John Locke and Thomas Jefferson

The two writings discussed this week, the Second Treatise on Government, written by John Locke, and The Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson, were both written with the intentions of justifying revolutionary acts against their current government.

Both authors wrote with different audiences in mind; however they were both writing for Britain. Locke wrote to British people, encouraging them to stand up and demand their rights. Jefferson wrote to Britain to inform them that the colonies would stand up for their rights. The major difference between the two writings is that Locke originally wrote to Britain the reasons why it is important to stand up for rights and sometimes necessary to overthrow the current government. Jefferson used Locke’s reasoning to justify the need to stand up for the rights of the people in colonies, and also the need to overthrow (separate from) the British government.

John Locke’s work was intended for the people of Britain. It was written as a political stance against the autocratic rule of Charles II, during what is now referred to as the Exclusion crisis. Locke strongly disagreed with monarchy and believed that there are natural rights that all individuals are entitled to which monarchy takes away. Locke thought that government was created by the people and that when the government no longer acted for the good of the people, it was the their right to overthrow that government and reestablish one that would act in their best interest. Locke also believed that government’s actions should be justified through reason and scripture, and that the actions of Britain’s current government could not be justified.

Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence to let the world know how badly the colonies had been treated by Britain, also to inform the world that they were separating themselves from the crown. The Declaration of Independence parallels the works of John Locke, in that it cites that individuals have natural rights and when government does not work to protect those rights the people must make a stand. Discussed within the Declaration of Independence are the ways in which the people’s natural rights had been revoked. Thomas Jefferson did not believe that the actions of the king could be justified by reason, or scripture and that something had to be done to ensure people’s natural rights.


References:

Jefferson, T. (1776). Declaration of Independence. Retrieved on October 26, 2007 from: http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration_transcript.html

Locke, John. Second Treatise of Government. 1690. Retrieved on October 26, 2007 from: http://ecampus.uwyo.edu/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=2609764&47=1126592&dt=10%2F22%2F2006+8%3A32%3A12+PM&UnitNumber=9&COID=57&UDPK=23683081&UPK=4490939&