liberalism
...ury British philosopher John Locke, the father of classic liberalism. Locke having witnessed the anarchy of English civil war, and the excessive use of power by both Charles the 1st and Cornwall, set out to find a workable medium. He sought to increase the power of the people by limiting the power of the government. He believed that everyone is born with certain inalienable and universal rights that need to be protected. The government should be built with these rights as a foundation, thus restricting the government; and to make the government accountable to the people he proposed a constitution and elections. This turned the government from leading by coercion to leading by consent. The ideas of Locke were crucial influences on the American Revolution, Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Looking ahea...