John Locke's influence on American Politics.

1. Democratic
Values:
John Locke
BY: JILLIAN WATSON
GOVERNMENT CP
www.wikipedia.com

2. Biography
 John Locke was born in Wrington, Somerset, England on
August 29th, 1632. He was raised in a family that supported
Puritanism, but they remained in the Church of England. This
influenced some of his thinking in later life. Locke’s father
played a role in the English Civil Wars in which the monarchy
under Charles I fought against parliamentary people under
Oliver Cromwell. This also majorly influenced Locke’s opinion
on government and the supposed “divine right” of leaders. At
age 14, Locke was sent to the Westminster School in London
where he was under the instruction of Richard Busby, who was
a royalist. Locke was a good student, but certainly did not enjoy
school. At age 20, Locke began to attend the University of
Oxford. There, he learned of Aristotle, Bacon, Descartes, and
other philosophers. After this was when he began to form some
of his most influential ideas.
Westminster School. www.sutori.com

3. Original Influence
 John Locke played an incredibly large influence on American politics.
Locke influenced the foundational basis that the Constitution was
constructed upon. He devolved the idea that government was meant to
protect the people and could be overthrown if it was not doing so, and
that all people had the natural right to life, liberty, and property. On top
of this, there are several documents that Locke is well known for, one of
the most important one being the Essay Concerning Human
Understanding. He is also very famous for his Two Treatises of
Government and Essays on the Law of Nature. Another massively
influential document of his is Some Thoughts Concerning Education.
www.thejohnlockesociety.com

4. Ongoing Influence?
 I absolutely believe that John Locke’s ideas are still a large
influence in American politics today. The government is still
basically formed completely around his ideas, and almost all
Americans still advocate for the natural rights that he
proposed. People also still largely support the idea that the
government should protect the people of its country. One
example of this influence could be the recent marches that
have occurred on college campuses to support freedom of
speech, a key principal in American history that came from
John Locke’s original ideas of natural rights. This expresses
Locke’s ideas of both the right of the people to overthrow
government if necessary (although, clearly it’s much more
tame here. No one’s overthrowing any government, just
protesting some of its methods) and natural rights of the
people. Students protesting. www.alec.org

5. Bibliography
 Rogers, Graham A.J. “John Locke.” Encyclopædia Britannica,
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 5 Dec. 2018,
www.britannica.com/biography/John-Locke.
 Connolly, Patrick P. “John Locke.” Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
www.iep.utm.edu/locke/.