Analysis and Historical Context from Second Treatise of Civil Government by John Locke Essay

The previous fragment weve read belongs to the work of John Locke, warrant Treatise of Civil Government, who published it anonymously in 1689. It is a work of political philosophy, in which Locke talks or so accomplished society, natural rights and separation of origins. Locke was one of the first empirical philosophers and he believed that the homo organism was born with no knowledge, and that experience and observation were the base of all human wisdom.In the text, Locke talks about how male monarchs should be separated and not c formerlyntrated in the same person (the King) because he would be tempted, and in fact it was happening, to use them just to satisfy his desires. Locke also says that individuals are under no obligation to go by and by one another, and that we are all born free. He continues talking about how a man has the power to do whatever it takes to preserve himself and others, but always obeying the law of nature.People have the power to tump over the king if he is not being just with his subjects people have peremptory right to choose a governor, and it should not be all about the great chain of being, a circumstance Locke finds ridiculous because the governor should be elected by people and not by blood. An absolute milkweed butterfly is illegitimate because we are all born equals. Locke says that there are three fundamental rights for a human being life, liberty and stead. These ideas were extremely dangerous because they despised the royal way of governing, and thats the reason why Locke had to publish his work anonymously.They meant a revolution in the mentalities of his time. Lockes work had a tremendous regularize upon the Founding Fathers. Lockes idea of men being endowed with natural rights had an enormous influence upon the American Declaration of Independence the rights there enumerated, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, were for Locke Life, Liberty and Property. For Locke, the Founding Fathers and for us, property is synonymous with the pursuit of happiness and liberty, and they wouldnt be possible without property. This means that natural rights are intertwined and reciprocally dependent.The loss of any one means the effective loss of the other two. A organisation that seeks to pressure money from its citizens by overtaxing them is imposing upon the liberty of the people. This was the primary reason the Founding Fathers of this nation embarked upon the Revolutionary War. They understand that taxes imposed without the consent of the governed were indeed a grave imposition upon their liberty. Before Locke wrote his work, there had been many absolute monarchs in the potentiometer of England like John in 1199 or James I in 1603, and subsequent James II in 1685. Then, a civil war came during Charles Is reign from 1642 gutter 1651.The Civil War led to the trial and execution of Charles I in 1649, the exile of his son, Charles II, and replacement of face monarchy with a Republic re ign overd by Oliver Cromwell. The period called the Protectorate may be said when Cromwell was installed as Lord Protector in 1653. From then until his death in 1658, he ruled in a read of conflict with parliaments. On May 1660, the parliament resolved that the government of England ought to be by King, Lords and honey oil. A week later, Charles II was proclaimed king and before the month was out entered London in triumph.Although Charles IIs reign produced the two rival factions, Whig and Tory, from which political parties were later to develop, they were almost identical twins. all(prenominal) believed as firmly as the other in the maintenance of monarchy each at different propagation adopted policies previously pursued by the other. The Restoration of 1660, by restoring crown, church and lords, put slopemen back once more under a outline of government proven unworkable. With a king on the throne who still wanted to govern, and a group of dissatisfied men in parliament who w anted his government to be controlled by them, conflict was hard to avoid.But the civilian revolution did not happen until after Charles IIs death in 1685. King Charles was succeeded by his brother James, who became James II of England and septette of Scotland. James is best known for his belief in absolute monarchy and his attempts to create religious liberty for his subjects against the wishes of the English Parliament. Increasingly members of Britains political and religious elite opposed him as in addition pro-French, too pro-Catholic, and too much of an absolute monarch.When he produced a Catholic heir, the tension exploded and leading nobles called on William tierce of Orange (his son-in-law and nephew) to land an invasion army from the Netherlands. James fled England (and thus abdicated) in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. He was replaced by William of Orange who became king as William III, ruling jointly with his wife (Jamess daughter) Mary II. indeed William and Mary, b oth Protestants, became joint rulers in 1689. Parliament issued the Bill of Rights, which stipulated the rights and obligations of the monarch.William and Mary reigned jointly till 1694 when Mary died. Then, William go on to reign alone. He died in 1702 and Queen Anne, the daughter of James II and the last Stuart monarch, succeeded William III. She, like Mary, was a Protestant. On May 1707, under the Acts of Union, England and Scotland were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of broad Britain, though Scotland kept its legal system and also the Presbyterian Church. Anne became Great Britains first sovereign. All Annes children died so that her cousin, Sophia of Hanover was declared her heir.However, Sophia died the same year as Queen Anne and so her son George of Hanover was the one in succeeding Queen Anne becoming George I of England. Basically, this text is a more specific critique of government, stressing the rule of the majority as the most practical choice for gov ernment. He identifies three elements necessary for a civil society a common established law, a known and impartial body to give judgment, and the power to support such judgments. He calls for a government with different branches, including a strong legislature, and an active executive director who does not outstrip the lawmakers in power.Toward the end of the Treatise, Locke finally arrives at the question of forming a new government. When the state ceases to function for the people, it dissolve or is overthrown and may be replaced. When the government is dissolved, the people are free to reclaim the legislative to create a new civil state that works in their best interest. Locke insists that this system protects against random unrest and rebellion because it allows the people to change their legislative and laws without resorting to force.