French Revolution

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Recommended: Significance and impact of the French revolution

Throughout time there have been a countless amount of brilliant minds that have been able to change the way we perceive certain knowledge. Philosophers who had come up with new mind-boggling ideas that get people thinking, what or whom they should believe in. One certain individual, who was able to change the minds of many, was John Locke. He had gone on to become one the greatest philosophers of all time, and is considered one the most influential minds of the Enlightenment era. His innovative thoughts portrayed how he was far ahead of his time. In this paper, I will discuss how even after his death, John Locke’s ideas continued to stand the test of time and inspire the people of France to demand a change, thus, leading to the French Revolution.
One of John Locke’s most renowned and noteworthy pieces of literature had to be Two Treatises of Government, which brought about new ideas, like the natural rights of man and the relation of the government and its people. All ideas that helped change what was once considered the norms of society, to a much more modern, democratic perspective. His writing was divided into two parts, the First Treatise and the Second Treatise. In the First Treatise, John Locke criticizes Robert Filmer’s Patriarcha, as it stated that every man is born a slave to those who are born kings. Furthermore, John Locke in the Second Treatise, states how the government can help their countries prosper by working with the citizens instead of against them. John Locke had deemed that every man was born with certain rights that no government should be able to take away. For centuries, society had lived their life under a monarch government, where the king controlled everything, and everyone around...

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...on designs against the liberties and properties of the subject” (Locke, Second Treatise).
John Locke was in full support for a revolution if the government didn’t handle its obligations correctly. He had believed that the government should be elected by majority vote and the people of France wanted exactly that. The citizens of France all got together; setting aside the differences they had amongst themselves, to help better the lives of all. “Among revolutionaries, there were aspirations for liberty, republicanism and power” (Prest, The French Revolution, Locke and Rousseau), Locke’s ideas had truly inspired the people. They had agreed that the time for change was long overdue and the only way they could achieve this was by revolution. Strongly holding on to the belief that things couldn’t get any worst, the people joined forces, with the hope of a better tomorrow.

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