John Locke
Thomas Paine
Thomas Jefferson
and Government
Enlightenment Ideas
• Enlightenment: New ways of perceiving the
world. People began asking, “WHY?”
• The same principles of logic were applied to
social systems.
Government
• What is a government?
•What does a government do?
•Who creates governments?
People create governments…why?
John Locke: Social Contract Theory
Second Treatise of Government (1689)
• In nature, people have no government
•People create a government to protect their lives,
liberty, and property
• Governments exist to serve the needs of the people
who create them. Monarchy –people exist to serve the
king. Monarchy does not follow the laws of nature and
logic.
The Contract is an exchange
people get a government that
protects as long as the people
obey the rule of law.
The Problem We All Live With by Norman Rockwell
“The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which treats everyone
equally…[B]eing equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his
life, health, or possessions.” ~John Locke
Flag with Male Symbol by Dave Cutler
“The old [traditions] are apt to lead men into mistakes, as this [idea] of [fatherly] power’s
probably has done, which seems so [eager] to place the power of parents over their
children wholly in the father, as if the mother has no share in it. Whereas if we consult
reason or [the Bible], we shall find she has an equal title” ~ John Locke
June 1989—Tiananmen Square Photographer Unknown
“Whensoever..the [government] shall…put into the hands of any other an absolute power over
the lives, liberty, and estates of the people, by this breach of trust they forfeit the power [of]
the people…who have a right to resume their original liberty, and by the establishment of the
new [government] provide for their own safety and security.” ~John Locke
Thomas Paine: Common Sense
• Short pamphlet written in 1775
• Challenged the rule of the American colonies by the
King of England
• Listed grieves the colonies had against the King
“For all men being originally equals, no
one by birth could have the right to set
up his own family in perpetual
preference to all others forever, and tho'
himself might deserve some decent
degree of honours of his cotemporaries,
yet his descendants might be far too
unworthy to inherit them.”
“In the early ages of the world,
according to the scripture chronology,
there were no kings; the consequence
of which was there were no wars; it is
the pride of kings which throws
mankind into confusion.”
Thomas Jefferson:
Declaration of Independence (1776)
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, that
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of
these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in
such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their
Safety and Happiness.
Study Guide Questions
Which ones can you answer?
• What is a social contract
•How did enlightenment thinking effect people’s
perceptions of government?
•How did the ideas of John Locke and Thomas
Paine influence Jefferson’s writings in the
Declaration of Independence?
Exit Slip
• The idea that you would get a government
that protects you and your rights in exchange
for you following the laws the government
creates is called...?
• Thomas Jefferson borrowed ideas from these
two people when writing the DOI. What ideas
did he borrow?
• What is the Enlightenment?
• What are natural laws? Examples?