JOHN LOCKE

MEET JOHN LOCKE  7&width= &width=200  7&width= &width=200  7&width= &width=200

BACKGROUND  Born in England in 1632  Studied at Oxford. Considered being a minister, eventually became a doctor, and ended up as a philosopher and political scientist

TABULA RASA  Believed that we were born as a blank slate  Our experiences shape who we are and who we become.

GOVERNMENTS  Unlike Thomas Hobbes, who believed that kings should have absolute power, Locke believed in a constitutional monarchy.  Constitutional Monarchy: a form of government in which the monarch’s power is limited by a basic set of laws.  In other words, someone needs to keep a leaders power in check. For England this was Parliament’s job. For U.S. it’s Congress.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS  In the 1680s, James II was the new king and he was Catholic. Protestants feared he would want to put Catholics in control. This caused Parliament to give the crown to James’ protestant daughter and her husband (William and Mary.)  They also wrote a bill of rights. In addition to ensuring certain individual rights, it also forbade the monarch to do anything without Parliament’s consent.

SOCIAL CONTRACT  An agreement in which people give power to a government in exchange for its protections.

TWO TREATISES ON GOVERNMENT  Locke was pleased with the political changes in government.  He wrote a book outlining his philosophy on government called “Two Treatises on Government.”  The people are the sole source of power.  His ideas are apparent in the Declaration of Independence.

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