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Overview

A cornerstone of Western political philosophy, Locke’s Second Treatise on Civil Government is an essay written by English philosopher John Locke and published in 1690. Subtitled An Essay Concerning the True Original Extent and End of Civil Government, the essay was published in support of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The concept of the modern liberal-democratic state is rooted in the work.

Locke’s Second Treatise on Civil Governmentserves as a counterargument to Thomas Hobbes’s pro-absolutist government Leviathan (1651) and helped to inspire the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.

Read the free full text, the overall summary, the overall analysis, and explanations of important quotes from Locke’s Second Treatise on Civil Government. Or, learn more by studying SparkNotes guides to other works by John Locke.

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The Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration

 
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