How Did John Locke Influence The Constitution

John Locke wrote the Second Treatise of Government in 1689 following many civil wars in Europe. James Harrington was arrested for his writing five years after he wrote Oceana in 1656. Both of these men’s ideas concerning the structure and purpose of government proved to be particularly influential in creating The Constitution and The Bill of Rights. John Locke influenced the Constitution by explaining that each individual in a society is born with natural rights and we give up part of these rights to gain better protection. The Second Treatise says, “The only way whereby any one divests himself of his natural liberty, and puts on the bonds of civil society, is by agreeing with other men to join and unite into a community for their comfortable, safe, and peaceable living one amongst another, in a secure enjoyment of their properties, and a greater security against any, that are not of it” (Locke 46). This impacted the Constitution because the founding fathers recognized

In Oceana Harrington says, “And whereas this, in case the commonwealth consist of a whole nation, is too unwieldy a body to be assembled, this counsel is to consist of such a representative as may be equal, and so constituted, as can never contract any other interest than that of the whole people…” (Harrington 53). Harrington’s idea is that if the whole nation has representation in the government but the government must work through several systems to change something then change will only occur when the whole nation desires the change. In the Constitution each branch of government holds different powers, and to get the best result for each branch’s self interest the three branches must all work together. The Constitution does not change often because it was designed to follow Harrington’s belief that the law should not change unless the whole nation agrees upon that