What Men Are Responsible for the Philosophical Roots of Our American Government?
Plato was one of the big three philosophers along with Aristotle and Socrates. Plato was born in 427 and died in 347 B.C. Plato’s most famous written work that still exists today is known as “The Republic.” In his book Plato stated that government must be ruled by just men and the right people must be put in charge to ensure that “the highest ideals of human society can be achieved.” Plato was not neccessarily against a monarch ruling in power but he did want the monarch to keep in mind the interests of the people. Another famous quote from Plato stated that “The perfect society will occur only when kings become philosophers and philosophers are made kings.” Plato was the direct follower of Aristotle and much of Arsitotle’s teaching were passed down to Plato. Plato also believed in logic and reason which are important parts of American democracy.
One of the most important men was John Locke. Locke was born in 1632 and died in 1704. Locke is the man who is largely credited with the French Constitution as well as the American Constitution and Bill of Rights. Locke’s most famous writing is his Second Treatsie on Government in which he stated that people have god given rights that the government cannot take away. These values consisted of life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness. Locke also believed in a democratic systyem of government in which the real power lay in the hands of the people instead of the king or ruler.
Two more important men who did similar work to John Locke were Montesquie and Voltaire. These two men wrote articles affirming their belief in a separation of powers in the government and to have different branches of government that could check the power of each other to ensure that one branch did not have supreme authority in the government. This was the foundation for the American system of government with the legislature, executive and judicial branches of government. These three branches in the American government all have certain powers and all can check or veto the power of each other. Finally, they brought forth the idea of a separation of church and state where religion would be secular from the government and the affairs of the government.
An Italian man who wrote about the power of government and the king or ruler was Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli is famous for his quote of a ruler being feared rather than loved and “the ends justify the means.” This important quote means that however you get to the right result, the way or method that you arrived at it is not important. Machiavelli believed that by human nature the ruler would always be under the threats and attacks from his people which is why it was better to install fear rather than love. If you are loved by the people, you might not neccessarily be respected but if you are feared you will always e respected for being tough and strong in leadership.
