Writers that Influenced our Government Locke and Rousseau were two philosophers who both wrote about human nature. Both philosophers agreed that before civilized man began to govern himself, man existed in a state of nature. These philosophers recognized that people develop a social contract within their society. Even though Locke and Rousseau each had different views on what exactly the social contract is and how it is established, they both agreed that certain freedoms had …showed first 75 words of 763 total…

…showed last 75 words of 763 total…the government so no one can take it from you. This brought about the 2nd amendment that protects the right to own guns. WORKS CITED Jacobus, Lee A., Ed. A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers New York: Bedford Books, 1998. O'Brien, Conon Cruise "Thomas Jefferson: Radical and Racist." Oct 1996 . Wills, Garry. Inventing America. New York: Random House, 1978 Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish. New York: Vintage Books, 1975 Oxford English Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press, 1994