AP+P2+2014-15+John+Locke

= Aim = // Christian Mortensen // Because he grew up in a country with a government system he disagreed with, John Locke wrote and philosophized to try and expand the “natural rights” of all human beings, especially the rights of those whose voices were not being heard by their government. Locke was born in the city of Wrington, England in the year 1632; a time where England’s form of government was a monarchy which, at the time of his birth, was ruled by King Charles I. In England, it was believed that the ruling King or Queen received their power to rule over the country, directly from God himself and therefore any questioning of them or their decision making was a direct questioning of God’s will. This idea came to be known as “The Divine Right of Kings Theory”, and it directly limited the power of the people to live as they wanted. Seeing this as he grew up, Locke realized, and in consequence wrote about, how unfair and wrong it was for the government to not represent the ideas of the people that they ruled over, “ Locke did not believe in the Divine Rights of Kings Theory and wrote his own theory to challenge it.” (“A Biography of John Locke”) He wrote about this problem, and came up with his natural rights theory as well as the idea that the privilege to rule should come directly from the ruled, and he did this because he truly believed in the power of the individual and the belief that all human beings and their rights matter, not only the ideas and rights of the rich and powerful.

= Audience = //Nida Hasan//

Although John Locke’s works and ideas are popular across audiences around the world, there are some groups who were increasingly impacted by his theologies. Specifically, his influence on the United States’ Declaration of Independence is a testament to his motivation in directing his work to the governments and citizens of the world. According to the John Locke Foundation, “ the man was an intellectual titan, one whose thoughts and ideas can be found throughout our country's earliest political documents, including and especially the Declaration of Independence” (“Who is John Locke”). This intellectual man’s teachings were extremely beneficial to the challenges faced by Americans who wanted to belong to a country that listened to its people. One of his most famous works, Two Treatises of Government, challenges the monarchy and brings light to solutions for a more civil society. As a pioneer in the publication of these philosophies, Locke appealed to the people; the individuals who were affected by the actions of the government. Of course, dictators and monarchs would disagree with with what he said, but as Locke knew that as long as ideas were out there, people would learn and take advantage of them. Now, Locke’s philosophies are looked to by students across the country and world in an effort to review the philosophy that contributed to modern democratic systems.

= Historical = // Emily Voveris //



Born during the 17th Century in Wrington, Somerset to a father that was a lawyer and fought on the winning side of the English Civil War using the power that he gained during the war he was able to send Locke to an elite school for his education. He then began to study theory, logic, and metaphysics. Locke became extremely involved in discussions of theory and logic. The experiences that John Locke was exposed to gave him the basis of his work, this includes his experiences with Shatesbury whom he shared a home with, “ Shaftesbury led the 1679 “exclusion” campaign to bar the Catholic duke of York (the future James II) from the royal succession. When that failed, Shaftesbury began to plot armed resistance and was forced to flee to Holland in 1682”(John Locke). He went into exile where he began to work on his most famous pieces, using the knowledge he used from his schooling as well as his real world experiences. While he had been writing and recording his believes throughout the decades that he spent with S hatesbury and while he was in exile however he only published after returning to England. Research from Oregon University suggests, “Locke's Two Treatises of Civil Government were published after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 brought William of Orange and Mary to the throne, but they were written in the throes of the Whig revolutionary plots against Charles II in the early 1680s. In this work Locke gives us a theory of natural law and natural rights which he uses to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate civil governments, and to argue for the legitimacy of revolt against tyrannical governments” (John Locke (1632-1704)). Locke passed away in 1704 in Oates.

= Cultural = // Joshua Smith //



Modern cultural values based around politics and philosophy draw heavily from the ideas of John Locke. John Locke’s major work, “ Two Treatises of Government, put forth his revolutionary ideas concerning the natural rights of man and the social contract” (John Locke). The American Founding Fathers took Locke’s ideas to heart. The phrase “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” in the Declaration of Independence has heavy influence from John Locke. Many aspects of American government and culture, even today, have influences from John Locke. One biography states that, “In a ‘Letter Concerning Toleration’ and several defenses of that letter Locke argues for a separation between church and state” (John Locke 1632-1704). The idea of separation between church and state is a common cultural debate in the American landscape; a debate that began with the ideas of Locke. As well, the field of thought that Locke concerned himself with, Classical Liberalism, has taken a resurgence recently. More and more in the modern United States and the world, the ideas of Locke are becoming more and more commonplace.

=Works Cited=

"A Biography of John Locke." //American History//.Web. 5 Jan. 2015.

"John Locke (1632-1704)." //John Locke//. Oregon State University, Web. 03 Jan. 2015

"John Locke." //History//. A&E Television Networks, Web. 03 Jan. 2015.

“Who is John Locke.” //John Locke//. John Locke Foundation, 2015. Web. 5 Jan. 2015.