I think this beginning statement is extremely important to the purpose of this writing. I think Locke is really giving credit to early intellectuals, showing that they had these ideas of liberty before the revolution, though seen as treasonable back then, they were the ones who brought these ideas to life, but their ideas were stolen as a way to justify the new government.

To me, this seems to be a very libertarian view. Locke see's the chief end as being the extension of property and political freedom, with a group of people who consent to being governed while also having the right to their own freedom and property.

Throughout the source Locke uses man and men. Due to the context of the time period, I am interpreting this terminology as referring to mostly white men, rather than humans as a whole. I'm thinking that he is not writing this to include all classes, races, or genders.

Drawing from the primary source questions, I think this source was typical of the time period in its essence. Though it contradicts the government by giving credit to members of the Enlightenment, I think the use of God as a way to justify his philosophy of the world was a commonality to the time period.

In the video lecture that accompanied this source, it seemed to be that religion was extremely intertwined with the government and politics. Throughout the source the mention of God's will and what he gave man shows how strong religion played a role in creating Locke's view of philosophy and therefore his political views.

John Locke seemed to be extremely an influential philosopher during this time period, so I think it's important that he states the fact that a person's labor is their own property. I know that in previous governments, such as the Roman Empire, the labor of a person was the government's property, but this statement objects that idea and brings a new power to the working class.