By: Amina Chitaoui, Ryesha Mezan, Teo Hood, and

Daniela Umanzor
Background Information

John Locke was an English Philosopher who was one of the greatest and
most influential Enlightenment thinkers in history. He was considered the
Father of Classical Liberalism. He was also an inspirer of both the
European Enlightenment and the Constitution of the United States. The
topics that he contributed to are education, theology, medicine, physics,
economics, and politics. He influenced the Declaration of Independence
by his political views.
 ● He was born on August 29, 1632 in
Wrington, Somerset, England.
● When he was in college, he discovered the
Early Life and works of philosophers, which became his

Birth
interest.
● He studied medicine and worked with
physicians and thinkers.
● Since his parents were Puritans, he was
raised as a Puritan.
● During an early age, Locke rejected any
claim by the King of England to have a
divine right to rule.
● When he was 14, Locke went to
Westminster School in the year 1647. Two
years later, England was taken over by the
new republican government.
 ● Taught at the University of Oxford
Education ● Wrote a book on education: Some
Thoughts Concerning Education

● Locke enrolled at In it, he said...

Westminster school in ● Found classical languages (Latin &

London Greek) and corporal punishment
(spanking & slapping) useless
● Locke graduated with a ● Instead, schools should teach
bachelor’s of medicine practical knowledge, morals, and
from the University of have students engage with subject
material
Oxford ● Also thought students should pursue
their personal interests
Famous ● John Locke had a lot of writing and most of them weren’t
even published until he was nearly 60 years old in 1690.
Works ● His major work was the “Two Treaties” and “The Essay
Concerning Human Understanding”.
● The Two Treaties was written to justify the Glorious
Revolution of 1688-89 and his Letter Concerning
Toleration (1689) was written with a plain and easy
grace, in contrast to the baroque eloquence of Hobbes.
● In John Locke’s most important work he had set out to
offer the human mind and its gain of knowledge.
● The Essay Concerning Human Understanding began at
a meeting with his friends who were considering
questions of morality and revealed religion.
 Main ideas / Key Positions
John Locke's main ideas were the natural rights and the disagreement of the divine right of kings.

● Life- This means that the government has no authority to control your life. In fact, it is the
government's job to protect your life by making laws to make sure you are safe.
● Liberty- This right protects people from being forced to labor or slavery.
● Property- This right protects your personal property and possessions.

Divine Right of Kings- This was an idea used by kings back then to put people down by claiming
that they are the ruler because God chose them to be, making their decisions hard to oppose as
most people didn’t question the rule of God.
John Locke's effect on the U.S Government
● John Locke’ ideas are the basic structures of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
These original documents are a type of agreement in which they protect people's natural rights.
● John thought that the government should be focused on protecting one’s natural rights which he
believed to be life, liberty, and property.
● In his writing of the Two Treaties, he stated that individuals should construct their government,
making it so that they could protect their natural rights.
● If the authorities failed to protect an individual’s natural rights, then the people will have the power to
vote them out of government.
● He also rejected the idea of divine rights. Back then, rulers used this to justify their authority to rule
by stating that they are in their position because of the will of God. He once said, “We have once
learned from history we have reason to conclude that all peaceful beginning of government have
been laid in the consent of the people”.
● These ideas were used by our founders, such as Thomas Jefferson, who included these ideas in the
Declaration of Independence.
Later Life and
Death
● Was still active in English
politics
● Spent the last of his days in
Essex, England
● Suffered from a long period of
poor health, the terrible pollution
in London made him weaker

August 29, 1632 ~ October 28, 1704

● Passed away while listening to

a reading of the Bible
Thank
You
 Annotated 1. “John Locke (1632-1704)”, Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy, https://www.iep.utm.edu/locke/#H6. This
website helped with John Locke’s ideas on education.

Bibliography 2. John Lockeś Education, Encyclopedia of World

Biography,
https://www.notablebiographies.com/Ki-Lo/Locke-John.ht
ml. This website talks about John Locke's education and
what he studied.
3. Guier Spence,John Locke´s influenced on the United
States Constitution, guierlaw.com,
http://guierlaw.com/john-lockes-influence-on-the-united-st
ates-constitution/. In this website it gives information on
how Locke influenced the Constitution using the natural
rights.
4. A Biography of John Locke (1632-1704) , let.rug.com,
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/biographies/john-locke/. This
helped me understand Johns ideas and why he thought of
them.
 1. “John Locke”, Biography.com, 25 Aug. 2015,
https://www.biography.com/people/john-locke-9384544.
This website informed us on John Locke’s secondary
and college education.
2. A.J. Rogers, Graham, “John Locke”, Encyclopædia
Britannica, inc., 20 Sep. 2018,

Annotated
https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Locke. This
website has helped showing John Locke’s later life until
his death and his lasting effects on American
government.

Bibliography 3. John Locke . rjgeib.com, sep, 27.2018

http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/constitution/locke-bio.ht
ml. I used this to help me understand the divine right of
kings.
(Continued II) 4. Right to life. equalityhumanright.com, Feb 24,
2018,https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/human-ri
ghts-act/article-2-right-life. This helped me understand
what it means to have the right of life.
5. Right to Liberty and Security.equalityhumanright.com,
Sep,22,2017,https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/se
arch?text=right+to+liberty. This helped me understand
what it means to have the right of liberty.
 1. Rogers, Graham A.J. “John Locke.”
Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc., 20 Sept. 2018,
www.britannica.com/biography/John-Locke#ref
360445. This website helped me know more

Annotated 2.
about the essay John Locke wrote about and
why did he write it.
Connolly J. Patrick, “Locke, John l Internet

Bibliography Encyclopedia of Philosophy” Internet

Encyclopedia of Philosophy, September 26,,
2018, https://www.iep.utm.edu/locke/. This
website helped me learn more about his works a
(Continued III) little more.
3. Editors, Biography.com , The Biography.com
website, April 2, 2014,
https://www.biography.com/people/john-locke-
9384544. This website helped me learn about
all the writings that he had written.