John+Locke

Quick Overview of Locke's Life

--> Considered the father of democracy and an influential Enlightenment thinker.

Is also widely know as the father of classical liberalism.



Locke's Philosophy John Locke's main ideas above are essentially what inspired American democracy. All 5 are the main definitions of democracy and what the colonies wanted when they broke away from Great Britain.
 * **Equality of Men **
 * **Consent of Majority **
 * **Division of Power **
 * **Right to Rebellion **
 * **Right to Property **
 * **Right to Rebellion** inspired colonies to not be afraid to rebel against Great Britain for the rights of people
 * **Equality of Men** stated in Declaration
 * **Consent of Majority** is used still today in our House, Senate and when voting for presidency
 * **Division of Power** is represented by the checks and balances in our government
 * **Right to Property** is represented by life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in our Declaration

"Government being for the preservation of every man's right and property, by preserving him from the violence or injury of others, is for the good of the governed". (First Treatise, Chapter 9). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">John Locke believed the government should represent and benefit the people they were governing, not the other way around.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Locke Believed...**
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The power should lay with the people
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">He introduced representative government
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The purpose of the government was to be a neutral and fair judge
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The purpose of the government was to best represent the majority

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">John Locke was already considered an extremely influential enlightenment thinker in the late 1600s. He obtained his bachalors degree in 1656 and his masters in 1658. The colonies took to his ideas as they desired to break away from England. They agreed with John Locke that their government should represent the people it worked for, that the government should be a neutral judge to uphold the law and they believed in his main ideas -- equality of men, consent of majority, division of power, right to property, and right to rebellion. All of these things only lit the fire beneath the colonies to break away from the corrupt Great Britain, and John Locke's philosophies helped them back up their reasoning in the Declaration of Independence as well as their statements in the Constitution.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Works Cited **

<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">"Discover John Locke - Quotes - DiscoverJohnLocke.COM - PRODOS Institute Inc.." //Discover John Locke - DiscoverJohnLocke.COM - PRODOS Institute Inc.//. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. <http://discoverjohnlocke.com/quotes.html>.

<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">"Literary Articles: John Locke: The father of modern democracy." //Literary Articles//. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2013. <http://literary-articles.blogspot.com/2009/02/john-locke-father-of-modern-democracy.html>.