1. From The Second Treatise on GovernmentChapter XIX Of the Dissolution of Government John Locke By: Gina Garlasco

2. Introduction to John Locke Born in 1632 Died in 1704 British Philosopher Became government official- collected information about trade/colonies Revolutionary- Glorious Revolution 1688 Opposed authority/institutions Seventeenth century, important time period when protestants, Anglican, Catholics in civil war in 1640’s Locke was exiled to Holland after he and lord Shaftesbury plotted to kill the King and his brother was revealed in 1683 Enthroned William and Mary- 1696 Board of Trade was revived- a committee in UK that became almost a government department that had many functions Retired from Board of Trade in 1700, died 1704

3. Historical Context Published in December of 1689-anonymously King James II of England was overthrown in 1688 by Dutch Republic (Netherlands) and William III of Orange-Nassau who then became king- Better known as the Glorious Revolution Locke mentioned William III’s take over in the preface to justify Epistola had just come out, piece by Locke involving “toleration of religious dissent” Believed to be refuting the work of Robert Filmer- Patriarcha, about defending divine rights of kings to rule Was written when he and friend Shaftesbury opposed King Charles II Originally thought to be written in 1679-1680, Peter Laslett, a historian, thought it was attempting to keep King James II from becoming king in the first place- Exclusion Crisis – attempt to keep Charles II brother, James II from being king (he was Roman Catholic) Locke’s mentor Anthony-Ashley Cooper Earl of Shaftesbury produced this act but was unsuccessful

4. After the act fell apart, The Rye House Plot came along. Locke and Shaftesbury (along with others) attempted to kill King Charles II and his brother James II Many were sent into exile, some executed. Locke knew his work was controversial and never got credit until after his death in 1704

5. Meaning of the Text Proposed to cease governmental rule, become a natural society Survival of the fittest, take care of yourself and provide for your own safety Begin to rely too much on government for protection, you can not have a strong sturdy government when the internal network is corrupt and scattered People originally opt for government when they have something valuable they want to be protected, when they agree to rules/regulations they actually give up freedom and now have limited powers Leads to loss of respect for government because the power they lost, put at odds with society They can not trust the government, trust has been built on lie; therefore it is mistrust The reps are chosen because they are trusted to protect the public but they falsify themselves to gain a vote, do not keep promises, breach of trust

6. Rely on government too much you are not able to take care of yourself, the people who rely too much will end up needing to be supported by those who rebel and refuse to rely on government The ones who rebel will need nothing but themselves to survive once government has become corrupt and fallen Society needs to come together to destroy this corrupt government and replace it with the original government meant to be put in place People “fuel” the power of the government because they rely so heavily on it This makes it difficult to rebel You can not rebel by making new laws to protect what you have, this allows the government to stay corrupt and in control The rebels will agree there might be war bloodshed and difficult times, but the ones at fault are those who start the confrontation, not those who are there to only defend themselves Most importantly, rulers should be disregarded when they overstep their boundaries, otherwise people become oppressed and it results in this “disorder”

7. Thomas Hobbes- proposed state of nature to be hypothetical Locke said state of nature does exist- when there is no government ruling Locke proposes also a Law of Nature so people can not just do whatever they want because there is no government The state of nature lacked any form of law that causes commotion Bib: Required Text

8. Shaping Democracy Locke did not say he wanted a democracy Rather, citizens and society could come to an agreement with a monarchy (supreme power with one individual) or oligarchy (power rests with small elite group) Locke’s ideas influenced American and French Revolutions by his demand for peoples rights and his view on the importance and role of a civil government (a group of the state, not military, that makes the law and order) Proposed that in a natural state the people would abide to a “contract” that allowed them protection by the state but they would lose certain freedoms If the state becomes too powerful or over steps it’s bounds, the citizens of the state can overthrow the state and the contract no longer is in place Encouraged citizens to rebel if state over stepped bounds so they can put in a better system Suggested the legislative power must be removed but in a way of resisting the power rather than rebelling so it will fall on its own and then able to put a new political system in place

9. Early 1700’s when Locke’s work began to be used and noted Daniel Defoe used Locke’s work in a debate Locke’s ideas were refuted by many, still not accepted By eighteenth century Locke finally got more recognition He and his work more frequently came up and was noted for example in Stamp Act debates of 1765 and 1766 Nonconformists and those looking to get rid of slavery were very in tune to “Lockean ideals” All the sudden many began to believe that Locke’s work was wrong and had many mistakes Associated with Rousseau and Voltaire Blamed for American and French Revolution and separated religion and spiritual connections

10. Bibliography "Two Treatises of Government." Absolute Astronomy. GFDL, 2009. Web. 1 Sept. 2009. <http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Two_Treatises_of_Government#encyclopedia>. "John Locke Bibliography." Epistola de tolerantia. Penn State U, 10 June 2009. Web. 31 Aug. 2009. <http://www.libraries.psu.edu/tas/locke/bib/ch0c.html>. "John Locke Bibliography." Two Treatises of Government (1689). Penn State U, 10 June 2009. Web. 31 Aug. 2009. <http://www.libraries.psu.edu/tas/locke/bib/ch0c.html>. Locke, John. "The Second Treatise on Government." 1690. File last modified on 1690. MS. "John Locke." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford U, 2 Sept. 2001. Web. 5 May 2007. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/#SecTreGov>.