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Compare And Contrast The Declaration Of Independence And Locke's Second Treatise Of Government

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Declaration of Independence v. Locke’s 2nd Treatise of Government Locke wrote two treatises on government, but the focus is on his second treatise of government. The first treatise of government was a response to Robert Filmer’s patriarch and divine right of kings. He was in objection with Robert Filmer which led him to write the first treatise of government (Filmer, 2015). The second treatise focuses on not just refuting what he was against, but also a proposal of what a legitimate government looks like, in consent to the people. The audience is his fellow Englishmen, and Locke writes in a language at least in the 1690, very accessible. This however made sense to the people, because Locke was a deep political writer. The Declaration of Independence is a demonstration of …show more content…

However, Locke refutes an argument that will says legitimacy is not by consent to the people but by God. Locke writes against the principle of the divine right of the king. In other words, kings rule because God place them to rule, and Locke argues that kings rule by consent of the people. Therefore, if consent ever resolves, the people have the right to create a new government (Locke, 1980 [1690], p. 7-9). Locke dangerously talks about the right of revolution. If the government rests on consent, and if consent is ever removed, then the people have the right to revolt, to cast off one government and replace it with another government. The people get the idea of legitimate government of being limited. Government can’t do anything that’s limited in its powers, which come from its work. There is religious toleration, separation of church and state, which all comes from Locke, and the notion of constitutional democracies that limit

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