John Locke and " The Enlightenment"

John Locke
- John Locke is one of the most famous and influential of all the Enlightenment thinkers. John was British and he disliked the monarchic government. He decided to come up with a new government, one that benefited the people's rights. He believed that the people had the right to govern the country in any way they wanted. He emphasized that humans had three natural rights (life,liberty,and property). He said that if the government failed to protect these three rights, then the people had the right to overthrow it. John Locke wanted a democratic government. His ideas might have been similar to the Ancient Greeks but he is credited as the father of modern democracy.

Thomas Jefferson and The Declaration of Independence
- Thomas Jefferson is one of the founding fathers of the Declaration of Independence. His ideas were inspired by John Locke's idea of a democratic government. The "rights" he talks about are similar to Locke's. He says that "all men are created equal", that they have the right for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thomas Jefferson stated in the declaration that these rights were given by God and that no one, no matter what power they had could take that away. The government gets its power from the people.We have the right to abolish the government if they fail. Like the saying says "For the people of the people". We also have the right to change anything that the government does. The people get to chose their leader. John Locke lead the way for many democratic nations and inspired many to follow in his words.