The Influence Of John Lockes Political Philosophy On The Formation Of A Revolutionary Spirit In America

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, course: American Literature: The American Revolution, language: English, abstract: The attempt of this paper is to examine how Locke’s political philosophy influenced the thoughts and actions of the opponents of the British Crown during the American Revolution. In the American colonies the origin of political power structures and government were thought to be in contractual arrangements. Therefore, the idea of John Locke that it’s the people’s decision to enter into a society by a social contract was estimated by many colonists to be also the concept of government their ancestors had chosen to settle down in the New World. Even some historians saw the “intellectual roots of resistance in the “country” [...] as part and parcel of the Lockean Enlightenment”. So, one can conclude that Locke did have a great influence. Furthermore, the adaptation of Locke’s ideas in the revolutionary documents showed that his philosophy served as justification for the colonists and with that the independence was justified, too.

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject English - Literature, Works, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, course: American Literature: The American Revolution, language: English, abstract: The attempt of this paper is to examine how Locke's political philosophy influenced the thoughts and actions of the opponents of the British Crown during the American Revolution. In the American colonies the origin of political power structures and government were thought to be in contractual arrangements. Therefore, the idea of John Locke that it's the people's decision to enter into a society by a social contract was estimated by many colonists to be also the concept of government their ancestors had chosen to settle down in the New World. Even some historians saw the "intellectual roots of resistance in the "country" [...] as part and parcel of the Lockean Enlightenment." So, one can conclude that Locke did have a great influence. Furthermore, the adaptation of Locke's ideas in the revolutionary documents showed that his philosophy served as justification for the colonists and with that the independence was justified, too.

An account of the link between Locke's thought and the American Founding. The author argues that previous writers have misread Locke's influence on the Founders: he portrays the philosopher as a moderate 17th-century moralist advocating an individualism that fits well with classic republicanism.

Two Treatises of Government John Locke - First published anonymously in December 1689, John Lockes Two Treatises of Government are considered to be some of the most important works of political philosophy ever written. In the first treatise Locke disputes the divine right of monarchial rule principle that is put forth in the book Patriarcha by Sir Robert Filmer. The first treatise is in fact a sentence by sentence refutation of Patriarcha. Filmer asserts the idea that absolute authority over the world flows from the Biblical Adam and his ownership of the world and that the heir of Adam is the rightful inheritor of this authority. Locke dismisses this line of reasoning that authority flows from some divine lineage to the first man in favor of a system based on natural laws and consent of the people. In the second treatise Locke sets forth the basic principles of natural law that lay the foundation for basic human rights and the government of man. Also contained within this volume is the shorter work, A Letter Concerning Toleration.

In The Unvarnished Doctrine, Steven M. Dworetz addresses two critical issues in contemporary thinking on the American Revolution—the ideological character of this event, and, more specifically, the relevance of "America’s Philosopher, the Great Mr. Locke," in this experience. Recent interpretations of the American revolution, particularly those of Bailyn and Pocock, have incorporated an understanding of Locke as the moral apologist of unlimited accumulation and the original ideological crusader for the "spirit of capitalism," a view based largely on the work of theorists Leo Strauss and C. B. Macpherson. Drawing on an examination of sermons and tracts of the New England clergy, Dworetz argues that the colonists themselves did not hold this conception of Locke. Moreover, these ministers found an affinity with the principles of Locke’s theistic liberalism and derived a moral justification for revolution from those principles. The connection between Locke and colonial clergy, Dworetz maintains, constitutes a significant, radicalizing force in American revolutionary thought.

Pangle reexamines the moral philosophy of the Founding Fathers and finds that at the heart of the Framers' republicanism was a dramatically new vision of civic virtue, religious faith, and intellectual life, rooted in an unprecendented commitment to private and economic liberties, and that this commitment represented a departure from both the classical and biblical traditions. He challenges those who explain 18th century political thought exclusively in terms of historical circumstances, Calvinistic faith, or economic and social ideology. He develops a new interpretation of John Locke's moral and political philosophy, arguing that Locke's greatest political and rhetorical achievement was in transforming the God of the Bible into the God of reason and nature; and shows Locke's influence on the Framers' thought. ISBN 0-226-64540-1: $22.50.

Richard Ashcraft offers a new interpretation of the political thought of John Locke by viewing his ideas, especially those in the Two Treatises of Government, in the context of his political activity. Linking the implications of Locke's political theory with his practical politics, Professor Ashcraft focuses on Locke's involvement with the radical Whigs, who challenged the established order in England from the 1670s to the 1690s. An equally important aim of the author is to provide a case study of a revolutionary movement that includes a discussion of its organization, ideology, socio-economic composition, and political activities. Based upon a detailed examination of manuscripts, diaries, correspondence, and newspapers, Professor Ashcraft presents a wealth of new historical evidence on the political life of Restoration England. This study represents an example of an approach to political theory that stresses the importance of authorial intentions and of the political, social, and economic influences that structure a particular political debate.

This treatise offers an original interpretation of Locke's doctrine of property, a full account of his writings and activities in relation to the Earl of Shaftesbury, and a new interpretation of Locke's lasting influence on American political thought.