John Locke's Checks and Balance

John Locke liked freedom, he thought that freedom was good for the government. “...(W)e must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose [manage] of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature….” (Doc A) This states that Locke wants freedom but their comes consequences. To have this freedom men needed to create a government with a legislature and an executive. Locke’s main idea was people had rights.

Locke is best known for his philosophical ideals regarding the rights of humankind- all individuals have the right to life, liberty, and property.

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.

What would the American government be like today if it was not for the mind and political theory of John Locke? Some historians and philosophers believe that without John Locke our government would only be a shadow of what it is today. Arguably, one of his most important political and philosophical works was his Two Treatises of Government. There he argues that the function of the state is to protect the natural rights of its citizens, primarily to protect the right to property. John Locke, in many eyes, can be viewed as one of the father’s of Democracy. He embraced many of ideas in his theories on the state of nature and the rise of political society today. In Locke’s political society,

John Locke was an enlightenment thinker of the 18th century. He was born is a small village in Southwest England in 1632. He was the most significant enlightenment thinker because he inspired other philosopher such as Voltaire, Paine and Rousseau. Another reasons is he inspired the checks and balances and separation of power in the United States and many other countries today. Finally he inspired the basis of the Declaration of independance. John Locke was the most significant philosopher of the enlightenment Era because he believed that believed that humans were born with certain natural rights, rights of life, liberty and property. Locke believed that all people had those rights, and that they are universal.

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.

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).

Locke’s writing helped inspired many, but impacted mostly the western philosophy (“John Locke: Biography.”) In Locke’s milestone, Two Treatises of Government claimed his revolutionary viewpoint, the natural rights of man and the social contract (“James Harrington Encyclopedia.”) Both impression not only overwrought in England, but also encounter the cognoscenti that formed the later American French Revolution. At the time of England’s downfall, Locke became involved in creating a clear objective for the government. Locke believed the government should be limited and should protect the life, property, and liberty of citizens. Locke wanted a government that met the needs of the people, which is what the makers of the constitution took into account when they set up the legislative branch. The legislative branch is made up of the Senate and House of Representatives. Locke was a long time influence of America, especially when he said “being all equal

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

significance - Locke strongly supported people's right to rebel against a government if it failed to protect and honor their rights. He was also known as the 'Father of Liberalism.

He talks about human equality and believed that all people are creatures of the same species and rank. He believed that everyone should be able to be part of the government and can make it a better one because people are equal amongst each other without different rankings and positions. According to John Locke in Document A, this idea was important because the people had the right to create a new government if the old government fails to do it correctly. Most philosophers believe that having a government is a necessity and due to this, freedom in government has a huge affect on one's society because without one, a community will fall into conflict over power. Individual freedom plays a big part in improving the government because if the people are able to decide on how the role of a government should play out and who should be a part of it, their rights will be protected and their society can gradually grow. As Locke states, people can decide upon whether or not they want a new administration, which means that they'd replace the old one with a new one, which would do much more for their society. To have a government that knows how to do their job, peoples’ rights will be better protected which can improve society as a whole because of the

John Locke theory about government and the governed was more equitable to the people. His theory was fair because it wasn't anything like Hobbes. John Locke believed the purpose of government was to end the state of nature and give people certain protections. But he also believed that the government should protect the people's natural rights. John Locke believed the government can only be legitimate, or valid, if it is based on a social contract

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?

I think that John Locke is right on human nature. I think that because he thinks government should protect our natural rights and so we can enjoy those rights to a greater extent. He set the way for the Declaration of Independence, but also the way John Locke thinks has so to do with what our life is like now with government and the people. Right now we live in a Democracy, which is what John Locke wanted, it’s where people have a say in some of the things that happen. An example is like people vote for who they want to be president but there is a restriction on that you have to be 18 years of age or older to vote. So with that I will explain examples from my life on why I choose John Locke.

John Locke was been one of Americas most significant figures who influence how the country’s political system works today. Locke redefined the whole nature of the government, his views were similar to Thomas Hobbes’ ideas (Hobbes concluded that people are incapable of ruling themselves because it’s in our nature to self-centered not need to a strong leader to control us), however Locke was more optimistic about people’s ability to reason to help avoid tyranny. In Locke’s Second Treatise of Government he identified the basis to a reasonable government. According to Locke a ruler should gain their authority by the people who will be governed because the duty of the government is to protect the natural rights its people (life, liberty, and property), and said that if the government failed to protect these rights, the people should have the right to overthrow its government. These ideas greatly influence Thomas Jefferson when writing the Declaration of Independence. Federalism has also greatly impacted the political system in the United States because it’s the relationship between the authority and people. There are many ways the government can be divided. For example, a cooperative federalism is when the federal government governs unlimitedly and forces lower governments to supervise and enforce national