John Locke Vs. America

John Locke had a very remarkable view of how slavery should be practiced. Comparing the way Locke viewed slavery and the way it was carried out in the U.S., it is evident that the “perfect condition” of slavery was not agreed upon. 

According to John Locke in the Second Treatise of Government, he believed that the perfect condition of slavery is the state of war continued between a lawful conqueror and a captive. His idea of the way slavery should be established differs greatly from the way it was conducted throughout Europe and the Americas. First, the conquerors were not considered lawful, and there were no compact between the conquerors and the captives. Slaves were bought to the Americas reluctantly to work against their wishes. 

Secondly, Locke states that the state of war ceases as long as the compact between the captives and the conquerors endures. Locke had an interesting view of how the contract should unfold. As the compact between the conqueror and the captives continues, it will eventually cancel itself out. Contrary to what is stated in, slavery in the U.S. lasted for several hundred years. Since there were no agreements, there could be no cancellation of anything. Slaveholders held their captives until they either died, ran away to be freed, or were later Emancipated by law. 

Lastly, Locke states that when a slave is sold, the master did not have the power to kill them at any time, and at a certain time he was obliged to let go of his service. Slaves in the United States were sold among slaveholders, whether it was within the colonies, or with other countries. Moreover, these slaves were subjected to abuse, whether physically and/or mentally, and at times they were killed. Many factors contributed to the deaths of slave, whether it was from being transported to and from different places, where and how they lived, or how they were punished for going against the slaveholder’s command.