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Jill Lepore on John Locke

Please note this is a rough cut video as Khan Academy and the National Constitution Center work with educators on piloting the new Constitution 101 course. The full course will be available September 2024. Learn more here: https://blog.khanacademy.org/educators-find-out-the-latest-on-our-new-constitution-101-course-coming-september-2024/. Created by National Constitution Center.

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  • sneak peak green style avatar for user G. Tarun
    When Locke made that remark on America, was he referring to the Americas as a living state of nature (ie before US was established), or as a liberal democratic republic?

    It's a bit tricky because Thomas Hobbes, writing in the Leviathan (before Locke), cited the Americas as a living, frozen-in-time example of the anarchic state of nature. (I believe James C. Scott's work does show that Hobbes was probably not fully accurate in making that claim, since living anarchies can also be a resistance to being seen by the state.)
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