As the “father of liberalism,” Locke helped develop social contract theory-an idea our Founders later fashioned into a Constitutional principle known as “the consent of the governed.” His writings influenced Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume and Immanuel Kant. It was none other than the English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), one of the most influential thinkers in the Enlightenment period. What man could guide our Founding Fathers from the grave? John Quincy Adams penned, “The Declaration of Independence …founded upon one and the same theory of government… expounded in writings.” And yet Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and John Madison all revered him. Ironically, this man lived and died a generation before our Founders were even born. Nearly every cherished America value can be traced to him. His writings significantly impacted the Framers of our Declaration of Independence, U.S. He was one of the most influential voices in the minds of our Founding Fathers.
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