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John Locke and the French Revolution
During the eighteenth century, a major uprising occurred in France, the French Revolution. During the time, France was divided into 3 major groups: the First, Second, and the Third estate. While the first and second estate owned the majority of the resources, and paying little taxes, the third Estate paid heavy taxes, owning little resources. Sparked by the social inequality faced by the third Estate, the revolution brought about significant changes to France. Initially, the French Revolution advances the Enlightenment ideals by promoting life and equality, corresponding to John Locke’s belief. However, the revolution ultimately betrayed the enlightenment ideals. The ideal of equality was demonstrated
Thus as a result of Jefferson’s admiration of Locke the two documents share numerous similarities with one another. One of the common themes shared by both the Declaration of Independence and Locke’s Second Treatise of Government is the focus on natural rights of man. These rights include the fundamental belief that all men are created equal along and entitled to liberty. Locke however believed that men were also entitled to property along with men being created equal, and having liberty. These rights would allow the people to dissolve the government if there needs were not being fulfilled. Also as a result of all men being entitled to these rights Locke believed that violation of his conceptions of natural rights such as slavery was the result of struggle between authority and the governed. In contrast the Declaration list that man is given the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Omitting Locke’s belief that men are entitled to property rather than happiness. However despite this difference both documents share the belief that men should be
For both Tocqueville in his “Democracy in America” and Locke in his “Second Treatise of Civil Government”, liberty holds a place of paramount importance in the pantheon of political values, specifically those in relation to democratic and republican systems (though Locke does not explicitly demand a republic as Tocqueville does) . From Tocqueville’s belief in the supremacy of liberty over equality , to Locke’s inclusion and conflation of liberty with property and life itself in his natural rights , liberty plays the crucial role of linchpin in both author’s political philosophy. Though this belief in the centrality of liberty is found in both Tocqueville and Locke, they each derivate liberty from fundamentally disparate sources, and thus hold
The National Constituent Assembly on August 1789 first paragraph begin as `Men are born, and always continue, free and equal in respect of their rights' (Resource book 3, A4, p 14). It means that people have equal rights when they are born and continue to have equal rights till they perish. Rights tells us what we are sanctioned to do, or what others are allowed to do to us, both as individuals and as fellow members of the society. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a Swiss philosopher had a brilliant utopian visionary that attempted to offer this idea of a civil state. The first chapter of Rousseau's Social Contract claims that people were born free but were enslaved by the chains of society. If this claim of equal right was factual, the king had no right to rule, as he was just another person. According to Rousseau, a person has authority if they are able to command others to do things. But authority is only legitimate if the person possesses the right to command others. Rousseau, a republican believed that the authority the state has over the people must come from the people themselves, thus the people should be sovereign.
The Declaration of Independence (1776) was written to proclaim the colonists’ independence from Great Britain and announce the rights of its citizens and the role of government, among other declarations. The most famous phrase “…all men are created equal”, authored by Thomas Jefferson, was a statement affirming that tyranny under the rule of King George III and the English Parliament would be met with opposition by the colonists who would protect their liberties in the new republic.
Specifically, the idea that man is endowed with certain liberties that were granted by God and/or nature was advocated by the Enlightenment thinkers. Many people took aim at arbitrary governments and the “divine right of kings.” John Locke in return offered principles of constructing a constitutional government, a contract between rulers and the ruled. In Document 7, John Locke in The Two Treatises of Government stated that men consent to enter society in order to preserve their natural rights such as life, liberty, and property. The government should protect people's natural rights and if not, then the people can remove their consent because the government derives its power from the consent of the people. John Locke wrote during the time period of the Enlightenment; therefore, his thoughts were based on the emerging idea of individualism furthermore man's inherent rights and powers. Thomas Jefferson wrote in The Declaration of Independence (Document 9) that are all men are created equal and that they are endowed with certain natural rights. The Declaration of Independence was written because of England's tyrannical rule over the American colonies thus, the citizens felt that their natural rights were being abused by the English government. Individualism was indeed formed in response to the skepticism of the Church as
Some people like Emmanuel Sieyès, middle-class writer who was taken by the Enlightenment ideas, believed that all of French Society lay on the backs of the third estate. On the contrary, Robespierre, the monarch at the time, believed that the third estate did not have the power to do anything important to society. The third estate had to pay taxes like the Gabelle and Taille while the first and seconds estates did not have to pay any taxes to the king. Also, the third estates had less of a representation in voting. The first and second estate could outvote the third estate every time and this was a huge inequality. The condition of the third estate was horrible but a good portion of this third estate was the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie had some wealth and social class, so they influenced the rest of the third estate about their rights, while also inspiring some lower clergies and provincial nobles and thus led to a group of rebellious people to fight the monarchy. This fight for political representation and political rights was only one cause of the French Revolution. Another causes lies in the French Monarchs: Louis XlV, Louis XV, and Louis XVl. When Louis XlV was ruling, the monarchy had unlimited power and was known as a
