John Locke Second Treatise Of Government Essay

John Locke (1632-1704) - John Locke, an English philosopher, developed one of the most influential theories of contractual government. In his Second Treatise of Civil Government, published in 1690, Locke argued that government was created by the people and intended to appoint rulers to protect and promote their common interests. The people gave political rights to their rulers but kept personal rights to life, liberty, and property. Any ruler who violated those rights was subject to deposition. Additionally, because individuals formed society and established government voluntarily, rulers got their their authority from the consent of the governed. If subjects did not give their consent, they had the right to replace their rulers. This political

The Jacobin party, which dominated the Convention and worked alongside Robespierre, believed that France needed complete makeover, seeking to eliminate the influence of Christianity in French society by closing churches and forcing priests to take wives and promoting a new "cult of reason" as a secular alternative to Christianity. They reorganized the calendar, keeping months of thirty days but replacing seven-day weeks with ten-day units, which recognized no days of religious observance, and proclaimed a new historical era with the Year I, which began with the declaration of the First Republic on September 22, 1792. They granted rights to women by permitting them to inherit property and divorce their husbands, however, they did not allow women to vote or participate in political affairs. The instability of revolutionary leadership eventually weakened the confidence in the regime itself. In July 1794 the Convention arrested Robespierre and his allies, convicted them of tyranny, and sent them to the