How Did John Locke Influence The American Revolution

While our country was fighting for its independence at an early age there was one man who had the most powerful influence from the tip of his pen and this man was John Locke. John Locke had an incredible amount of influence on the declaration of independence and this came from the fact that he expressed the radical view that “government is morally obliged to serve the people, namely by protecting life, liberty, and property.” John Locke was a big part of helping influence what this country has come to be today and he often goes unrecognized when labeling big contributors to the declaration of independence.

In comparing Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists, The Declaration of Independence, and U.S. Constitution, it is evident that the basis of all three documents is the idea that all human beings possess God-given fundamental rights and that government is created to protect those rights. The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, is the first of the three documents penned. This is important because it defined the rights of liberty and equality of all American citizens as outlined in John Locke’s natural law thesis (Martin, page 113). In addition to providing an itemized account of the grievances colonist’s held against King George III of England, it served to justify the colonist’s quest for independence and separation from British rule. The Declaration of Independence conveyed to the crown that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, which among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The Founders’ of the New World understood that their pursuit of liberties and autonomy specified in the Declaration of Independence could not come to fruition without instituting decrees. In 1787, the U.S. Constitution, was written to replace the Articles of Confederation with a better defined series of stringent laws that would legally uphold the freedoms and privileges established in the Declaration of Independence. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights in

During his role in the foundation of America, Jefferson embeded much of his ideology in America’s national consciousness. “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. ” The most famous quote of the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, paints the new American nation as a place of freedom for all. While many historians, such as John Paul of the Cato institute, say that this quote borrows heavily from John Locke’s theory on life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness , other historians, like Ray Forrest Harvey, say that john Locke’s political theory was opposite from that of the founding fathers. whether Jefferson’s declaration was inspired by other thinkers or not, the though and hope of freedom and equality that he presents is still admirable. The American national consciousness is very similar to jefferssons theory, many see America as synonomous with freedom, American national symbols like the bald egale or the statue of liberty represent freedom above all else. Jeffersons view on freedom is compareable with that of the United

In the year 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence due to the unfair treatment of the American colonist from the King of Britain. In the document, Jefferson used the expressions, “unalienable rights” and “self-evident truths”. Jefferson uses these expressions to explain all people are equal the day they are born are created equal, and certain rights should not and cannot be taken away from them. All men have the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which is given its validity through the belief that all men come from the same creator. The author also uses pathos and logos to clarify the importance of the American independence by stating facts with a passionate tone of voice throughout the document. While

These rights included life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He also believed in having a limited government. His ideas had a great impact on the U.S. government and the Declaration of Independence. John Locke’s influence was evident in the Declaration of Independence when it said, “…that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” The colonists believed they had these unalienable rights, therefore the Americans established a government where people would be guaranteed these rights. The Americans believed that Britain was “deaf to the voice of justice.” Britain refused to respond to the outcries of the colonists. John Locke believed selfishness would always get in the way of acting morally, and Britain’s selfishness was blinding them from the suffering the colonists faced. The Americans developed a government that would listen to the people and let them have a

John Locke was perhaps one of the most influential political philosophers of the modern period. In the Second Treatise of Government, John Locke discusses the move from a state of nature and perfect freedom to a then governed society in which authority is given to a legislative and executive power. His major ideas included liberalism and capitalism, state of nature, state of war and the desire to protect one’s property.

John Locke had many accomplishments. John Locke has public may significance writing; Essay Concerning Human Understanding in 1689, Two Treaties of Government in 1690, and Letters Concerning Toleration in 1689-1692. John Locke’s “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” defined the theory of human knowledge, identity and selfhood. In his “Two Treatises of Government” believing that the legitimacy of government relies on consent from its citizens which is given on the basis of equality. A government has the duty to protect the natural rights of its people, if they fail to protect these rights, the citizen have the right to overthrow the government. This writing shows John Locke beliefs in “life, liberty, and property.” In his “Letters Concerning Toleration,”

Thomas Jefferson and John Locke share many similarities in their two writings. In this essay there will make a connection between the two and take a look at how Jefferson may have been or was inspired by John Locke with The Declaration of independence. Two of the main points will be the government's role in the rights of people and what those rights are.

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.

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.”

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,’’or obvious to all.First among these truths is that “all men are created equal.’’Jefferson goes on to state that everyone is “endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.’’This statement is based on John Locke's ideas about natural rights.”Like Locke,Jefferson goes on to state that governments are created in order to protect people's rights.Locke concludes that if a government violates those rights,the people have a right to abolish their government and create

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.

John Locke is not well known as a founder of the Declaration of Independence, but he is a main figure behind the philosophy of it. At first the Declaration and Locke seem to have no connection, but once one takes the time to look deeper they can see that the Declaration echoes Locke. Locke’s philosophy is condensed into a few hundred words under Thomas Jefferson’s pen.

Locke defended the belief that individuals are born with natural rights to life, liberty, and property in the “Two Treatises of Government” and used it to support the idea of a social contract between the people and the authority. He believed that to maintain a stable and safe society, the people should resign some of its power to its government. Since the legitimacy of the ruler is assigned by the governed they have the right to replace the government if it fails to protect the welfare of the people. His radical thinking ignited revolutionary thoughts that led to the American Revolution and consequentially to the French Revolution. He inspired the founding fathers to create the United States of America, a government based on Locke’s political philosophies like the inalienable rights to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness in the Declaration of Independence or the concept of three branches of government that would keep each other balanced in the

Over the course of American history, many famous men and women have acknowledged and praised philosopher John Locke for his substantial influence on American thinking. The praise for Mr. Locke is widespread, coming from historians and presidents alike. In fact, James Otis stated that, “…the authority of Mr. Locke has…been preferred to all others” (20). The founding fathers of America drew heavily from Locke’s writings; in fact, he was the second most quoted source – behind only the Bible. Who, though, was this man influencing the thoughts of our founders? Where did his thoughts take their roots? Most importantly, what view of the world did Mr. Locke’s philosophy present?