How Did John Locke's Influence On American Government

Background Info: Locke was born in 1632 to a wealthy Puritan family and was highly involved in politics during the Glorious Restoration. His witnessing of the effective overthrowing of the government in order to place better suited rulers in power greatly influenced his perspective on government (RJ Lecture).

The enlightenment was a European movement during the 17th and 18th centuries. The enlightenment wasn’t a physical movement; however, it was an intellectual movement. Most of the ideas centered around authority and legitimacy. Later these ideas may have transformed into liberty, progress, tolerance, fraternity, constitutional government, and separation of church and state. The enlightenment was valued greatly, considering that it showed people how to think scientifically, and it also let the world understand different scientific processes. John Locke influenced Thomas Jefferson with these enlightenment writings by helping him write the Declaration of Independence because of Locke showing Jefferson that people were born with natural rights.

John Locke is an english Enlightenment philosopher that influenced Thomas Jefferson. Locke wrote The Two Treatises of Government to explain people’s rights and why the people should overthrow the government with kings as their leaders. The influence that Locke had on Thomas Jefferson is apparent through the way Jefferson drafted the nation’s founding document, The Declaration of Independence. John Locke’s ideas from his Two Treatises on Government heavily influenced Thomas Jefferson’s rationale for the propriety of America’s separation from England.

Philosopher John Locke helped to influence The Declaration of Independence . The Declaration of Independence is a document that ratified the colonies independence from the British Monarch on July 4,1776. That is why we celebrate the holiday on July 4th. Locke's natural rights are “ life, liberty , and property “ Thomas Jefferson one of the authors of the declaration changed it to “ life , liberty , and the pursuit of happiness. Locke also spoke about equality saying “men being by nature all free, equal and independent” is translated into the declaration as “all men are equal “ and the purpose of the government is “to secure these rights”.

“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is a well-known phrase in the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson was the one to draft the Declaration of Independence, however, he was not the first to come up with the idea. Thomas Jefferson was greatly influenced by John Locke who had died 71 years before the start of the American Revolutionary War. He leaves a legacy of thoughts on human understanding, religion, economics, and politics that still influence the structure, environment, and operation of public administration today.

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.

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.

Abigail Weller Honors American Government Mrs. Scott The U.S Constitution is an important document in American history and for the U.S government. The Constitution has lasted and endured for over two hundred years. The Two Treatises of Government by John Locke, the English Bill of Rights, and the Articles of Confederation all influenced the Constitution and contributed to creating

John Locke was one of the most well-known and popular philosophers and physicians of his time. He believed in natural rights and that the government should be a liberal government. He said that the citizens should have the right to go against the government if they violated their rights. His ideas and theories had a significant impact on the political philosophy of the time and influenced democratic systems of the world. He laid the foundation for the modern democratic principles and had major impact on the way people perceive the government and the rights of individuals now.

John locks idea of the social contract but greatly influenced the American Revolution and the declaration of independence with his inspirational writings and demand for freedom. During his lifetime many of his ideas inspired the founding fathers to break free from the bonds of parliament and find their rights to live in an equal government. In spite of many unfair treating, to the American colonists such as salutary neglect and the onset of intolerable acts, the founding fathers created a new era of revival. Once opposition grew, American thinker's turn to the social contract and ideas of life liberty and property to base their new country around. In order to create this government, the New World thinkers used Locke as a structure for their

After years of being subjected to Britain’s constant demands and constricting rules, America decided to pursue the future government and society they desired. They sent a letter to King John III, this letter contained a list of offenses the king had committed, and it also rallied up the colonists to fight for their freedom. This letter, called the Declaration of Independence, was ratified on July 4th, 1776. With the help of five colonists Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence to voice the people’s concerns. This letter ended up impacting how the government developed. The American government was significantly influenced by the Declaration of Independence, which established freedom and more rights for the people, and equality

John Locke was born on August 29, 1632 in Wrington, England. During this time the Puritan migration to New England was occurring. Locke was born into a Puritan family, but he was able to receive a good education. A good education was difficult to get during this time unless you were of a higher social class, but luckily for Locke his father has connections to the English government. The first school he attended was Westminster school in 1647 then continued his schooling at Christ Church, University of Oxford (1652). While at Christ Church he studied medicine and graduated in 1656. Locke’s extensive schooling led to him being elected to the Royal Society in 1668. Locke graduated with a bachelors in medicine in 1674, he then moved to London to be Lord Ashley’s (Lord of Shaftsbury) personal physician. Gradually Lord Ashley became a more important figure in the society, Locke’s responsibilities grew too. Locke began to get involved with political and business matters, when Lord

John Locke’s belief that all humans were born equal and had the right to life, liberty, and property influenced the basis of The United States and France’s government. John Locke felt that the government’s power came from the people; this provided a foundation for democracy and the U.S Constitution. France fought for enlightened principles like liberty, democracy, and equality after they saw that America was successful in their revolt against their absolute monarch. John Locke along with other enlightened philosophes principles were incorporated into their government.

The United States Constitution has a great impact on American’s life. The U.S. Constitution recognized America’s national government, fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. Out of all the philosophers, John Locke’s philosophy had the greatest impact on the decisions that were made at the Philadelphia Convention and the writing of the United States Constitution. Locke introduced the ideas of natural rights and limited government.

John Locke was an English writer, and his writings were based on the events that took place during the Glorious Revolution in England in 1689, when the people of England overthrew King James II. John Locke was interestingly enough, brought up in a loyalist and Evangelical family. He was born to a very wealthy family, and received much prestige in Oxford for his connections to the higher ups. Locke presented his ideas of rebellion during the English civil war which took place in the mid-1600s, in favor of the revolts against the King’s rule in England at the time. John Locke graduated with a degree in medicine from Oxford University.