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John Locke once wrote, The improvement of understanding is for two ends: first, our
lived and died by this quote. Born in 1632, much of Lockes early life was spent learning. At
fifteen, a family friend nominated him for Westminster School, to which he was accepted.2
Afterwards, Locke attended Christ Church of Oxford, studying logic, metaphysics, and the
classics of literature, as well as medicine.3 He surrounded himself with intelligence, absorbed it,
and spread his thoughts through writing. Lockes major works include: Essay on Human
several others.4 His words became more than a chain of letters, strung pretty and sweet. In the
minds of the Americans, they became the crutch from which a rebellion rose: a rebellion against
the British. Indeed, because he passed away in 1704, Lockes works outlived him. Not only that,
but they also travelled far and wide. Of the books and articles accumulated for this essay, it has
been noted that Locke influenced many-a-men, including but not limited to: Samuel Adams5,
James Otis6, John Winthrop7, Thomas Paine8, George Mason9, James Madison10, Benjamin
1
Locke, John. BrainyQuote.com, Xplore Inc, 2015.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnlocke151493.html, accessed July 2, 2015.
2
John Locke. History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009, 3.
3
John Locke. History.com, 2.
4
John Locke. History.com, 2-3.
5
Kramnick, Isaac. Lockean Liberalism and the American Revolution. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American
History, n.d., 5. Along with this source, Samuel Adams is referenced in: Powell, John Locke: Natural Rights, 2
and Mack, John Locke, 135 and Swan, The Impact of Lockes, 2-3.
6
Reidy, David. "John Locke." Encyclopedia of American Civil Rights and Liberties. Edited by Otis H. Stephens and
John M. Schleb II. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing, 2006. 618-623. Along with this source, James
Otis is referenced in:Foner, Give Me Libertty!:..., 232.
7
Swan, Darin. The Impact of Lockes Writings on the Founding of American Government. Academia, 2005, 9.
8
Powell, Jim. John Locke: Natural Rights to Life, Liberty and Property. Foundation for Economic Education,
1996, 12.
2
Franklin11, John Adams12, Voltaire13, and most notably, Thomas Jefferson14. According to these
sources, not only did Lockes works spur the start of the American Revolution in 1776, but they
changed the very essence of American political, economic, and social life for centuries to come.
Lockes political influence can be traced back to the beginnings of American resistance
towards Great Britain, to the revolution itself, and even transcending time through the founding
documents to today. The major commonalities between the books and articles gathered for this
essay can be narrowed down to the inclusion of these three: natural rights, the state of nature, and
Lockes impact on America. Natural rights, according to Locke, are a persons right to life,
liberty and property. The one book and the six articles all at least touched upon natural rights.
The Foundation for Economic Education had an entire essay revolving around natural rights,
including how they inspired the American Revolution by influencing many of the men
previously listed. Macks book on Locke was the only one to dive deeper into natural rights by
dedicating the bulk of its chapters to its analysis. Natural rights closest friend, the state of
nature, is also included in all the sources. The state of nature is the condition men find
themselves in in the absence of political authority.15 While John Locke had two entire chapters
focusing on the state of nature, each article had their own special place for it. For example, John
9
Mack, Eric. John Locke. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2013. 166. Along
with this source, George Mason is referenced in: Powell, John Locke: Natural Rights, 2.
10
Kramick, Lockean Liberalism, 2. Along with this source, James Madison is referenced in: Powell, John
Locke: Natural Rights, 2.
11
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Seagull Fourth ed. Vol. 1. New York, NY: W.W. Norton &
Company, 2014. 591. Along with this source, Benjamin Franklin is referenced in: Powell, John Locke: Natural
Rights, 2.
12
Powell, John Locke: Natural Rights, 2.
13
Powell, John Locke:Natural Rights, 2.
14
Stephens, George M. John Locke: His American and Carolinian Legacy. John Locke Foundation, n.d., 6. Along
with this source, Thomas Jefferson is referenced in: John Locke, History.com, 2 and Foner, Give Me Liberty!:...,
156/190/197/277 and Kramnick, Lockean Liberalism, 2 and Mack, John Locke, 132-135 and Powell, John
Locke: Natural Rights, 2 and Reidy, John Locke, 618 and Stephens, John Locke: His American, 1-2. This
long list illustrates how influential Locke was on Jefferson, and furthermore, upon America.
