How Did John Locke Influence The English Government
Locke’s writings were influenced by the changes in the English government at the time, which had become a constitutional monarchy with a powerful Parliament, exemplifying Locke’s belief that the monarch did not hold the divine right to rule, and that the people were justified in reforming a government which did not serve them well. Through most of the seventeenth century, the English Parliament and the Crown struggled for power; this came to head in the English Civil War of , when Charles I was beheaded by parliamentarians after refusing to negotiate, and a new parliamentary republic was created. The acts of Charles I did not represent or benefit his subjects, so he was removed from power; this embodies Locke’s idea that the people have the