John Locke's Influence On The Constitution

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John Locke is and always will be one of the most well-known philosophers because of his strong threshold on classical liberalism. His work as an enlightenment thinker had a great impact on political philosophy as a whole. John Locke’s viewpoints were influential to many people, and his thoughts had the most influence on American revolutionaries. “John Locke’s classical literalistic views served as the foundation for not only the Declaration of Independence, but also the Constitution and Federalist papers.” (John Locke) That being said, he would agree with most of the work put into the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Federalist papers. Locke would agree with the idea of the founding of America because they wanted independence from…show more content…
The founding fathers used many concepts and ideas when writing the constitution and a lot came from John Locke. The constitution is the guideline to United States political culture and society. The Constitution is the supreme law of the United States. The beginning of the U.S Constitution establishes rules and separates the powers of government. Powers of government are separated into three main categories. The legislative branch consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to ratify legislation and declare war. (The Legislative Branch) They are also responsible for making laws. Locke would support these obligations of legislation. He believed that “the power of the legislative branch in the utmost bounds of it is limited to the public good of society.” (The Influence of Locke…) Locke would support the legislative branch because the laws they pass must be within the laws of nature and cannot restrict people’s rights. The power of the Executive Branch is given to the President of the United States, who also acts as head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The Presidents job is to pass and enforce the laws created by congress. He is also the commander and chief of the military. The executive branch also consist of the vice president who is always ready to assume the next position if necessary. (The Executive Branch) The constitution sets the president up as a superior, but not as an anarchic leader. In The Second Treatise of Government, Locke stresses the importance of a strong executive branch. John Locke would not agree with the constitutions set up for the executive branch. He would want them to be stronger then the constitution sets them up. Locke believes a weak government will not be able to effectively pass laws. The Influence of Locke…) The judiciary Branch is the only branch not selected by the people and it is a system of courts that

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