15
Reidy, John Locke, 619-620.
3
Locke - A Philosophical Founder of America had a section describing its inclusion in the
United States government system. Furthermore, the state of nature was remarked to be
fundamental to our system of government.16 Lastly, Lockes immense influence upon America
was noted in all gathered materials. As it has been clearly stated before, Thomas Jefferson was
thoroughly inspired by Locke, which is glaringly obvious from this excerpt of the Declaration of
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...
In this excerpt, inalienable rights are almost verbatim17 to Lockes notion of natural
rights, the only exception being the pursuit of happiness rather than property. Furthermore, even
the organized materials for this essay, but an important one nevertheless; it is the philosophy of
government with the consent of the governed18 and that when a people are without this
consent, they are justified in seeking dissolution of government or revolution from said
government. Lockes concept is heeded by the colonists of North America when they experience
taxation without representation and is such credited as one of the main inspirations for the
American Revolution. This is evident in its incorporation above. Therefore, in consensus, all
authors agree how much of an impact Locke had on the Declaration of Independence, and not to
mention the Constitution, in which the Bill of Rights is often referred to as the Lockean Bill of
16
Stephens, John Locke: His American, 2.
17
John Locke, History.com, 2.
18
Swan, The Impact of Lockes, 2.
4
Rights19. One article perfectly describes the language Jefferson used as pure Locke20 due to
how much he drew from the English philosophers writings. However, while all pieces included
natural rights, the state of nature, and Lockes impact on America, not all incorporated his
influence on taxes. Of all seven sources, only two explicitly mentioned how Lockes concept of
governmental consent was directly related to the struggle between the colonists and Great Britain
over taxation without representation, and furthermore, the colonists reaction and next course of
action with the revolution. This Lockean political philosophy in particular, along with another
The two topics that cross over from the political impact to economic influence are: one
specific portion of the concept of natural rights and taxes. As stated several paragraphs before,
natural rights are commonly known as a persons right to life, liberty and property. The term
property is the one that will be examined. Because Locke defined a persons property rights over
a broad spectrum, from their own body to their estate, this portion of the paper will focus on the
economic opportunity that comes with acquiring land in regards to property rights. In short,
because agriculture and industry required space, owning land meant having money. As shown by
the fact that five of the seven sources included it, Locke actively stressed the importance of
property rights. Mack dedicated an entire chapter and a half in John Locke towards it and the
consent concerning them. However, the John Locke Foundation dove deepest into the subject by
examining how the United States courts have since interpreted property rights, which sets it apart
from every other source. The reason why property rights are so important in this economic
context is because land is taxed. Not only was land taxed, but so were businesses and churches,
19
Stephens, John Locke: His American, 3. Along with this source, the term Lockean Bill of Rights is also
used in: Kramnick, Lockean Liberalism 4 and Mack, John Locke, 136.
20
Kramnick, Lockean Liberalism, 3.
5
which could become quite costly. In fact, the colonists were so enraged with the British because
they were so expensive that they began to struggle, which gave Lockes writings the perfect
platform to inspire. Not only did the idea of taxation without representation spur the revolution,
since it is one of the reasons for disbanding from Great Britain as seen from this line in the
Declaration of Independence, ...For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent but it also
made its way into the Constitution. The Senate and the House of Representatives were created so
that the American people were represented, unlike how they were not in Parliament. However,
proper representation was not the only change to the tax system of America. In addition to this
system of consent, Jefferson also rallied for the inclusion of Lockes concept of separation
between church and state, which is branched off of taxes due to churches being taxed by the
government. Out of the three pieces of gathered writing that touched on the topic, the only one to
fully expand on it stated that Locke, ...maintained that it was blasphemously presumptuous for
the state to interfere with religious belief or practice, since each man was responsible for his own
salvation, and salvation could never be won apart from a voluntarily given inward faith. 21
Along with the other Lockean philosophies, Jefferson kept this idea in mind during the writing
religion is not specified, and the word Creator is use instead.22 However, there was one
economic concern that the book and all six articles failed to approach.
Interestingly enough, none of the authors of the accumulated sources thought as far as to
truly outline the possible outcomes after property rights have been violated from taxation without
representation, ie. Lockes urging of either revolution or dissolution of government. Part of the
21
Reidy, John Locke, 623..
