John Locke And The Declaration Of The Rights Of Man

From Aristotle to John Locke to Thomas Jefferson, the ideas of great philosophers influenced the foundations of the United States. When Jefferson began writing the Declaration of Independence, he wanted to make this new country based on the basic fundamentals. He wanted to base the country on what was considered the natural laws. Jefferson had many philosophical minds to ponder when writing the document, such as Aristotle and most importantly John Locke.

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.

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.

Natural Rights (Locke) appear in the declaration of Independence as "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Jean Rousseau developed the idea of the social contract and the notion of replacing a government that fails to maintain consent is cited as justification for the American Revolution against the English.

John Locke’s stance on government provided an influential role on the founding of America. His stances on government prompted a restructuring and reorganization of government. John Locke argued that people have rights such as life, liberty, and property. These rights became known as unalienable rights, which were eventually incorporated into Bill of Rights under the fifth amendment, “no person shall be… deprived of life, liberty, or property” (3). In reference to the ideas of the enlightenment, it paralleled ideas dealing with human rights, liberty, and powers of the government. In regards to the powers of the

On July 4th, 1776 our founding father's got together to create, “The Declaration of Independence” One of the quotes that benefit all U.S. citizens is that all people living in the United States are entitled to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Life, meaning every person has the right to live, to literally be alive. Liberty, meaning every person has the right to be whatever they choose, and to live their life however they want. The Pursuit of Happiness, meaning every person has the right to pursue happiness and do whatever makes them happy. These are inalienable rights that can never be taken away. John Locke is the person that created the phrase “The Pursuit of Happiness”, but Thomas Jefferson is the person that thought it was a good idea to put that in The Declaration of Independence. What does this phrase mean for us today? What did it mean for people in the past? What was

Following, numerous years of tension and issues, including unfair taxation, and unlawful restrictions, Great Britain and the colonies, underwent a revolution resulting in their separation. Through their new found freedom came the Declaration of Independence, a formal proclamation affirming the colonies to be ¨Free and Independent States.¨ The Declaration incorporates numerous ideas about government and people, many of which are found in John Locke's natural rights philosophy. Natural rights philosophy explains that all people, after leaving the state of nature, enter into a social contract with their government. In doing so they choose to give up some of their rights but gain protection and inalienable rights. The ideas formulated by John Locke and incorporated into the Declaration of Independence include the belief a person is afforded the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness regardless of their social status or wealth but by being a part of society. Another accumulated concept is the notion that a government derives its power to govern from the consent of the people when they enter into a social contract. Lastly, the power of the people to overthrow a government that fails to protect their unalienable rights was a part of natural rights philosophy incorporated into the Declaration. The Declaration of Independence was a significant component of early America as it sets the goals and ideas for the country as well advocating natural rights

New ideas and liberties followed into the states including freedom religion where one could believe what one wanted to. John Locke came up with enlightenment ideas such as the “natural rights.” Natural rights are the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness that each American has their own rights to. Thomas Jefferson added to the General assembly of Virginia in 1786, that every man should have the right to pursue any religious practice that one would please. This brought on the Bill of Rights in 1791.

The amount produced by any man should be kept in check by his level of

When looking at the Declaration of Independence and the justifications which Jefferson used in order to encourage the dissolve of the ties between the United Colonies and Great Britain, it becomes apparent how much of the theories of John Locke that Jefferson used as the basis for his argument. Focusing particularly on the second paragraph of the Declaration, the arguments for the equality of each man and the formation and destruction of governments come almost directly from Locke's Second Treatise of Government. The other arguments in the Declaration of Independence deal primarily with each citizen's rights and the natural freedoms of all men, two areas that Locke also spent

John Locke argued that all individuals possessed certain "natural rights" such as life, liberty, and property (Greene, 96). It was the responsibility of the government to protect those inalienable rights. When Britain began imposing sanctions that limited the colonists' natural rights, it violated its responsibility to its dependents. Therefore, Locke's theory provided an intellectual justification for resistance to British authority. Furthermore, Locke believed that if the government failed in preserving the natural rights of the individual then rebellion is justified (Greene, 96). Due to the development of powerful colonial cities, the end of salutary neglect of the colonies by Britain, and the increasing tension between Britain and the colonies, the American Revolution was inevitable.

The Declaration Of Independence was influenced by many people and writings, one of these people was John Locke who had man beliefs of his included. Some of these beliefs are natural rights, the purpose of government, and how to respond to a abusive government.

Locke believed that man should not let any boundaries be set forth upon them against their recreation of their rights, however, within the limitations of the government and the safety of the people. Using Locke’s ideas the authors of the Declaration of Independence imitates his belief with “whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…” . This statement is a powerful one to have in such a monumental document that the entire governmental system is based upon as it not only gives the people their individual rights, popular sovereignty, but also asserts their final

From a natural rights perspective the belief is that above all else human beings have basic human rights that must be adhered to regardless of the consequences. Locke (1690, as cited in Burgh et al., 2006) developed the

John Locke was a firm believer and supporter if equal rights. He was very outspoken about this even within a governed society. He supported and encouraged the natural rights of man which were the right to life, liberty, and property and made it known that every government’s purpose is to secure those rights for its people. Though he spoke a majority on the government aspect of equality, his beliefs did not stop there. He also believed in religious equality. He wanted it so that each individual could practice whatever religion they chose. The one exception to this was atheism which he strongly still supported the ex-communication of nonbelievers. Locke also did not tolerate the attempt at superior races. He believed that all of man lived in