Corey Speck Per.

6 Philosophers
John Locke was an English philosopher and physician and became to be known as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and whose writings had a significant impact Western philosophy. John Locke was born August 29, 1632, in Wrington, a village in the English county of Somerset. John Lockes father was a country lawyer and military man who had served as a captain during the English civil war. Both his parents were Puritans so John Locke was raised that way. Because of his father's connections and allegiance to the English government, Locke received a great education. In 1647 he enrolled at Westminster School in London, where Locke earned the distinct honor of being named a King's Scholar. After graduating in 1656, he returned to Christ Church two years later for a Master of Arts. In 1668 Locke was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1668. He graduated with a bachelor's of medicine in 1674. John Locke believed that all humans were born with certain natural rights such as life, liberty, and property. He believed people formed governments to protect their rights. Locke also believes that if the government failed to protect the society natural rights, then the people had the right to replace the government. John Locke also set the foundation of what we know as the separation of powers. He separated the powers into an executive and legislature and later Montesquieu expanded on Locke ideas. He also believed in checks and balances so that one part of government didnt have too much power and abuses it so the three branches have the equal amount of power and can override anything if they think its wrong and doesnt benefit

the people. This was John Locke political philosophies that influence our founding father when they wrote the constitution. Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy. Thomas Hobbes was born in Westport, England, on April 5, 1588. Hobbes father disappeared, abandoning his three children to the care of his brother. Hobbes uncle who was a tradesman and alderman, provided for Hobbes' education. Hobbes went to Magdalen Hall in Oxford to study. He then left Oxford in 1608 and became the private tutor for William Cavendish. Hobbes is most famous for his book Leviathan. The book concerns the structure of society and legitimate government, and is thought of as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. Hobbes believed in the Rights of Nature, which state that you are at liberty to use all of your power to preserve your own life. Hobbes defines the Right of Nature to mean that every human has a right to everything, even to one another's bodies. Hobbes thought that people could only be happy once a strong dictator had risen up and forced them to become civilized. Hobbes believes society is a population beneath a sovereign authority, to whom all individuals in that society handed over their natural rights for the sake of protection. He also thought any abuses of power by this authority are to be accepted as the price of peace. Hobbes rejected separation of powers and thought that the sovereign must control civil, military, judicial powers. Hobbes believed that people are driven by selfishness and greed. So he felt that people needed to give up their freedom to a government that will ensure order. He also thought people should give up their freedom to a government that will ensure peace among society so that selfishness and greed would affect society and such a government should be strong and able to suppress rebellion. Hobbes philosophy was different from the

usual which made him stand out and caught everyones attention during the time people were starting to rebel. He stood out in the sense that he was siding to have a sovereign ruler who had total control over society. William Blackstone was a British jurist best known for his influential analysis of the laws of England and description of the doctrines of English law. William Blackstone was born July 10, 1723, London, England. Blackstone was the fourth child of his father Charles Blackstone, who was a silk merchant of moderate means. His mother died when he was 12. He was educated by his uncle Thomas Bigg, who was a London surgeon. Blackstone was educated at Charterhouse School before matriculating at Pembroke College, Oxford in 1738, where he completed a Bachelor of Civil Law degree. Blackstone's main contribution to law was in his theory of common law. Blackstone believed that human laws were like scientific laws and that God created these laws. It was up to man to discovery and adopt these laws. Blackstone's theories influenced the writers of the United States Constitution, especially in the first ten amendments to this historic document. Two examples of this are in the impeachment clause and in the second amendment. The impeachment of a public official argument uses Blackstone commentaries to explain and define what high crimes and misdemeanors means in American Constitutional law. The second amendment right to keep and bear arms is a tradition based upon Blackstone's Commentaries. In the Commentaries, Blackstone explained that the basis upon which English Common Law resides is a higher law, the law written by God and found in His scriptures and the created order. Blackstone also said that law is fixed, it is uniform, and it is universal, so It is the same law for everyone at all times and in all places. The Commentaries were also the original foundation for legal education in America and a work that would

dominate the common law legal system for centuries. Blackstones influence on American law was great. His writings trained nearly every American lawyer until the mid-19th century. William Blackstone died February 14, 1780. Blackstone had and great impact in our founding father and about common laws. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a political philosopher who influenced the French Revolution as well as the development of modern political and educational thought. Jean Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva, Switzerland, 28 June, 1712. He was the second son of his father Isaac Rousseau who was a descendant of French Huguenots and his mother Susanne Bernard who died a week after Rousseau was born. Rousseau was sent by an uncle to a basic religious schooling where he endured harsh discipline that would later form his basis of hatred towards authority. In his work, Rousseau addresses freedom more than any other problem of political philosophy and aims to explain how man in the state of nature is blessed with total freedom. Rousseau believed that good government must have the freedom of all its citizens as it is a key objective. Rousseau acknowledged that as long as property and laws exist, people can never be as entirely free in modern society as they are in the state of nature. To Rousseau, laws should always record what the people collectively desire and should always be universally applicable to all members of the state. So In return they should exist to ensure that peoples individual freedom is upheld, which will guarantee that people remain loyal to the sovereign at all times. Rousseau believed that the civil society does nothing to enforce the equality and individual liberty that were promised to man when he entered into that society. Rousseau shared the same idea of another great philosopher John Locke about checks and balances. Rousseau believed in the natural goodness of man; that humans were corrupted by the greed

