How Did John Locke's Influence On The Declaration Of Independence

It was the land, when mixed with man’s labour offered the means of turning that outcome into money. Since land ownership is a prerequisite to making money and money is a pre-condition to owning land, the two became inexorably linked. In short, the introduction of money led to unlimited accumulation, scarcity and, ultimately, conflict. Although the sufficiency limitation remained intact, there was no longer “as much and as good” land for everyone and, as a result, a visible disparity between “owners” and the “wage makers” appeared and conflict between them arose. Locke commented on the problems inherent in accumulation of property in the state of nature;

	One of Locke’s central themes is the distribution of property. In a state of natural abundance "all the fruits it naturally produces, and beasts it feeds, belong to mankind in common" (page 18). In this situation the only thing man naturally owns is "his own person. This no body has any right to but himself" (page 18). Therefore, man is in a way equal, however it is an imperfect equality. "Whatsoever then he removes out of the state that nature hath provided, and left it in, he hath mixed his labour with and joined to it something that is his own, and thereby makes it his property" (page 18). Therefore, everything belongs to mankind in general, until a man decides to take it upon himself to acquire something from its pure state in nature, and since he has to work to achieve this, the fruits of the labor are his.

John Locke is an english Enlightenment philosopher that influenced Thomas Jefferson. Locke wrote The Two Treatises of Government to explain people’s rights and why the people should overthrow the government with kings as their leaders. The influence that Locke had on Thomas Jefferson is apparent through the way Jefferson drafted the nation’s founding document, The Declaration of Independence. John Locke’s ideas from his Two Treatises on Government heavily influenced Thomas Jefferson’s rationale for the propriety of America’s separation from England.

1. Which philosophers influenced Thomas Jefferson’s writing of the Declaration of Independence? In writing the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was influenced by a group of French thinkers who came to be known as philosophers. The philosophes dominated the progress of the Enlightenment. They were Intellectuals rather than philosophers in the strict sense of the word, Members of the nobility and the middle class, came together in gatherings organized by socially ambitious noblewomen. In the elegant salons of Paris, these thinkers and writers met to exchange views and dialect on morality, politics, science, and religion and to opinions on everything. The philosophers applied science models and the observed method to all aspects of human life. They supporter, Reason and clear thinking, would release humankind from existing forms of intolerance, inequality, and injustice, to produce a superior social and moral order. They championed individual right, social progress, and human perfectibility. The English philosopher John Locke was an important philosopher his influence as political theorist. Living in a time and place in which republican ideals challenged the power of absolutist monarchs, Thomas Hobbes, had envisioned a covenant among individuals who willingly surrendered a portion of their freedom to a governing authority. Locke’s views on political freedom and expanded on his theories. Montesquieu who was a French lawyer advanced the idea of a separation of powers among

Jefferson received a great deal of inspiration from Locke in writing the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration, however, is not a creation of government. The Constitution of the United States is the result of the Declaration. Locke influenced that form of government, as well.

Locke believed that all men are born with natural rights and they are the right to life, liberty, and property Locke said "Life refers to the fact that people want to live and will fight to survive. Liberty means that people want to be as free as possible. Property represents the fact that people want to own things that help them survive, such as land, food, and tools." Locke claims that these rights aren't given to people and that people are born with them.

Next, under Locke’s state of nature, he also places a heavy emphasis on extensive rights, including property rights. He believed that self-determination implied private property rights and that human life without property is not free. In refutation to this

In Locke’s first Treatises of Government he discussed how Divine Rights of Kings are not by God’s will. Unlike Filmer Locke believes that people are leaders and Kings due to the

Having established his state of nature, Locke begins his description of the formation and transition to society, and appropriately starts with a discussion of property. “God, who hath given the World to Men in common, hath also given them reason to make use of it to the best advantage of Life, and convenience.” (Locke, Second Treatise, V.26). Here, Locke does little more than apply natural law (self preservation) to what he sees around him (land), but in doing so, makes a groundbreaking shift. He reveals that, following from natural law, men have a right to use what they have around them to further their own preservation and lives. In addition, man has an inherent, and obvious, possession of himself and all that comes with it, including, and most importantly, labor. “The Labour of his Body, and the Work of his Hands, we may say, are properly his.” (Locke, Second Treatise,

     In Locke’s opinion the idea of fair unequal distribution of wealth came about with the creation of money. Before money, things could not be saved fairly. Over stocking by some would lead to spoilage, and leave others with nothing. Once money was introduced though, this allowed the accumulation of wealth, without waste, so Locke says “…thus came in the use of money- some lasting thing that men might keep without spoiling, and that by mutual consent men would take in exchange for the truly useful but perishable supports of life. (Locke 20).” Now one man could have, “ … a disproportionate and unequal possession of the earth… (And) …fairly possess more land than he himself can use the product of…(Locke 22)”. The word “fairly” in that last statement should jump off the page.

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.

Locke begins his explanation of private property by establishing how individuals come to possess property separate from the common resources of mankind. The defining feature of a piece of private property is labor, as the individual who performs the “labour that removes [the good] out of that common state nature left it in” makes the property his own (V. 30). According to Locke, the common resources of nature are open to all mankind, but a good becomes an individual’s own when a person performs some sort of labor on it. This stems from his idea that industry is an extension of self-ownership – people have natural rights of their own being, and extending these personal rights through work is how people come to own other things. Labor is what establishes ownership of a good, and as long as the amount of property taken is within a reasonable and modest amount, people are free to take what resources they must from the Earth. Although Locke argues in favor of the possession of private property, he emphasizes the point that it is “dishonest” for a man “to hoard up more than he could make use of” (V. 46). When people take property in excess, perishable

Even though there are limitations, this paragraph shows how one can acquire a significant amount of private property. If one is extremely efficient and productive there will be a surplus of products that can be used. Since it is a sin to let products go to waste, Locke creates a system of barter. However a system of barter is not an efficient system. The value of items would be hard to determine. Therefore, Locke suggests a monetary system with "a little piece of yellow metal, which would keep without wasting or decay, should be worth a

John Locke had many accomplishments. John Locke has public may significance writing; Essay Concerning Human Understanding in 1689, Two Treaties of Government in 1690, and Letters Concerning Toleration in 1689-1692. John Locke’s “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” defined the theory of human knowledge, identity and selfhood. In his “Two Treatises of Government” believing that the legitimacy of government relies on consent from its citizens which is given on the basis of equality. A government has the duty to protect the natural rights of its people, if they fail to protect these rights, the citizen have the right to overthrow the government. This writing shows John Locke beliefs in “life, liberty, and property.” In his “Letters Concerning Toleration,”

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