How Did John Locke Influence The Constitution

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By far, some of the most important men to influence the U.S constitution and our country, in its entirety, is Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. These two prominent English Philosophers both created theories that shaped the ideas and morals of our government. John Locke is known as “The father of classical liberalism” for his theories on classical republicanism and the liberal theory. Thomas Hobbes was primarily known for his public work Leviathan which discussed his views on the social contract theory and absolutism of the sovereign. Locke believed in natural rights of the people; life, liberty and property. He understood men were naturally equal and free. For example, he believed land was a natural right, things for which you gave labor belonged to you. These ideas greatly influenced Thomas Jefferson's drafting of the declaration of independence, and what he presented as unalienable rights. He also proposed that if people disagree with the government they have ultimate power to disband them and create a new one. In other words, Locke believed a ruler gains his authority by the governed. The government had to be one…show more content…
He strongly advised that absolute monarchy was the truest form of government. For instance, if all “unalienable rights” were surrendered to the monarch, man would have a better opportunity to succeed. Even though hobble's also believed in social contract theory he believed all the power was possessed by the government and people did not have the right to oppose it. Locke's understanding of the social contract theory prevailed, specifically because his idea of people having to surrender some rights in order to have more seemed reasonable and he understood that there should be a balance between government and the

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