only minimal similarity on their views on the right to revolt.

John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are great political philosophers that have many similar insights about society and its political form. However, when closely examining the writings of these thinkers, one can easily discover many subtle differences among them. The two philosophers base their theories on different assumptions, which subsequently lead to dissimilar ideas about the origin of society and the constitution of governments. As a result, their views of the development of society greatly dissent from each other. Locke's and Rousseau's different versions in the development of society cause them to reach disparate conclusions concerning the legislative power, social unit, and revolution rights of the society. Locke believes that