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JOHN LOCKE & AMER. REVOLUTION.
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Examines the influence of Locke's political theory on developing thought of founders of U.S.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines the influence of Locke's political theory on developing thought of founders of U.S.
Paper Introduction:
In the years leading up to the American Revolution the people of the colonies developed a political ideology that was to be the basis for revolution and for the formation of a new kind of state. The philosophy of John Locke, often referred to as "classical liberalism," was one of the primary sources on which the American Founders drew. Although many sources served their varied purposes, some of the most important and fundamental ideas in the Declaration of Independence are easily traced directly to Locke. Aside from the justification for revolution found in his work, Locke's emphasis on individual rights, his defense of property, and his notion of a social contract between government and governed were all essential parts of the emerging American ideology. After the Revolution Locke's influence continued and, in addition to these ideas, both his "doctrine of the separation
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The Radicalism of the American Revolution. In the years leading up to the American Revolution the people of thecolonies developed a political ideology that was to be the basis forrevolution and for the formation of a new kind of state. James Madison argued that the purpose of the Declaration ofIndependence was "to assert not to discover truths, and to make them thebasis of the Revolutionary Act" and, as such, it required "a lucidcommunication of human rights, a condensed enumeration of the reasons forsuch an exercise of them" in an appropriate style (quoted in McDonald 176). Among the intellectual strands from which the Americansselected what served their purposes best were the theological and moralclaims of Puritanism, English common law tradition, the classicalrepublicanism of ancient Greece and Rome as interpreted by Machiavelli andby James Harrington, "the theorist of the seventeenth-century English civilwar," and varieties of economic-individualist and free-market thinking(Bonwick 51). Since colonial society wasquite clearly not a society of social equals it was somehow necessary toreconcile the supposed equality of all with the manifest privilege of thefew. After the RevolutionLocke's influence continued and, in addition to these ideas, both his"doctrine of the separation of powers" and his conception of "thelimitations of political power are ideas at the core of the AmericanConstitution" (Squadrito 121). But the mostinfluential aspect of Locke's thought was his political philosophy asembodied in his two treatises on government. Thisprovision in Locke's thought allowed the Founders to explain how it wasthat they might appear to be "more equal" than others and it facilitatedthe transition of much of the old aristocratic privilege of those who ownedthe means of producing so much surplus into positions of power within thenew state. Peardon. To accusations that these ideas had previously been"set into print by Locke," Jefferson responded, perhaps a bitdisingenuously, that "'whether I had gathered my ideas from reading orreflection I do not know [and] I only know that I turned to neither booknor pamphlet while writing it'" (quoted in McDonald 176). But theserights did not necessarily impinge on differences in social station due towealth. The Second Treatise of Government. Ed. Since all men arecreations of God and have the same faculties "there cannot be supposed anysuch subordination among us that may authorize us to destroy another" (6).Yet there are instances in which the law of nature is broken and property(broadly construed) is threatened while, in the state of nature, there isno system of justice capable of protecting those whose property isviolated; no authority that can wield a superior power and punish those whobreak this law. John Yolton. vii- xxii.Squadrito, Kathleen M. Ed. Since nonecan be superior to others (i.e., naturally in possession of the authorityto make laws and carry out punishments) the only way to overcome this ruleof natural law is to band together by common consent. This had become alargely formal matter in England but it was a well respected form and thecolonists revitalized it when, in response to the Sugar Act of 1764 and theStamp Act of 1765, they insisted that taxes were the free gift of thepeople to the king and that "only persons authorized by those who ownedproperty could give it away; only the representatives of the people andmore particularly of the property owners, could consent to a tax" (Morgan239-4 ). New York: Norton, 1988.Peardon, Thomas P. In this controversial atmosphere, therefore, Locke's ideasbecame common currency among educated people and, as the study of sermonsand other materials shows, he was even "one of the chief sources of thepolitical ideas expounded by the New England clergy, especially after 1763"(Peardon xx). This