Modern History

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IHSP Credits

Modern History Sourcebook:
Reading Guide:
John Locke: Second Treatise on Government

[Note: Reading Guides are meant as review aids for a particular text. They do indicate some of the questions a text raises.]

Answer the questions below.

Find your information from the sourcebook itself, or from your textbook.
You may use other sources, but indicate what they are is this is the basis of submitted class work.

  • Who was Locke? What were his qualifications for writing? Who was he writing for? What kind (genre) of literature is this?
  • What is the starting point, the underlying assumption, of Locke's arguments? What do you think is the origin of this point of view?
  • What does Locke mean by liberty?
  • What law governs all? Who wrote this law?
  • Why do human beings form into political associations?
  • What rights does Locke's theory give `the people'? What is the historical background here.
  • Read Locke, #27, Who does Locke mean when he writes about `men'? Who does consider Vassa to be a human being? Why?

Know the Meanings of these phrases/words

  • license
  • property
  • commonwealth
  • usurpation
  • magistrate
  • "body politic"