Unlike the leaders of America, the leaders of the French did not turn out to be as positive for the country. In fact, some of these leaders caused much more harm than good. These leaders taught the French people more about what type of government would be the best option for them. One of the most radical, and extreme leaders was Maximilien Robespierre. The duration of his dictatorship was known as "Reign of Terror." He demanded a republic and soon after his demands; the monarchy was overthrown. He also felt that a constitutional government would have to wait until all the enemies of the revolution have been eliminated. To accomplish this task, he murdered close to 40,000 people, most by guillotine, and some sentenced to life in jail. The Reign of Terror was one of the most controversial, and terrifying phases of the Revolution. Some French colonists thought it to be a path to democracy; others thought it was just a attempt for Robespierre to assume dictator. The other great leader was Napoleon Bonaparte. He believed that the only way to have control in France was to put a limit on democracy. Over a period of time Napoleon 's party overthrew Robespierre 's party. Soon enough, Napoleon was dictator of France. The French soldiers who fought in the American Revolution came back from the war with new ideas and reason for revolution. These ideas included the right to take up arms against tyranny, all men should
Also, liberty was one of the people's major concerns. They were ruled by men whose only desire was power and greed, which is what led them into revolt. The treatment of the "majority", which was the lower class, had a significant role in each of these revolutions. The French revolution was considered, "the great revolution of the eighteenth century" (McKay, 705) and is a perfect example of how the "majority" was treated. Out of twenty-five million people, 100,000 were the clergy, 400,000 were noblemen (McKay, 705) and the "majority" of the population was known as the third estate.
John Locke, Rousseau, and Napoleon all have very different views on what would make a good society. Locke uses a democracy/republican type view that many countries still model after today. Locke’s view on a happy society is the most open and kind to its people, out of the three. Rousseau takes the complete opposite stance from Locke in thinking a more dictatorship government would be what is best for society as a whole as what is good for one person is good for one’s society. Napoleon plays by his own rules with telling people he will follow Lockean like views only to really want to be an absolutist government under his own power. However, all of their ideas would work for a given society so long as they had a set of laws in place and citizens
“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” For 240 years, these words have been engraved into the minds, hearts, souls, and lives of Americans everywhere. These words were written into the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. The Declaration of Independence is a historical document which declared the colonies of America to be free and independent states from Britain. It was a revolutionary and significant document in 1776 and the statement, “All men are created equal,” still remains significant in today’s society.
First, the French Revolution was a result of the failed estate system and the extreme economic and social inequality it led to. Under the rule of Louis XVI, the people of France were divided into three main social classes or estates as they are called. The First Estate featured wealthy members of the Church such as Bishops and Priests who held great political power due to their influence on government affairs. The Second Estate was a class comprised of the wealthy nobles and
The third estate consisted of the remaining 23.5 million French people who were 90% peasants. The third estate was the only estate that paid taxes. Their taxes ensured the financial well-being of the clergy, state, and nobles (French Revolution Overview 6). The Enlightenment was a major influence of the French Revolution. The Enlightenment caused the revolution in three ways.
In the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, the natural rights of men are that men are born to be free and they are able to remain free with the equal rights they receive. Article 2 is, “The aim of every political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.” It summarizes the natural rights of men in this Declaration, which are similar to Locke’s
A society that was built on equality was the main goal in an important political movement. The Enlightenment ideas and philosophers acted as the stepping stones for a new foundation to be constructed. The influenced third estate radically changed France by abolishing the old habits of the corrupt regime and replaced it with a new, sustainable one. The Enlightenment progressed the French Revolution by influencing the French Revolutionists and by creating important documents. The ideas of Locke and constitutionalism, Montesquieu and government change, Voltaire's ideas on equality, and Beccaria on unjust torture, all these ideas pushed the French Revolution forward. The people of France began to believe in this system of belief that would save their country from despair. This belief system resulted in them revolting and advocating for change. Abby Sieyes' document helped kick start the desire for rising up, and then followed the Tennis Court Oath and the Declarations of the Rights of Man which implemented the existence of the revolution. The ideas of these Enlightenment thinkers in the French Revolution is evident, and although the ideas of Rousseau influenced Robespierre to halt the revolution, the end of his reign of terror also disrupted the radicalism. Thus, it cannot be doubted that the ideologies of the Enlightenment period progressed the success of the revolution in
As for Locke’s state of "perfect equality", "all men are naturally in that state, and remain so, till by their own consents they make themselves members of some political society" (page 10). When that happens, men give up some of their free rights for others of protection and guarantees of safety and property, and thus a government is born.