conceptionclearly was inadequate if individual rights--in property and otherliberties were to be fully expressed--as many of the founders wished to do. The first treatise waslargely a refutation of the traditional belief in the divinely sanctionedright of kings. The Second Treatise of Government. New York: Macmillan, 1952. Locke's influence throughout the eighteenth century touched on anumber of topics. There was, of course, adifficulty in determining how this consent was to be expressed. Peardon. Introduction. The majorquestions raised by these events were related to propositions put forwardin Locke's Second Treatise--especially as regards the individual right toproperty and the contractual nature of the relationship between the rulersand the ruled. The American colonists who, of course, consideredthemselves Britons, were fully aware of this progression of ideas and thepride in constitutionally guaranteed representation. 169 . Thisagreement to enter into a bond with others is generally referred to as thesocial contract. Ed. Thomas P. In order toestablish a civil society, however, it is necessary that people surrendersome portion of the liberty they enjoyed in the state of nature. Thus, while there is perfect freedom in the state of nature, thisdoes not mean that there is license. Works CitedBonwick, Colin. Instead the king requested the tax and "the Commons, andthe Commons alone, then gave and granted a portion of their constituents'property to the king in the form of a tax" (Morgan 239). Although many sourcesserved their varied purposes, some of the most important and fundamentalideas in the Declaration of Independence are easily traced directly toLocke. Since, however, punishment can only be inflicted on an inferior by asuperior and there is, as Locke emphatically states, "nothing more evidentthan that creatures of the same species and rank [are] equal one amongstthe other without subordination or subjection," it becomes necessary todevise some means by which a superior power can be established. For example, his works dealing in whole or in part witheducation emphasized the idea that the child began as a blank slate and theimpressions made on him/her were essential to the formation of mind andcharacter. In many ways the variety of sources was necessary becauseeach one was needed to supplement what certain others lacked. The American Revolution. New York: Vintage, 1991. It is then up to those who have consented to join in thiscommunity to decide on the form their government will take and who will bethe rulers. Therevolution, Locke believed, was a necessary step taken by the people toprotect their natural rights and the suggestion that a people could beresponsible for their own selection of rulers and that even a monarch couldonly rule with the consent of the governed was still a hotly contestednotion a century later. But Locke's thought also gave the Founders a basis on which toestablish rights that continue to be cherished by millions. Human beings are, according to Locke'sassessment, inherently rational beings who have been given certain rightsby God. Taxation was not, in English usage, an attribute of thegoverning power. Theclassical version of Republicanism, for example, conflicted with the ideaof individual liberty. Although they were mixed with many otheringredients the basic outlines of Locke's thought have always been visiblein American political thinking. Locke,however, simply relied on his notion of "tacit consent," by which he meantthat "every man that has any possessions or enjoyment of any part of thedominions of any government does thereby give his tacit consent" and is asmuch obliged as any one who directly consents to obey the rules of thesociety (68). Thomas P. The ideas truly were 'in the air' and, while Locke's Second Treatisewas enormously influential, the new political ideology, which "was nevercompletely systematic nor always consistent, was drawn from many sources"(Bonwick 51). Inventing the People: The Rise of Popular Sovereignty in England and America. "Thomas Jefferson's Changing Reputation as Author of the Declaration of Independence: The First Fifty Years." Journal of the Early Republic 19 (1999): 169-94.Morgan, Edmund S. By John Locke. The constitutionally limited monarchy, which was imposed on Williamwhen he succeeded the deposed James II, even included representation in theHouse of Commons which "allowed for the participation of His Majesty'ssubjects in the affairs of government" and the English were enormouslyproud of possessing the only constitution in the world "specially dedicatedto liberty" (Wood 13). No state exists and no ruler or government has authority overthe people without the free consent of the people. The colonists readthe same literature, law, and history "as their brethren at home read, andthey drew most of their conceptions of society and their values from theirreading" (Wood 12). In order to supplement the Republican conception of a virtuous republic,therefore, it was necessary to turn to Locke's Second Treatise where thedefense of property, which term included rights to property and to one'sperson (i.e., liberties), was