Thomas Hobbes was one of the first of his era to discuss the idea of the social contract. Explore his views on government and his famous book, Leviathan.

A complete biography of the philosopher John Locke. It discusses his contribution to philosophy and his social contract.

A good biography mostly on Rousseau's political philosophy of "The Social Contract"

See how colonial and state constitutions differed and how the idea of a social contract between a government and its citizens is reflected in the state constitutions. The second half of this site gives an abbreviated text of the Articles...

From Wikipedia, this article outlines the purpose of government and explains how disagreement over purpose can splinter into various movements such as socialism, fascism, and communism. Includes links to further explanations of different...

This biographical sketch makes use of quotations from Rousseau's works. Provides a bibliography of his work as well.

This site contains a question and answer format on the theories of Locke and Hobbes. It answers questions about the political system and social contract, as well as theorizing about the state of nature and rights of man.

This is a site for a 14-day United States History unit on the events leading up to the American Revolution. The point of this unit is to help students form an understanding of events by using multiple primary accounts (teaching...

This site provides a short biography, and some links to relevant sites.

A tutorial that looks at the ideas from the Enlightenment that influenced the Founding Fathers, particularly those of John Locke and Montesquieu. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.

This article analyzes the philosophy contained in such works as "Leviathan." A good starting point for research on Hobbesian philosophy.

This site from The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy provides a comprehensive survey of the life and philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. It discusses his writings as well as his ideas on moral and political philosophy.

This site provides selections from John Locke's "Two Treatisies on Government." It contains evaluations on the sections 'Of the State of Nature' and 'Of Political of Civil Society.'

Comprehensive resource with hyperlinks to music, writings, and biographical information on Rousseau.

This site from the University of Groningen provides the complete John Locke's "Second Treatise on Government." It discusses everything from slavery and property to civil government and its functions.

Two opposing philosophies concerning the relationship between government and its citizens were expressed by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke in the 17th century. Compare these two philosophies and see how they were related to the colonists'...

This site from The Galileo Project of Rice University presents Hobbes' life in an outline, giving easy access to the critical information. This is a great site to check out for information on the subject.

Quiz yourself on how well you know the events leading up to writing the United States Constitution.

A framework for discussing what it means to be a community, based on the principles in the Declaration of Independence and on the values Americans hold dear that form the basis of successful communities.

This site provides an e-text of the Leviathan, written by Thomas Hobbes.

Discussion lesson plan that introduces and examines the concept of government by consent of the governed. Includes a reading for class distribution and references to primary source documents.

Surveys Kohlberg's theory of the stages of moral development. Has an outline of the stages and a description of each.

Introduce students to the ideas and writings of John Locke that influenced the likes of Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers.

The Enlightenment was a period of time, starting around 1715, when people developed new ideas about human existence, including people's basic rights and the purpose of government. When our Founding Fathers created a government for the...