Which of the selections below was a belief of the Founding Fathers that mirrored John Locke's idea of the social contract? Select one: A. the king of England was in violation of natural law B. government can only exist if the people it serves support its existence. C. all men are created equal.

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Kallie Walker

History

23 April, 06:59

Which of the selections below was a belief of the Founding Fathers that mirrored John Locke's idea of the social contract? Select one: A. the king of England was in violation of natural law B. government can only exist if the people it serves support its existence. C. all men are created equal.

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Answers (1)

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Adam Doyle · Answer 1

The correct answer is:

B. Government can only exist if the people it serves support its existence.

Explanation:

John Locke's idea of the social contract had a great influence over the Founding Fathers of America, the separation of powers, the idea that all men are created equal and the preamble of the Constitution show a big influence of John Locke towards the United States form of government.

John Locke believed that each individual is born with natural rights such as freedom and the right of property, granted by the state of nature (or God); and that the government's main role is to protect those rights from the desire and will of other's against to take those natural rights.

According to John Locke, a government is necessary to protect freedom from individuals, because if there were no government, no one could protect their natural rights from others. Therefor, government can only exist if the people it serves supports its existence, this is the basic principle of the social contract philosophy of John Locke.

Locke argued that for a government to be legit, the citizens must be willing to delegate rights, such as laws, taxes and the use of violence when needed, so the government can secure their natural rights. Locke also influenced the Founding Fathers with the idea of a limited government with separation of powers to control that the government would limit only to protect those alienable rights and wouldn't become a tyranny. John Locke stated that if a government fails to serve it's purpose, people have the natural right to replace the government.

Note: The idea that all men are created equal is also influence of John Locke, but the main idea of the social contract philosophy that influenced the Founding Fathers is that government can only exist if the people serves its existence.