Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau

Hobbes wrote

Leviathan

Locke wrote

Two Treaties of Government

Rousseau wrote

The Social Contract

Montesquieu wrote

The Spirit of the Laws

Hobbes grew up

In the middle of a civil war, bad environment.

Hobbes believed (1)

Believed all people were born nasty, poor, brutish, and short.

Hobbes believed (2)

Believed the only way out of the state of nature was to create some supreme power to impose peace on everyone.

Hobbes's social contract

an agreement only between the people and not between them and their king.

Hobbes wanted

Absolute monarchy

Locke was born

during the Glorious Revolution

Locke

agreed with Hobbes that a social contract was need for peace among people, but disagreed about how to go about it.

Locke argued

that natural rights could never be taken away, nor given up voluntarily.

Locke's thoughts on social contract

not just an agreement among people, but between them and the sovereign.

According to Locke

the natural rights of individuals limited the power of the king.

Locke believed

property was the most important natural right

Locke thought the supreme authority of government

should reside in the law- making legislature

Montesquieu believed

that in the state of nature individuals were so fearful that they avoided violence and war.

Montesquieu said

that's the state of war among individuals and nations led to human laws and government.

Montesquieu opposed

the absolute monarchy, and favored the English system as the best model of government.

Montesquieu favored

the checks and balances

Montesquieu concluded that

the best form of government was one in which the legislative, executive, an judicial powers were separate and kept each other in check.

Americans later adopted ___________ theory of government.

Montesquieu's

According to Rousseau

the powerful rich stole the land belonging to everyone and fooled the common people into accepting them as rulers.

Rousseau famous quote

"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains."

Rousseau

argued that the general will of the people could not be decided by elected representatives.

According to Rousseau

all political power must reside with the people, exercising their general will.

Rousseau believed that religion

divided and weakened the state.