Compare And Contrast William Penn And Thomas Aquinas

Although the separation from England was a united movement, not all colonies settled for the same reasons. Therefore, as a result of this difference, each colony had its own motives to base its social foundation on. In the “Charter of Privileges Granted by William Penn, esq. to the Inhabitants of Pennsylvania and Territories, October 28, 1701”, it is exemplified how the guidelines set up after colonization was used to attract a certain group of people wanted by the Proprietary and Governor. The charter relinquished to the colony of Pennsylvania, was an articulation of the newly endowed rights given to the people, as well as, an act of appeal.

After a fiercely fought revolution, the newly independent American nation struggled to establish a concrete government amidst an influx of opposing ideologies. Loosely tied together by the Articles of Confederation, the thirteen sovereign states were far from united. As growing schisms in American society became apparent, an array of esteemed, prominent American men united in 1787 to form the basis of the United States government: the Constitution. Among the most eminent members of this convention were Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. These men, held to an almost godly stature, defined the future of the nation; but were their intentions as honest as they seemed?

John Locke believed this as well, that the citizens should be able to change the government if needed. However, this also showed what Thomas Jefferson was going through. He was not only founding a government, but he was rebelling against one. He disliked the idea of monarchy, and giving total control to the government. This further shows that John Locke had an influence on Pres.

The American government that we know today, had many troubles when it first came together when the Constitution was first ratified in 1788. There had been many failed attempts at creating a new and successful government, such as the Articles of Confederation the first plan for the new American government. This proved to be very unsuccessful because the states held all federal power, while the national government had very little. In order to please both the Federalists and the Anti-Federalist, each party agreed to the Constitution with the addition of the Bill of Rights. Documents like the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the above documents are heavily influenced by the writings of John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu,

There were a lot of American men who had perfect influence on people’s mind of American society. Jonathan Edward and Benjamin Franklin were two of those writers, who were the most important and intellectual men, who left behind many admirable works for the future society. In spite of them being so intelligent, they have some different and similar views in terms of morality, personal responsibility, human nature, and limits of human knowledge and inform people how to live a better life. In addition, they were different in terms of religious inclinations. Benjamin Franklin and Jonathan Edward were both philosopher and had similar views in terms of informing people the right way to live in order to be successful and get salvation by reforming their mind in their life.

The Medieval worldview was quite different than other societies near that era; in the regard of a complete rejection and almost persecution of the humanism principle. Two men played key roles in the development and history of that time; they went by the names Augustine and Pope innocent III. The two of them shared a few common ideas and/or themes of human nature that truly reflects the Medieval worldview of how humans are inherently bad, unjust and must seek atonement for sinful behavior. Augustine’s interpretations are equal to Pope Innocents’ but less vicious in delivery by implicating the need for holy grounds and churches for the filth and sinful nature of men.

Thomas Jefferson’s works and ideas laid the foundation for several key aspects on the limits of the United States government, the idea of separation of church and state, and the importance of personal rights. Jefferson wrote many influential pieces of literature which pushed the concept of having limited government power. Jefferson wanted America not to be like the European monarchies that fell due to religious strife, so he emphasized a secular government. Jefferson, following closely with the ideas of John Locke, stressed the importance of the protection of individual rights against the government. Thomas Jefferson believed that a government should have limitations.

Thomas Hobbes He liked to study various types of government. He thought that the government of a monarchy was better than democracy because he had no doubt that they were naturally wicked and were not to be trusted to govern. He believed that it was better to have a governor like a king that would know how to act like a leader and rule a country.

Niccolò Machiavelli, better known as the father of modern political theory, wrote the famous socio-political treatise The Prince, during a dark time in his career. In The Prince, there are several policies that can be found in the American government, specifically in the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. Many of our American leaders have adopted similar policies as Machiavelli's book is recognized as a political manual for many leaders. Obviously, there are many common themes in The Prince and The United States government's policies, such as the idea of arming one's citizens along with how leaders are brought to power; however, there are also many differences, in particular, the distribution of power in government.

Albeit Aristotle and Locke lived 2,000 years apart, their periods in history were similar. Both eras were marked by wars, tyrannical figures, and political and social instability in ancient Greece and medieval England. However, there was one major difference in their epochs, religion. The Greeks practice polytheism, while Christianity was practiced in Europe during Locke’s time.

John Locke and Baron de Montesquieu were political philosophers that debated the question of who was best fit to control the government. Locke and Montesquieu shared similar political beliefs such as natural rights and the separation of government powers. However, both philosophers did, in fact, have their personal views that helped them accomplish important achievements. John Locke published “Two Treatises of Government” and “ An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” which present a detail philosophy of the mind and thought. Locke’s “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” lays out his philosophical project.

He justifies the need for democracy, aristocracy and monarchy depending on location. The three philosophers use their judgment and prior knowledge on each other’s work to validate an ideal society, especially for the uprising continent of America. Governments are an established institution in every society. Though there are multiple types of governments, their purpose is fundamental to determining the influence on a civilization.

In his essay, Woodrow Wilson breaks down his essay into three sections, the first of which gives a detail of the history of public administration. Without delay he concedes that technically public administration has been around for a long time. However, he supersedes this through claiming that no one had studied in depth the field and systematic knowledge of public administration until the previous century. He details of during the period of and preceding his essay, people would disproportionately focus on the constitution of the government. These people would focus on the relationship of the constitution and how the laws were made, what laws could be made, and who made the laws.

In the discussion on the methods of governing and administration of a state, one cannot leave out the models proposed by Confucius as well as Mencius. Both advocated that the ruler or the government has to rule by virtue and strengthen moral education among its people. Political leaders have to set moral examples for the people to follow, and to be benevolent towards their subordinates and citizens. By doing so, that would bring about social stability and population growth within the state, also creating conditions that would lead to an improvement in the welfare of the people. By fulfilling his duties to the people, a just and benevolent ruler would then be justified to rule by the Mandate of Heaven.

This state of nature was the conditions in which we lived before there were any political governments to rule over us and it described what societies would be like if we had no government at all. In this essay I will compare the opinions given by each philosopher regarding their understanding of the state and the law. I will also discuss how their theories have influenced our understanding of the law today. Thomas Hobbes – Regarding the State and Law Firstly I would like to begin my discussion with Thomas Hobbes.