Similarities Between John Locke And Thomas Jefferson

In 1803, Thomas Jefferson was President of the United States of America and James Madison was Vice President. In the case Marbury vs. Madison, President Jefferson commanded Madison to fire Judge William Marbury, whom was previously appointed by President John Adams as he was leaving office, along with several other judges. Marbury later sued Madison citing the Judiciary Act of 1798. This act allowed the supreme court to review cases brought against a federal official. William Marbury was a federalist which meant he was in the same political party as Alexander Hamilton and John Adams.

It is understood that John Locke played a key role of influence on Thomas Jefferson. This influence can be seen through Jefferson’s writing on the nation’s founding document. This document is called the Declaration of Independence. John Locke, the English Enlightenment philosopher wrote his Two Treatises of Government to refute the belief that kings ruled by divine right and to support the Glorious Revolution of 1688 (Doc 1). This piece of political philosophy provided many explanations for the people’s rights and obligations to overthrow a corrupt government. Specifically, Locke’s ideas from his Two Treatises of Government heavily influenced Thomas Jefferson’s rationale for the propriety of America’s separation from England by expressing a great deal in the right to change the government, human rights trust and strong legislative.

Compare the backgrounds of Jefferson and Paine; did Paine have an advantage or disadvantage by not being born in the colonies? Explain.

Absolute monarchy is rule by one person, usually a King or Queen, who obtains absolute power of authority with no repercussions for what he or she does. Bishop Bossuet held strongly to the argument of absolute monarchy, whereas John Locke opposed on the basis of man's natural rights. Bossuet and Locke have different views on the government’s source of power and their ideas about the rights of the people, but agreed that their chosen theories are in the best interest of the people and held their country's unity in high regard.

John Locke was a philosopher and political scientist. He had many interests and produced a number of writings that influenced future leaders. One of these leaders was Thomas Jefferson, who was involved with the aid of America and the act gaining independence from Britain. The Declaration of Independence and Locke’s views on government contain many similar aspects. These ideas includes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (natural rights); the protection that is provided by the government for these rights; and the altering or abolishment of government if it fails to provide and protect the rights of the people. There may also be some differentiating ideas regarding these two sources. An example of this may be that, even though Jefferson and Locke agreed that the people should be able to overthrow the government if their rights were encroached upon, Hobbes believed that this would lead to a state of nature, which wouldn’t end greatly.

John Locke believed this as well, that the citizens should be able to change the government if needed. However, this also showed what Thomas Jefferson was going through. He was not only founding a government, but he was rebelling against one. He disliked the idea of monarchy, and giving total control to the government. This further shows that John Locke had an influence on Pres. Jefferson, because they both believed the same

When comparing Sam Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams, we can see that there are some similarities and differences between the men. Perhaps the most notable relation this group has, is that they were all formal presidents and had some type of power or ownership. The qualities of all four men are often seen as opposed to each other. One similarity for example, with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson was that they were prosperous Virginian plantation owners and held slaves. Jefferson and Adams were both well educated people and knew about the law.

Many of his thoughts and principles were studied and adopted by the founders of the United States and are evident in documents, just like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Locke emphasized the freedom of humans, the equality of all before God, regulation and authorities through consent of the governed, and he justified the overthrow of presidency when it fails the people. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was another prominent thinker from the Enlightenment era. Rousseau differed with Locke about the position of the individual in relation to the country, with Rousseau emphasizing the importance of the ruled being worried in

Locke is a founder of the Common Sense pamphlet. He believed in government ruled by people. “He expressed the radical view that government is morally obliged to serve people, namely by protecting life, liberty, and property. He explained the principle of checks and balances to limit government power. He favored representative government and a rule of law. He denounced tyranny. He insisted that when government violates individual rights, people may legitimately rebel” (Powell 2). He believed that the government was created for the people and not just the monarchy and if the government fails it’s up to the people to ‘fix’ it. He influenced many people and philosophers, including Thomas Paine and Thomas

Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine are both considered to be founding fathers of the United States of America despite the fact that they both came from different backgrounds. Thomas Paine was born in Norfolk England, the son of Quaker and left school early to become his father’s apprentice. Thomas Jefferson was born in Colonial America in the colony of Virginia to a wealthy planter father and a mother from a distinguished family. He was given an extraordinary education and attended college earning a degree in law. As a young man Thomas Paine traveled in England constantly, working and pursuing many different ventures before emigrating to America in 1774. Thomas Jefferson was a scholar, constantly in pursuit of knowledge and inherited considerable wealth from his parents in Virginia. Both men shared similar ideals

Their thoughts on the best type of government were similar. Albeit both states were controlled by monarchs, the people or subject had freedom and rights under law. Aristotle thought the best form of government was a polity or constitutional government; however, a polity was non-existent in Aristotle’s time. Correspondingly, Locke

Locke wants people to stand up for the rights that they deserved. Jefferson wanted to create a government contract for the people, which would allow for them to become an independent nation. Locke’s declaration creates revolts and made the American people start thinking about what they wanted for themselves. His declaration caused damage to the great nation until Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence which united the people.

Despite the differences between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the author does a good job demonstrating how the two candidates will be admired in the history of America. Jefferson was reelected, again over Adams and others, in 1804. The two men did not talk again ever since. They do become friends when Adams made the move to write a sorry letter to Thomas, on January 1st 1812, wishing him many more years to come. Adams' last words before he died was, "Jefferson still lives!" but he was wrong as Jefferson died approximately 5 hours earlier in his plantation in Monticello (Larson, ).

Thomas Jefferson during the 1790’s-1800’s while working with federalists Alexander Hamilton, his viewpoints were different. During the 1790’s Jefferson was known to be in the democratic-republican party where he progresses an ideal structure of equivalencies between money and weight standards with the American/Spanish currency. Jefferson took charge of the republicans after a conflict created two parties, republican-democratic and the federalist, who empathized with the revolutionary cause in France. While attacking the federalist policies, Jefferson opposed a strong centralized government and granted the rights of states. While Jefferson was in presidency, he cut down on the Army and Navy expenditures, cut the U.S. budget, eliminated the tax

Some were different, however they were very much similar. One of the many ideas were that the people created the government and also that all men have their natural rights. . John Locke included that all men have natural rights: life, liberty, and property. (Doc 1) This idea then influenced a well-known president: Thomas Jefferson. When the thirteen colonies fought to gain their independence from Great Britain, he used John Locke’s ideas to justify the war. (Pg. 641) Not only did Thomas Jefferson use Locke’s idea to justify the American Revolution, he also included it in the Declaration of Independence, which was written in July of 1776. The only difference is that Thomas Jefferson, instead of property, he used “pursuit of happiness”. John Locke did not only believe in a men’s natural rights, he also believed that it was the government’s duty to protect these rights, and that it’s power comes from the people. In any case of failure to protect the rights, the people were in their complete right to overthrow the government (Doc 2 & Pg. 630) In agreement, Rousseau believed that the government’s power also comes from the consent of the people, which he included in his book, The Social Contract. (Pg. 632) Rousseau included much more ideas that incorporated political aspects, but he also his thought about