argued in terms of natural law and thesovereignty of the people (including the right to dissolve a government ifit violated its basic charge) was justified. Since it "stressed the supremacy of the communityover its members" and conceived of its typical citizen as "the independentfee-simple yeoman farmer" it was conducive to the kind of aristocraticelitism which many Americans wanted to avoid, as well as being essentiallystatic and difficult to change (Bonwick 54). This meant that "parents were largely responsible for theformation of their children's character"--an idea that became commonplaceby the mid-eighteenth century and permanently revolutionized thinking aboutthe basic nature of parenthood and the family (Wood 149). In fact, Locke's ideas in this work became so well known and hisinfluence was so plain in the "form, phraseology, and content" of theDeclaration of Independence that Thomas Jefferson "was accused of copying"from it (Peardon xx). S. Madison assumed, as did Jefferson, that the ideas expressed in theDeclaration, and derived in large part from Locke, existed prior to thecomposition of their document and were simply matters of fact, to be takenfor granted and merely "asserted" by those who had been driven to act onthem by violation of trust on the part of rulers who had "grow[n]exorbitant in the use of their power and employ[ed] it for the destructionand not the protection of the properties of their people" (Locke 128).There were certainly, among the American people, competing visions of thebest possible form of government and the possible limits of the people'srights in certain "properties." But, there was general agreement withLocke's most important contention, that "the end of government is the goodof mankind," no matter how they conceived of this good (128). Thus, although he was an autonomous being, the typicalcitizen in the Republican ideal was encouraged to identify with the greatersociety rather than with his own selfish interests. This was an essential step, of course, for any revolutionand Locke wrote his treatises "to justify the glorious and bloodlessrevolution of 1688," saying that he hoped they would serve to "establishthe Throne of our Great Restorer, Our present King William--to make goodhis Title, in the consent of the People'" (quoted in Squadrito 95). But the property-owning colonists had not authorized anyrepresentatives in the Commons to consent to these taxes. As Dunn noted,the ideas in the Second Treatise "were absorbed by a sort of intellectualosmosis" so that Americans could subscribe to his ideas without reallybeing aware of it, but educated Americans, of whom Jefferson was certainlyone, "derived their view of politics directly from it" (quoted in Squadrito121). Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1969.Locke, John. "The Politics of Locke in England and America in the Eighteenth Century." John Locke: Problems and Perspectives. Equality, therefore, came to mean "equality by virtue of creation,equality of moral responsibility and equality of rights such as liberty andequal consideration of legitimate interests" (Bonwick 53). The philosophy ofJohn Locke, often referred to as "classical liberalism," was one of theprimary sources on which the American Founders drew. It is not surprising, therefore, that Locke's Second Treatise ofGovernment began to exert great power over the imaginations of Americanswho found themselves in the difficult position of being taxed withoutrepresentation. Thus, if the Anglo-American colonists were known fortheir stubborn resistance to monarchical rule this habit "came principallyfrom their Englishness" (Wood 12). New York: Macmillan, 1952.McDonald, Robert M. The law of nature that governs thestate of nature "obliges everyone" and if a person "will but consult it" helearns that "being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm anotherin his life, health, liberty, or possessions" (6). Although it was not rational, according to Locke, to accumulatemore real property than one could reasonably use because it robbed othersof their share of resources, the invention of money--to which men tacitlyagree to assign value--meant that any surplus could be sold for gold andsilver "which may be hoarded up without injury to anyone" (Locke 29). Locke's ideas in the Second Treatise were based on his conception ofthe state of nature in which human beings lived prior to their decision toorganize into civil societies. In the Republican conceptionthe citizens placed duty to the public welfare above personal interest andthe state, in turn, "would assist men to pursue morally acceptable conduct"(Bonwick 52). Boston: Twayne, 1979.Wood, Gordon S. John Locke. One aspect of Locke's thinking that was particularly important to theAmerican case was the problem of equality. Aside from the justification for revolution found in his work,Locke's emphasis on individual rights, his defense of property, and hisnotion of a social contract between government and governed were allessential parts of the emerging American ideology. Charlottesville: U P of Virginia, 1991.Dunn, John.
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