James Locke wrote the Second Treatise of Government in 1689 during England's Glorious Revolution. Many people believe that Thomas Jefferson's ideas for the Declaration of Independence came from his knowledge of Locke's work.
Locke wrote that all people are equal and they are born with "unalienable" rights. "Unalienable" means rights that cannot be taken away or denied for any reason.
Locke believed that these rights were fundamental: life, liberty, and property.
Let's discuss his definition of these unalienable rights individually:
Life - This is the most basic right. A person should preserve life and mankind itself. He found it to be a duty and a right. This applied to everyone - except murderers. Since they broke this fundamental right, they forfeited their rights to their own life.
Liberty - Locke believed that people had the right to be free. This meant being able to make your own choices and live your life the way that you wanted to - as long what you are doing is not interfering or infringing on others' rights.
Property - This doesn't just mean land or possessions, like a student might think. Locke also meant this to include the actual person, themselves and their well-being.
