Comparing Magna Carta And John Locke's Second Treatise On Government

Today, we have freedom in many forms, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of religion. The Magna Carta and John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government laid the foundation for the freedom we enjoy today. The Magna Carta accomplished the liberty Englishmen currently enjoy by raising the status quo of peasants to commoner. This means those born to royalty will begin to treat the peasants as people, for instance the Magna Carta states, “(9) Neither we [feudal barons] nor our officials will seize any land or rent in payment of a debt, as long as the debtor has movable goods sufficient to discharge the debt.” Similarly to the U.S., which has three branches of government to limit power, executive, legislative and judicial; the Magna

The Magna Carta provides protection for English citizens by limiting the power of the government. This protection can be explained through a parable: Sam Purcell of Sheffield is building a house for his family. On a chilly, November morning the noble that is in charge of Sheffield starts taking wood from Sam’s temporary shed, (where he is building his house,) for his castle. The Magna Carta makes this illegal without the consent of the owner, (31) Neither we nor any royal official will take wood for our castle, or for any other purpose, without the consent of the owner. King John of England undersigned the Magna Carta; this shaped the start of England’s constitutional monarchy. Instead of being an absolute monarchy, King John and his descendants had to abide the laws listed in the charter. Without the Magna Carta, the United States might exist without the constitution or might not exist at

John Locke describes men in a community have the rights to protect their property, which consist of his life, liberty and his estate. Furthermore, since the people reside as a community, the men living in that community have a right to elect a government. The government is not there to rule over us, but to lead and protect us. However if the commonwealth feels the government is not up to par, the people of the community may abolish the current government and reinstate new leaders. For example, if the government favors one group of people over another or they make laws that are not for the benefit of the people. Furthermore the government may not raise taxes without representation, and fourthly they must not transfer the power of making laws, it must stay in the hands where the commonwealth placed it. A government is for the good of the people elected by the people. If not, the community will remove the government and place authority in the hands of another, one who will be a leader instead of a ruler. Both the Magna Carta and John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government limit the power of the authority. In the Magna Carta it states ((9) above) that the nobles and royalty won’t treat themselves to the possessions of the commoner. John Locke writes that if the government does the job for their benefit and not for the benefit of the commonwealth the community