Though many consider Thomas Jefferson to be one of the founding fathers of our country, few know from whom he drew so much inspiration. On August 24, 1632, a miraculous man was born. This man was John Locke, an enlightened English philosopher who would later change the way American viewed government. He went to Westminster school and then to Christ’s Church in Oxford. He was then elected to a senior studentship and went on to tutor at the college for several years. He wrote a number of books including Two Treatises of Civil Government and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Both of these books were published in 1690. Not only did his work inspire his society, but they also influenced the thinking of our founding fathers and led to a positive transformation in a number of governments.
He believed that every person should have the right to feel safe and the rights to a home, a life, a family and belongings. He also believed that humans know nothing when they are born. He believed that a baby was like a “tabula rasa” or blank tablet. What he meant by “blank tablet,” was that, as we grow and mature, we acquire knowledge from looking, smelling, hearing, touching and tasting. For this reason, he believed that children’s education and upbringing was of the utmost importance to their development. He believed that children had only the ability to reason, but that they did not have any knowledge. Overall, he was a great man whose teachings did much to shape the way we educate and rear our children in today’s society.
Locke’s work still impacts us today in many ways. For example, he helped to influence our founding fathers as they wrote the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights. Thomas Jefferson was especially influenced by Locke’s beliefs. Jefferson so strongly believed in his premises about basic human rights that he incorporated them into the Declaration of Independence. Locke’s beliefs contributed to the ideas of a “social contract,” equality of men, property rights, and rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It was the responsibility of governments, he thought, to protect those rights. He also influenced the thirteen American colonies to embrace the ideas of liberalism and the natural rights of humanity. Jefferson adopted Locke’s ideas that the government arises from the consent of the governed and that the power of the government should be distributed among different institutions. His thoughts indeed helped our founding fathers, and are imbedded in the documents that enable people to have their own rights.
Not only did John Locke influence one of the greatest men in all of history, he indirectly contributed to the French and American Revolutions. Locke believed in empiricism (the discovery of truth based on experience and reflection) and thought that only persuasion would convert people. He influenced liberty and government in France and America by fostering the belief that liberty is a natural right of man and that governments need to exhibit religious tolerance. Basically, he thought up the idea of the separation between church and state. He believed that if we all must come to discover the truth through reason, no man can discover the truth better than another man, and therefore, the power of the church should be limited. In other words, he believed that the church did not need to impose its views on people because they could only invent their own. In so many ways, he offered the foundation of the American government we know today.
In conclusion, John Locke was a widely known philosopher whose ideas and beliefs still inspire people today. He influenced Rousseau, who influenced the French and American Revolutions, which in turn, pretty much inspired every subsequent revolution known today. Without him, we might not have the same freedoms and rights we enjoy today. If Locke never came up with his beliefs about government and natural rights, I’m not sure I would have the freedom to become anything I want to be. Locke believed that people are born with natural rights to their lives and if it were not for him, perhaps I would not be able to graduate from college and pursue my chosen profession, medicine. Perhaps I would not be able to make important choices for myself as society and my government might otherwise decide them for me with no regard for my desires. As a result of Locke’s teachings, however, I am about to go to a great school, Cardinal Newman, and succeed in whatever profession I choose. In conclusion, Locke was an extraordinary person who contributed greatly to the ideas of the American government. His beliefs provide a strong foundation upon which our society is built.