22
"The Declaration of Independence." National Archives and Records Administration. July 4, 1776. Accessed July
3, 2015.
6
reason loyalists pre-American Revolution wished to stay with the British was because of
financial support. However, due to the disagreement and stalemate over taxation without
representation, conflict was inevitable and the revolution began. What makes this interesting is
that not a single author criticized Locke on the possible economic consequences following the
uprising he was encouraging. This could be because today the authors know that America did not
crash and burn after the separation and war with Great Britain, but it should be noted that the
colonists acting on their current economic instability could have led to further economic
instability and that, furthermore, Lockes thoughts and suggested practices could be faulty.
There happens to be a link between Lockes economic and social impact: separation of
church and state. Lockes stance on the concept separation of church and state was not only
driven by the infringement taxes made upon a person's rights; it was also about religious
toleration. His entire opinion on the matter was not always the same, as four out of the seven
sources stated. Two articles had sections summarizing his religious writings, while one failed to
include it at all. However, of the four that did, two stood out. Again, Mack dedicated an entire
chapter to the subject, drawing from several of Lockes works, including A Letter Concerning
Toleration(1689) and the two that follow. He explored the reasons behind Lockes progressive
beliefs on the subject, not to be misconstrued as Locke changing his personal faith. Nevertheless,
some interpreted Lockes new open take on religion as reflective to his own views. After
perishing, he received backlash for their radical nature, but the Founding Fathers came to his
defense, Thomas Jefferson in particular.23 The author of the other stand-out source brought in an
excerpt of Jeffersons own summary on Lockes religious views to prove his point. But whether
23
Barton, John Locke - A Philosophical, 4-5.
7
or not Locke practiced in any of the ways his religiously tolerant writings accepted, their
influence, as previously stated, made its way into the founding documents. No religious figures
were directly referenced in the Declaration of Independence, as Jefferson opted to use the term
Creator instead.24 The ideas of separation of church and state and religious toleration were
implemented in the Constitution through the topic of religion being purposely left out.25 The
reason its exclusion equals implementation is because people are not being religiously dictated as
they had been under the rule of Great Britain. In fact, the one mention of religion was to state
that a persons faith would not be a requirement for a person to attain United States citizenship or
a governmental position. As Isaac Kramnick eloquently put it in his article, Religion was a vital
matter, but it was a matter of individual conscience, outside the states concern and competence.
In fact, Lockes immense influence over key figures of the revolution and founders of
America has outlived even them. Today United States citizens enjoy natural rights, taxation with
representation, and religious freedom, which not only fit into each corner of the social triangle26,
but also represent three important Lockean ideas. They are instrumental in the runnings of
modern society and the evidence of that has been traced through each book and article compiled
for this essay. The beginning of this paper claims that Locke lived and died by his quote: The
improvement of understanding is for two ends: first, our own increase of knowledge; secondly,
to enable us to deliver that knowledge to others.27 He dedicated many years of his life to
education, learning and teaching it, before spreading his wisdom with words. Long after his
24
The Declaration of Independence, National Archives and Records Administration, 1.
25
"The Constitution of the United States." National Archives and Records Administration. July 4, 1776.
Accessed July 3, 2015.
26
A triangle in which each of the three corners represents a different facet of society: politics, economics, and
culture (which includes the religious aspect focused on in this paper).
27
Locke, Brainyquote.com, 1.
8
passing, his knowledge and his philosophies inspired the Founding Fathers, weaved their way
into the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and have shaped life as every American
Bibliography
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Seagull Fourth ed. Vol. 1. New York, NY:
Kramnick, Isaac. Lockean Liberalism and the American Revolution. The Gilder Lehrman
2015.
Mack, Eric. John Locke. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group,
2013. 166.
Powell, Jim. John Locke: Natural Rights to Life, Liberty and Property. Foundation for
Reidy, David. "John Locke." Encyclopedia of American Civil Rights and Liberties. Edited by
Otis H. Stephens and John M. Schleb II. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing,
2006. 618-623.
Stephens, George M. John Locke: His American and Carolinian Legacy. John Locke
Foundation, n.d., 6.
Swan, Darin. The Impact of Lockes Writings on the Founding of American Government.
Academia, 2005, 9.
10
"The Constitution of the United States." National Archives and Records Administration. July 4,
"The Declaration of Independence." National Archives and Records Administration. July 4, 1776.