Great Historical Thinkers
What great thinkers throughout history have thought about government.
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- James Madison
- Father of the Constitution and wrote the Bill of Rights. Thought that it was better to be governed by good laws, not by good men. Believed in checks and balances within government. Thought that a democracy was the best form of government and that men could be trusted to govern themselves.
- John Locke
- Was a Puritan and believed in compromizing and reason. Also believed in equal rights for all. Didn't believe in Divine Right, and proposed the idea that everyone was born with and entitled to their natural rights, which gives men the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of property(happiness). Believed that a limited monarchy would be the best form of government, and that men could be trusted to govern themselves.
- Rousseau
- Grew up with bad parents in Swiss villages that had direct democracies. Believed in peace and that people were born good. Thought of the Social Contract Theory, which stated that one could give up some of their rights in exchange for leniancy with the government or something or other. Thought that a direct democracy was the best form of government and that men could be trusted to govern themselves.
- Mary Wollstonecraft
- Strongly believed in women's rights and wrote a book about it. Had a strong dislike for monarchs and did not believe in constitutional marriages. Thought that a democracy was the best form of government and that men could be trusted to govern themselves.
- Simon Bolivar
- El Liberator, born in South America but got educated in Europe. Brought ideas of government from Europe back to South America and liberated parts of it from Spanish rule. Thought that a democracy was the best form of government and that men could be trusted to govern themselves.
- Aristotle
- Studied under Plato, thought that the upper-class was to arrogant and that the lower-class couldn't be trusted to govern themselves. Thought that a democracy where power was vested in only the middle-class would be the best form of government.
- Thomas Hobbes
- Thought that men were very very wicked!! Thought that men were always at war and very selfish. Wrote his famous book "Leviathan." Thought that an absolute monarchy would be the best form of government, and that men couldn't be trusted to govern themselves.
- Plato
- Studied under great philosopher Socrates. He had his suspisions of democracy because it sentenced his teacher Socrates to death for preaching to the people his philosophies. Author of Plato's Republic, beilieved in bronze class; the farmers and slave-type people, the silver class; the military personal, and the gold class; the philosophers and rulers of the people. Did not think people could be trusted to govern themselves.
- Baron de Montesquieu
- Mont-es-quieu!! Believed in system of government with three seperate branches of power. Thought that women were too weak and gentle and that they weren't equal to men. Thought that a limited monarchy was the best form of government and that men could not be trusted to govern themselves.
- King Louis XIV
- Ruled with an iron fist for 60 years, and always wanted war. Believed in Divine Right theory, in which God chose him to rule over the masses and that anyone who challenged him would be challenging God. Thought that an absolute monarchy was the best form of government, and that men couldn't be trusted to govern themselves.
- Voltaire
- Born in France and was very critical of the government, the people, and the church. Was put in prison many times for voicing his beliefs. Wrote famous book Candide. Thought that an enlightened monarch with advisive philosophers was the best form of government and that men could not be trusted to govern themselves.
- Thomas Jefferson
- Father of the Decleration of Independence and believed in Locke's idea of Natural Rights and Rousseau's idea of Social Contract. Believed that men were born good and that everyone is equal and that the church shouldn't control the government. Thought that republicanism or an indirect democracy was the best form of government and that men could be trusted to govern themselves.
- Queen Elizabeth
- Was a very maternalistic ruler who loved her people and they loved her back. She was the head of the Protestant Church and had to share her governmental powers with Parliment. Thought that a constitutional monarchy was the best form of government and that men couldn't be trusted to govern themselves.