... have been many great philosophers. Aristotle, Plato, Confucius and Descartes are some names that come up when talking about famous philosophers. John Locke, who was born in 17th century England, was a philosopher and physician and to this day is regarded as one of the ... and his ideas had a huge impact on the founding fathers of America when they were drawing up the Declaration of Independence. Even though Locke had an important role in the French Enlightenment while he was alive, his ideas and political views were used long after his death and to ... the people's obligation to rebel ...

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... government has existed, philosophers have tried to understand its principals and purpose. One such philosopher, John Locke, wrote revolutionary political theories that led to governmental reform in the United States and in Britain. Although theories concerning a government-free existence, or "state of nature," were popular in Locke's time, he postulated along very different lines than others had, and came to the innovative ... , so extreme in his time, have since influenced and transformed civil government by acting as a model for liberal political philosophy. John Locke's theory of natu...

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... this time, John Locke's ideas dropped a bomb on people's minds and even effects our very thoughts of today. Locke's ideas were based around the idea that man is originally born into nature with certain unalienable rights. These rights included life liberty and property. The only difference between Locke and many other ... The beginning of the Declaration describes the natural rights of man as Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness which is very similar to Locke's Life, Liberty, and Property. His ideas also gave the colonies permission to revolt as the British government was corrupt ...

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... reasons for and justifications of the American colonies" separation from the rule of England echoes closely the theory of government presented by John Locke in his Second Treatise of Government. Jefferson's theory of revolution somewhat mirrors Hobbes's idea that the "natural rights of the citizen ... government exists as one of the basic institutions in the world of human affairs, meant to protect the natural rights of humankind. Locke stated the most crucial natural rights as being "life, liberty, and property." Every man or woman has an equal, natural right ... document meant to just...

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... eruption of the American Revolution can be traced back to the ideology of the early Puritan colonists. A succession of influence exists from the Puritan ideals of John Winthrop, to the radical beliefs of John Locke, and finally to the attitudes of revolutionary thinkers such as Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine. The political thought of the revolution was preceded by a rich history ... goal, a federalist by the name of Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet entitled "Common Sense-. Paine hoped the pamphlet would increase the support of federalism in the colonies. Indications of philosopher John L...

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... the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza and the German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Descartes" theories were opposed, however, by British philosophers of the empiricist tradition, such as John Locke, who believed that all ideas are derived from the senses. Empiricist traditions stemmed off into other forms of Enlightenment thought, such as epistemological rationalism, the philosophy that focuses ... beliefs stemmed from the examination of the universe; the great thinkers believed that someone had to create the world, and simply worshiped the being that did so. As...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza and the German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Descartes" theories were opposed, however, by British philosophers of the empiricist tradition, such as John Locke, who believed that all ideas are derived from the senses. Empiricist traditions stemmed off into other forms of Enlightenment thought, such as epistemological rationalism, the philosophy that focuses ... beliefs stemmed from the examination of the universe; the great thinkers believed that someone had to create the world, and simply worshiped the being that did so. As...

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... way they see things and adopt their ideas. Those leaders decided it was a reasonable way to create a better society. During this enlightenment period, the most commonly heard French philosophers were John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, Thomas Hobbes, Baron Montesquieu, Denis Diderot, and others. They discarded traditional beliefs and began to use reason to explain the world around them. Hobbes based his ... time. Thomas Jefferson is best known for drafting the Declaration of Independence. Like Benjamin Franklin, he substituted "pursuit of happiness" for "property" in Locke's schedule of n...

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... of socialism. However often contradicted through our own human err of bias perception, the works of great thinkers such as Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Locke have provided a pivotal influence on societal values. This philosophy is the groundwork for what we now more wholly understand as laws of nature ... passion to do good to others, and a taste for truth, goodness, and beauty. The theories of Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau, among other thinkers would be identified as a sometimes distorted echo throughout history. John Locke presented the reinvented theory that, symbolic of a social cont...

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... contend; further, it usually showed the wholesome bias on the behalf of property which the Fathers expected," (Hofstrader 20). Social contract theorist John Locke argued that governments" major responsibility was the preservation of private property and that men were born equal and with equal rights in nature; ... consent is directly related to the concept of a legitimate government. Legitimacy is achieved through voting or some other sort of participation in the system. Locke understood the need of consent to preserve a legitimate government. "If governments act improperly, they break t...

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... of the traditional Christian state model. In the American Founders' opinion, the separation between the government and the church was necessary. Base on John Locke's liberalism principles, the American Founders rejected the notion that the power of the government was given by God. "The state's origin ... was not shrouded in the impenetrable mystery of divine gift or dispensation", Locke said. Locke emphasized that the power of government was from its citizens, who voluntarily contracted to set up governments in order to protect their natural ... rights, namely life, liberty, and propert...

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... 18th century in Europe. This includes the ideas of many prominent writers such as Thomas Hobbes, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and particularly John Locke. Jefferson's idea of the unalienable rights, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" derives from Locke's ideas. John Locke believed that humans by nature had the right to protection of life, health, possession and liberty. Moreover, he also strongly opposed ... beliefs when he states, "To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed". Jefferson is able to put Lock...

