It is known that the American Constitution was inspired by the ideas of others. Philosophers John Locke and Thomas Hobbes happen to be some of the most influential figures in our nations government. Their theories on the most ideal form of government have had lasting effects on the United States. Their ideas did not always agree with each other, but they still helped form the government that we have had for over two hundred years in America.
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were both English philosophers. Although they did have many different ideas, they did agree on some things. For one they both rejected the idea of divine right. Divine right was the belief that kings got their power from god and therefore could not be tried by any earthly government. They both …show more content…
He gave the idea that people have unalienable rights and were all created equal. These rights contain life, liberty and property. Property was later changed to the pursuit of happiness by Thomas Jefferson.. So we can see how John Locke influenced the Bill of Rights because it contains these natural rights that we are born with. He also believed in a separation of powers where no man had no more authority than the other. This later created the system of checks and balances. While the founding fathers and Locke rejected the idea that people should be ruled by one government, shays rebellion showed them Hobbes was also right. When the rebellion happened it exposed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation. It showed that we had no central government and essentially very little ability to control any situation similar to this. This lead to the acceptance of Hobbes’ idea that a strong central government was absolutely necessary to keep our nation intact. The ideas of these two men had a very large affect on our constitution.. It is difficult to imagine if we would’ve even succeeded as a country without them or if we would still be a
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were both English philosophers. Although they did have many different ideas, they did agree on some things. For one they both rejected the idea of divine right. Divine right was the belief that kings got their power from god and therefore could not be tried by any earthly government. They both …show more content…
He gave the idea that people have unalienable rights and were all created equal. These rights contain life, liberty and property. Property was later changed to the pursuit of happiness by Thomas Jefferson.. So we can see how John Locke influenced the Bill of Rights because it contains these natural rights that we are born with. He also believed in a separation of powers where no man had no more authority than the other. This later created the system of checks and balances. While the founding fathers and Locke rejected the idea that people should be ruled by one government, shays rebellion showed them Hobbes was also right. When the rebellion happened it exposed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation. It showed that we had no central government and essentially very little ability to control any situation similar to this. This lead to the acceptance of Hobbes’ idea that a strong central government was absolutely necessary to keep our nation intact. The ideas of these two men had a very large affect on our constitution.. It is difficult to imagine if we would’ve even succeeded as a country without them or if we would still be a