Tanner Tompkins
Dr. Baker
English IV
1/16/17
John Locke and the Enlightenment John Locke is considered the father of modern Democracy. His ideas, when they were first introduced, were shunned. But later in his life, it started to change England’s government drastically (Waldron). His book, the Two Treatises of Government, influenced the American Revolution greatly. John Locke played a major part in the Enlightenment, forever changing modern politics, education, and religious philosophy. This essay will cover his influential views on Democracy as well as his impact on government during his lifetime. Locke was born on the 29th of August, 1632, in a small village by the church in Wrington, Somerset, …show more content…
” The founding fathers of America quoted this many times, and as one can see, they used Locke’s philosophies to build this country. One of Locke’s major philosophies in “Two Treatises”, he says that humans, using logic and reason, “are able to discover that God exists, to identify his laws and the duties they entail, and to acquire sufficient knowledge to perform their duties and lead a happy and successful life. After Locke finally published his “Two Treatises” anonymously, it took awhile for him to gain popularity. But, only a few years after he published it, Locke was accused of being a part of a murder scene to murder King Charles of England (Rogers). He fled to the Netherlands in 1683. In the Netherlands, he was among like-minded people. People who wanted their governments to change from a tyrannical monarchy. In the Netherlands, John Locke had time to continue his many novels. Locke did not return home from the Netherlands until after the Glorious Revolution. Locke traveled back to London, England in 1688. The accusation of the murder plot was forgotten after the “Glorious Revolution”. When Locke returned to England, his “Two Treatises” spread like a wildfire, gaining more and more popularity each day. Locke was seen as a living visionary, who would soon paint the way too which England’s government would be run. The …show more content…
Locke is credited, among many others, for causing the beginning of the American Revolution. Thomas Paine, an important person in the Revolution, studied John Locke more than any other philosopher. At the time, the colonies of America were being oppressed and taxed by King George, and the colonists want that to change. Once Thomas Paine read Locke’s stance on overthrowing tyranny, he wrote the pamphlet “Common Sense”, which was the match that started the flame which is the American Revolution (“John Locke on History.com” 3). Along with his influence in the creation of America, Locke’s ideas have changed England