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John Locke
John Locke was born 1632, in England. He studied at Oxford University and was a member of the English Royal Society – one of the earliest organizations of scientists. Locke became friends with Isaac Newton. It was Locke's work with the Oxford scientists that gave him an important perspective on how scientific reasoning could be applied to people and society.
Locke was opposed to the idea of absolute monarchy and, because he challenged the King's authority, Locke went into exile in Holland. While in Holland, Locke wrote Two Treatises of Civil Government. This book outlined his theories about natural law and rights. Locke believed that all people were born with "natural rights" that every person had which could not be taken away and should not be violated. He believed that government was formed as a social contract between people to protect their natural rights. He believed that the purpose of the government was to protect the natural rights of life (you shouldn't kill people), liberty (you shouldn't restrict people's freedom) and property (you shouldn't take other people's belongings). In his book, Locke argues for revolution against tyrannical (absolute) governments. Locke believed that if the government was not doing a good job protecting the people's rights, then the people were allowed to rebel against the government.
After the British king, James II, was overthrown, William of Orange, the King of Holland, was invited to become the new King of England. William of Orange promised that he would share power with a legislature made up of British people, called Parliament, rather than keeping all of the power for himself. Known as the Glorious Revolution of 1688, this event marked a change in English government because power shifted from being held by the king, to being held by the Parliament. In 1688, Locke took the opportunity to return to England on the same ship that carried Queen Mary to join her husband, King William. Locke’s ideas were used in the writing of the British Bill of Rights, which outlined the rights of the British people and limited the power of the king. The British Bill of Rights was an important event in establishing the concept of “rule of law”. Rule of Law is the idea that countries should be run based on established laws, rather than just based on the decisions of an absolute monarch, which might change all the time depending on his moods. The British Bill of Rights became the basis for the American Bill of Rights in the Constitution
Source # 1 - Video Lecture explaining Locke's philosophical argument for Natural Rights and the Rule of Law - click here
Classwork Source # 1 - Excerpt is from John Locke’s Two Treatise on Government (1690)
Men being…by nature all free, equal, and independent, no one can be subjected to the political power of another without his consent…To protect natural rights governments are established. Since men hope to preserve their property by establishing a government, they will not want that government to destroy their objectives. When legislators try to destroy or take away the property of the people, or try to reduce them to slavery, they put themselves in a state of war with the people, who can refuse to obey the laws.
Classwork Source # 2 - Excerpt from the Declaration of Independence (1776)
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
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