What are the major components of John Locke's political philosophy and how did it influence Thomas Jefferson's writing?

Answer 1

" The State of Nature has a Law of Nature to govern it, which obliges every one: And Reason, which is that Law, teaches all Mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his Life, Health, Liberty, or Possessions. [John Locke, The Second Treatise of Civil Government, §6]

"Locke's state of nature contains no noble savages or utopian freedom. It is a state of poverty as well as being, like Hobbes's, a condition that is "nasty, brutish, and short." The state of nature is poor because, as individuals, we are little able to protect our persons and property from the predations or dishonesty of others. Locke's state of nature, however, does contain right and wrong, and so natural rights. Thus, "to secure these Rights, governments are instituted among men."

Jefferson's natural rights section of the Declaration of Independence follows this:

"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 -- That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it..."

Answer 2

john Locke's political philosophy included the ideas of natural rights, social contract, and limited government. These ideas heavily influenced Thomas Jefferson's writing in the Declaration of Independence, particularly in the emphasis on individual rights, government by consent of the governed, and the right to rebel against unjust government. Jefferson's famous phrase, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," reflects Locke's emphasis on natural rights.