Algernon Sydney
| Algernon Sidney | |
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| Born | January 1623 Baynard's Castle, London, England |
| Died |
7 December 1683 (aged 60) Tower Hill, London, England |
| Era |
17th-century philosophy (Modern philosophy) |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Political philosophy |
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Main interests
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Politics, liberation theology, parliamentary governance, Prostestantism |
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Notable ideas
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Liberty, freedom, republicanism, electoral enfranchisement, rights theory |
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Influences
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Influenced
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Algernon Sidney or Sydney (14 or 15 January 1623 – 7 December 1683) was an English politician and member of the Long Parliament. A republican political theorist, colonel, and commissioner of the trial of King Charles I of England, he opposed the king's execution. Sidney was later charged with plotting against Charles II, in part based on his work, Discourses Concerning Government, used by the prosecution as a witness at his trial. He was executed for treason. After his death, Sidney was revered as a "Whig patriot–hero and martyr".
The works of Algernon Sidney, along with those of contemporary John Locke, are considered a cornerstone of western thought. Sidney's most famous work, Discourses on Government, cost him his head. However, the ideas it put forth would survive and ultimately culminate in the founding of the United States. Algernon Sidney directly opposed the Divine Right of Kings political theory by suggesting ideas such as limited government, voluntary consent of the people and the right of citizens to alter or abolish a corrupt government. His Discourses on Government have been called "the textbook of the American revolution."
Sidney's father was Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, a direct descendant of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland and the great-nephew of Sir Philip Sidney. His mother was Dorothy Percy, daughter of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland. Sidney was born at Baynard's Castle, London, and was raised at Penshurst Place in Kent. His mother wrote to her husband in November 1636 that she had heard their son "much comended by all that comes from you . . . [for] a huge deall of witt and much sweetness of nature". After spending time in Ireland, after his father was appointed Lord Lieutenant of that country, Sidney returned to England in 1643.
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