Law Commons^™

John Locke And The Declaration Of Independence, Kenneth D. Stern

Cleveland State Law Review

In an article published in the Journal of the American Bar Association in 1949, Dean Clarence Manion, then Dean of the College of Law of the University of Notre Dame, stated, "It is misleading to attribute the philosophy of the Declaration (of Independence) to the writings of John Locke." Dean Manion feels that Locke implies that the rights of minority groups and even of individuals are subordinated to the dictates of the majority. Manion concluded that Jefferson's philosophy contrasts sharply with the Lockian creed. A more thorough examination of Locke's writings, however, tends to lead to the opposite conclusion.