John+Locke,+Second+Treatise+4&+6

Author: John Locke was an English philosopher born in 1632. He attended both the Westminster School and Oxford, eventually becoming a member of the English Royal Society. During the Glorious Revolution he was traveling in France, but on his return to England he published his great work, Two Treatise of Government, which defined his political views on natural rights, arguing against a complete monarchy. Locke died in 1704, he never had a wife or children.

Principle: State of Equality; no one having more power than anyone else Constitution: in theory of Rule of Law, "all men are created equal" line from the Declaration of Independence

Principle: No one has the right to take away or impair the "Life, Liberty, Health, Limb, or Goods of another" (natural rights) Constitution: same concept derived from Declaration of Independence where Jefferson wrote of "certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"

Principle: "Preservation comes not in competition, ought he, as much as he can, to preserve the rest of Mankind, and may not unless it be to do Justice on an Offender, take away or impair the life..." Declaration of Independence: In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote in his list of grievances against the king that the king "destroyed the lives of our people."

John Locke argued that all men were born free. He writes in his Second Treatise, " ... we must consider what State all Men are naturally in, and that is, a State of perfect Freedom to order their Actions..." When he says that all men are free in their natural state he laid the foundation for the writers of the Declaration of Independence. According to Locke's logic, all men are born free and should remain free. The Declaration shows this influence as it says, "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 ..." Another line in the Declaration also shows Locke's influence as it says, "the seperate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them." This shows that the founders recognized Locke's idea that all men were born free and should remain free. This right stems from the laws of Nature and of God and not from man.