The First Treatise of Government

John Locke (1632-1704) ranks among the most influential political philosophers in Western history. Locke’s writings are often associated with the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, as well as the republican ideals of the American Revolution. He is best known for his theories of natural rights and the social contract, the principles of which are enshrined in the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

Locke’s family background and early life helped make him an advocate for freedom. His father fought against the royalist supporters of King Charles I during the English Civil War. Locke also studied medicine and became a practicing physician. In this capacity, Locke came to the attention of Anthony Ashley Cooper (later raised to the peerage as the Earl of Shaftesbury), a powerful English politician who, among other things, became one of the eight Lords Proprietor of Carolina. First Treatise, in fact, makes a brief reference to the “peopling of Carolina” by “English, French, Scotch, and Welch” as part of a broader argument against Filmer’s use of the Tower of Babel to support his case for fatherly authority over nations (166).

Shaftesbury’s patronage brought Locke into contact with English Whigs, who were supporters of Parliament and opponents of divine-right monarchy.