Political Philosophers

Many famous political philosophers played an important role in shaping the ideals of the United States government.

John Locke
The most significant political philosopher for American Democracy. He believed that all people are born with natural rights to life, liberty and property, and that people should overthrow any government that takes away these rights.  This idea became the basis of the Declaration of Independence, which the American colonists wrote to separate themselves from Great Britain who was infringing upon their natural rights.

Plato
He believed that a pure direct democracy would never work because it would be too chaotic.  In turn, he believed that the educated class should be in charge.  This idea is in place in the United States government today, for example, because the electors get the final vote for President, not the citizens.

Aristotle
He believed that a monarchy is an acceptable form of government as long as the leader is principled. He also believed that the educated people of the middle class should have the most say in the government.  In the United States government, there is no monarch but the President does have a lot of power and is the head of the executive branch.

Niccolo Machiavelli
He came up with the system of checks and balances in government to prevent any brach from becoming too powerful. In the United States, the government is separated into three branches, the legislative, the executive and the judicial.  Machiavelli also believed that there should be limits on the amount of time that a person can rule. The United States President is now limited to being in office for a total of two terms, a total of eight years.

Thomas Hobbes
He believed that people cannot be trusted to have control of the government, so they should choose a fair leader to rule them.  He also believed that people should surrender some of their rights in exchange for protection from the government.  In order to be protected by the Constitution, United States citizens must also surrender their rights in order to obey it's laws.

Jean Jacques Rousseau
He believed in the "social contract," which meant that people should have a direct say in the government (direct democracy).  He also believed that people are naturally good, but are corrupted by society.  Referendums (citizens can repeal a local law if they win the majority vote) and initiatives (citizens can create a local law if they win a majority vote) are examples of direct democracy in the United States government today.

Baron de Montesquie
He believed that there should be a balance of power between the three branches of government, like there is now the United States.  He also believed in the separation of church and state, which is also in place in the U.S.

Sir William Blackstone
He created a legal code for the United States that laid out the rights that people should have under the British rule of the colonies.  He said that taxation without representation was wrong.  The American colonists rebelled against the British in part because they were being taxed by Britain without having representation in Parliament.