and competition of civilization. He believed in a social utopia, of humans returning to natural harmony, being made free of vices and sharing a natural equality and a general will and this inspired the French Revolution. Rousseaus The Social Contract is one of the single most important declarations of the natural rights of man in the history of Western political philosophy. It introduced in new and powerful ways the notion of the consent of the governed and the sovereignty of the people instead of the ruler. Niccol Machiavelli was an Italian political thinker and historical figure best remembered for his masterpiece, The Prince. It was dedicated to Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici a prince in Italy. Niccolo Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469, in Florence, Italy. Niccol father Bernardo was a lawyer. Bernardo died in 1500, Machiavelli's mother, Bartolomea de' Nelli, had died in 1496. Machiavelli belonged to an entire school of Florentine intellectual that looked at political and historical problems. He studied the way people lived and aimed to inform leaders how they should rule and even how they themselves should live. Machiavelli short book, "The Prince," was designed as a guide for royalty. Where other philosophers focused on how government should operate. Machiavelli argues in favor of a strong army, claiming that it is the foundation upon which the state is built. Without a defense force, the state cannot continue to exist. Machiavelli argues a Prince who is respected by his subjects is unlikely to face assassination attempts, so it is worthwhile for a Prince to work to obtain his subjects' respect, both through appearing to be nice but demonstrating that he should be feared. Machiavelli warns that a prince who is too generous will raise his subjects' expectations and will not be able to fulfill them. Machiavelli believes in order to maintain power, it is better for a Prince to be feared and a Prince should be occasionally cruel because it lessens the likelihood of rebellion

and gains the respect of people and troops alike. Modern politicians adopt Machiavellis assessment of humanity when they remove decision-making power from the hands of individuals and place it in the hands of government. Some people say Machiavelli wrote The Prince to help Lorenzo Di Medici to stay in power. He introduced Machiavellism, which is the use of cunning and deceitful tactics in politics. Machiavelli showed our founding fathers how not to run a country. Montesquieu was a French social commentator and political thinker who lived during the period of Enlightenment. He was born on January 18,1689 in southwest of France. His father, Jacques de Secondat, was a soldier with a long noble ancestry, and his mother, Marie Franoise de Pesnel, died when Charles Louis was 7 He was educated at the Oratorian Collge de Juilly, received a law degree from the University of Bordeaux in 1708, and went to Paris to continue his legal studies. Montesquieu was greatly influence from the works of Locke. Montesquieus most critical work, The Spirit of Laws , tackled and elaborated on many of the ideas that Locke had introduced. He stressed the importance of a separation of powers and was one of the first people to express the idea of a system of checks and balances in government. The system of separation of powers divides the tasks of the state into three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. These tasks are assigned to different institutions so that each of them can check the others. As a result, no one institution can become as powerful in a democracy as to destroy this system. The separation of powers in a democracy is to prevent abuse of power and to safeguard freedom for all. Checks and balances made sure that the three powers interact in an equal and balanced way. Checks and balances are there to enforce a balanced government, where each 3 branches co-exist to carry the Constitution. Its prime

function is to stop one branch becoming more powerful than the others. It's all about weakening the governments ability to gain too much control over the lives of the citizens. Montesquieu believed that environmental conditions affect behavior and response and saw that governments located in different climates should be adjusted accordingly. All these things had a great effect on our founding father and they are also found in our constitution which helps our government run smoothly and protect the people. All 6 Philosophers influence the founding fathers in writing the US constitution. John Locke came up with natural rights and how everyone are born with them and its the government job to protect them. Also how the government should be distributed among different institution. For Thomas Hobbes his thoughts differ from most and he thought people shouldnt have right except life so he really didnt influence the US government. Blackstone influence the US government his impeachment idea and the right to bear arms which I think two really great amendments that we have. Rousseau talked about how all humans are the same and we see in our Declaration of Independence how it talks about equality among all. I think Machiavelli really didnt influence our government he just showed us wh at not to do I think. Montesquieu really help the US constitution with the separation of power and checks and balances it makes sure everyone stays in place and no one gets out of hand and abuse their power which I think is key to a peaceful and great government.