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... of mankind (anyone who lived by the natural laws received it), progress in society, and liberty (society could be set free). Through out this period came great Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke and Voltaire. John Locke, the earliest Enlightenment thinker, was born in England in 1632. He was a political philosopher who criticized absolute monarchy and favored democracy. Because of his ideas ... Locke was put into exile like some other thinkers. His ideas not only influenced later Enlightenment thinkers, but also America and France because you can see that these ideas were expressed ...

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... his draft of the Declaration of Independence, this is obvious. A great comparison can be made between the Declaration of Independence and the thoughts of English philosopher John Locke's case for the 1668 "Glorious Revolution" in England. Locke's theory was based on "natural rights". He contended that those put in the position to govern should, be placed there by the will of the people ... . Therefore it was the governors" job to protect the rights of its citizens. Locke stated that every man should be guaranteed, "life, liberty, and property" by the government. Thomas Jefferson minorly ...

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... that they have natural rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This relates to John Locke's theory of Social Contract in the way that Locke was the one that proposed the natural rights. However, Locke proposed the right to property instead of the pursuit of happiness. Also, Locke believed that a person would "put himself under government and follow its rules, fairly made and ... nature of a contract, an exchange. A citizen would be better able to secure his liberty and his property by giving up a little of each to a central authority." Now in the declaration, Locke's idea a...

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... universal privileges given to all men, grew in popularity after the Enlightenment era. The philosopher, John Locke, argued that it is the government's soul duty role to protect its peoples' rights to Liberty, Life, and private property. The American and French governments both chose to follow Locke's teachings in their declarations; America in The Declaration of Independence and France with The Declaration of ... tyranny of their current government: one by the monarchy of the British King; the other, an Oligarchy class structure. Both nations were frustrated with the current government ...

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... of Independence was written in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson explaining the reason of the colonists separating from Great Britain. In the Second Treatise of Civil Government written in 1689 by John Locke, Locke implies that individuals' personality and possessions is free if they are within the law of nature and not bounded by others individuals like Britishers ... . Locke states that individuals should fight for their freedom if the government is misusing their rights. All the three documents have in common the reasons to fight for independence and how ... grow commercially and build a bet...

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... lawyer who is known for his "broad knowledge and skillfully crafted prose," to write the declaration of independence. Though the whole idea of the declaration of independence was originally john Locke's idea. John Locke stated, "People willingly come together in a social contract. Basically people enjoy "natural rights", to life liberty and property but they needed some ground rules so they developed ... the declaration of independence. There are many well-known people in history that signed this document including, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Hancock and sever...

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... .. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness Governments are instituted.. deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." (DOI, 63) These ideas were derived from the writings of John Locke: "Men being.. by nature all free, equal, and independent, no one can be.. subjected to the political power of another without his own consent ... proved importance as a justification for the American revolution. "Whensoever.. the legislative shall transgress.. the people.. have a right to resume their original liberty and provide for their own safety and security- (Locke, 33) The writer...

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... American frontier alienated people from traditional European etiquette. The American Revolution proved that Enlightenment ideals were practical. America became the first country to revolt employing John Locke's concept of rebellion upon breach of contract. In addition, it (Locke as well) repudiated Jonathan Boucher's accepted assertion that "Man differs from man in everything that can be supposed to lead to supremacy and subjection." Thomas ... Jefferson spoke of Americans' "unalienable rights" and their natural equality (which according to Locke meant that no one had by nature the righ...

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... into a new age enlightened by reason, science, and respect for humanity."(Encarta encyclopedia) Enlightenment philosophers questioned the past and appealed to reason. Many of them followed 17th-century English philosopher John Locke in believing that all individuals possessed certain "natural rights" such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of property, and that it was the responsibility of government to protect those rights ... 1700's. More than a series of ideas, the enlightenment became an attitude, altering the former way of life. The value that enlightened thinkers placed upon the na...

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... from the narrow-mindedness of the Provincial era, and embraced this period of time to the fullest extent. The first hint of the American Enlightenment can best be exemplified by John Wise and Jonathan Edwards and their attempts to reform the Church. Because he believed that all men were endowed with reason from God, Wise was a firm opponent to the concept ... such a conversion, then and only then would he be a member of the "Elect." The inspiration for Edwards" religious concepts came from the works of John Locke, who was most responsible for many of the most notable Enlightenment attri...

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... our life. All the Enlightenment philosophers took part in defending our rights and later shaping our society for the better. John Locke emphasized that, we should all have natural rights to life, liberty, and property in order to have a strong good working government. Locke stated, "for society can never lose native [natural] and original right it has to preserve itself, which can ... ...

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... in law led to various interpretations of British legislations, notably contributing to his courtroom title of "Treason."" John Hancock If there was ever a more recognizable name during the Revolutionary War period of American history, it was most certainly the deservingly famed ... representative John Hancock. The patriots of the late 1700s often times gathered the support of populous in their British governing reforms attempts ... via targeting the local legislation. If there was one such a gentleman who sided with American Independence, this again was John Hancock, the first signer of...

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... declaration of independence was justified by the enlightenment ideas that were spread at the time. Colonial protests and the war were based on liberalism of the Enlightenment. Writers such as John Locke from England and Baron de Montesquieu from France argued that people had divinely given natural rights including liberty, life, and property liberty, and property. They also believed that government existed ... ...

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