How Did John Locke's View Of Government

This absolutist leader is portrayed by both King James I of England and King Louis XIV of France. King James I of England provided his people with a religious affiliation of himself and God. Through the divine right of kings, King James I believed he granted himself power from the authority of God. By means of this given right, King James I convinced his people was equal in power to God. Although this statement is false, many people, specifically the poor and illiterate, believed him. King James I used people’s relationships with God to create his own relationship amongst the people. In England there needed to be order when religious affiliation was breaking between the people and God. So rather than people looking up to God, they would look up to King James I. “The state of monarchy is the supreme thing upon earth; for kings are not only God’s lieutenants on earth and sit upon God’s throne, but even by God Himself they are called gods.”- Document B. Since King James was believed to be in connection and as powerful as God, no one could disobey or disagree with him. King James I granted himself the power to create and destroy, give life or sentence death and to determine the status of people. By making himself known as a god, King James I was able to fulfill several religious aspects in people’s lives and rule under a well-organized secure state of monarchy. Additionally,

James VI formed a new Stuart dynasty that replaced the Tudor rule. His rule as the king of England and Scotland affected the lives of millions of people all over Europe. Because of this, English Catholics becoming even more marginalized due to the Protestant King.

James I became the King of England in 1603. He was determined to rule England wisely and he had successfully ruled the troublesome Scots where many others had failed in the past. However, he increased financial problems and difficulties in managing parliament. Even though James I misunderstood some aspects of the governing of his reign and kept England at peace until 1624. In Scotland, James I was known for his acceptance of different

John Locke strongly influenced American government. In the Declaration of Independence for example, the idea of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" was a philosophical idea from Locke. He believed that one who governs must gain authority through the consent of those they govern. Locke also thought that the ones with authority must protect the natural rights of their citizens and if they didn't, then the citizens would have the right to overthrow the government. All these ideas deeply influenced Thomas Jefferson, which is apparent in the Declaration of Independence. His ideas were also used by slavery abolitionist and women suffragist.

While reading the “The Second Treatise of Government,” you can notice and see that John Locke has a strong standing for civil rights as well as helping with the development of the Constitution of the United States. He states that the “consent of the governed,” is basically saying that communities are not put together by the divine right or ruled by. Paternal, familial, and political are types of powers that John Locke mentions that have all have unlike characteristics. He inspired others to believe in and want equal rights and democracy. John Locke talks about the state of nature, which basically states that no one has the power to be ruler of someone, as well as they are able to do what they want in a freely matter. In other words people are born just like anyone else that is born, and should have equally rights to property, health, and liberty, and that no one should have the power over anyone. Everyone should be able to live and enjoy his or her own freedom and wellbeing. However, the state of nature is not a guarantee to have natural laws, which could help with the protecting of one’s property. According to him having your own personal freedom was the true meaning of state of nature. John Locke thought that people were following his faith in human rationality through the declaration of Locke. John Locke states that if the government takes away from others for them to empower them then the people have right and opportunity to go against

John Locke argued for individual freedom. If we had individual freedom we would have a strong government. Locke said it was necessary to a good government. Locke wrote “People are naturally free and have the right to maintain their freedom.”(Document A) To keep this freedom people needed to construct a government that has both an executive and a legislature. To Locke a government created by the people was the best government in his futuristic sense of

John Locke identified how and what a legitimate government should consist of. In his writings he talks about power, whom ever has executive power should use it for the common good and any law they create must be known by the people. He believed that the people should have the power (Popular Sovereignty) and that the ruler should gain authority through the consent of the governed. When Locke states, “to the people; who have a right to resume their original liberty, and by the establishment of a new legislative, provide for their own safety and security…” (Locke, 1690, p.1) he is saying what he believes the duty of the government should be, in this case it is to protect the natural rights of the people while also allowing them to have freedom as well.

In his writings, he proclaimed his opinion of mans natural right. He believed every man had the right to life, liberty, and property. That the government should put its efforts into protecting these God given rights, for the power the government holds is given to it by the people. Locke states, “But though men, when they enter into society give up the equality, liberty, and executive power they had in the state of Nature into the hands of society. . . ” He is explaining the sacrifices people make by moving into an organized society. He states that by giving up these things, protection is placed upon the persons property, because governments make laws to protect each citizens rights. However, in some cases, when the general public believe fit, the people can remove their legislative power. They then can replace it with someone who respects the power given to them, and follows the peoples wishes instead of their own

This paper is about John Locke who was a philosopher in the 17-century. He was an Englishmen and his ideas formed the basic concept for the government and laws, which later allowed colonist to justify revolution. I agree with what Locke is saying because everybody should be able to have their own freedom and still respect the freedom of other people. John said, “Individuals have rights, and their duties are defined in terms of protecting their own rights and respecting those of others”. This paper will present to you information about his enlightenment, personal information, and how we as people feel about his decisions.

James II had openly converted to Catholicism, which lead many in parliament to believe that the country would be in danger when James took power. Parliament tried to pass the Exclusion Bill, which would exclude his Catholic brother from the throne and instead pass it on to Charles’s illegitimate son, but the King was able to stall parliament from introducing the bill by suspending and dissolving

He felt that God placed him upon his throne and recognized himself and other Kings as his equals. His attitude made the Parliament believe that, while he said he was Anglican, he was secretly Catholic. This created strife between the two forms of government. James was willing to be the sole interpreter of the law and Parliament felt they should have some say in the matter. James, in his ‘True Law’ said, “Where he sees the law doubtsome or rigorous, he may interpret or mitigate the same… … and therefore general laws made publicly in Parliament may upon [the king’s] authority be mitigated or suspended upon causes only known to him,” (James I 2). When James died, Parliament thought they had rid the country of problematic leaders, but his successor was worse than he ever was.

James had a hard time getting along with Parliament . James spent his money toward the military and started to run low on money. James would ask Parliament for money but they would never grant his request. During that time a group called the Puritans formed. The Puritans are a group of strict Calvinists that demanded that the Church of England be reformed. The Puritans goal was to take power away from the church officials. James saw this as a threat to his power since the church supported him and refused to pass the Puritans request for reform. King James faced many problems during his reign with Parliament unlike the Tudor Family who made sure they had a good relationship with Parliament . When James died his younger son Charles I was crowned king , whose conflict with Parliament would led to the english civil war and his own

In his Second Treatise on Government Locke focus’ on liberalism & capitalism, defending the claim that men are by nature free and equal against the idea that God had made all people subject to a king. He argued that people have ‘natural rights’, such as the right to life, liberty, and property, that hold the foundation for the major laws of a society. He says, “…we must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit.” (2nd Treatise, Chapter 2, sec 4). John Locke used this claim, that all men were naturally free and equal, for understanding the idea of a government as a result of a social contract. This is where people in the state of nature transfer some of their rights to the government in order to better guarantee the steady and comfortable enjoyment of their lives, liberty, and property.

To explain how the rights of an individual should be managed Locke first goes into detail about what an individual’s rights entail. Locke explains that a “man being born… hath by nature a power… to preserve his property – that is his life, liberty, and estate” (Locke). These rights, although

After Charles the second died his brother, James the second gained the throne in 1685. His main objective was to re-establish the Roman Catholic religion in England. The people of England were mostly of a Protestant religion and they did not want to change their ways. Oddly enough