Philosophers who influenced the American Revolution and Constitution

As the founders of the United States drafted ideas for a new government, they relied on the earlier work of several philosophers. Four in particular provided the intellectual and political foundations of the new American government. 

Strong Government

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) was one of these philosophers. He penned the British classic "Leviathan" (1651), which concluded with the idea that humanity, in general, is incapable of ruling itself. He argued that people tend to be self-centered and argumentative, which makes self-rule impossible. Hobbes believed that because of this, the masses required strong leadership to control them, or in the case of a nation, a strong government.

Life, Liberty And Property

Another influential British philosopher was John Locke (1632–1704), who lived during the Age of Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a cultural movement that began in late-17th-century Europe. It emphasized individualism and reason over tradition. Locke arguably had the most influence on the content of the U.S. Constitution, particularly the ideas he set forth in his most famous work, "Two Treatises of Government" (1689). In this text, Locke stated that natural rights — life, liberty, property — were inalienable, or impossible to surrender. The job of government was to uphold laws that protected those rights. Locke's perspective on the social contract was very different than what Hobbes put forth, and less than 100 years later, those concepts were integral to the Declaration of Independence.

The American idea for three branches of government came from French-born philosopher Charles Montesquieu (1689–1755). Montesquieu's treatise, "The Spirit of the Laws" (1748), explains that man by nature is fearful. People are therefore inclined to avoid violence and war. But the need for food trumps that fear and forces individuals to live together in a society. Soon, individuals cease to be equal; this inequality leads to conflict and war. The reason, Montesquieu suggested, was that those who are perceived as inferior are forced to live with the inequality or fight to change their circumstances. (A good example of this is the American Revolution, in which many American colonists grew weary of living under British tyranny and so chose to fight for their independence.) War leads to a need for laws and government, the primary purpose of which is to maintain law and order while protecting political liberty and individual property. According to Montesquieu, the ideal government would consist of an executive, judicial and legislative branch. Each is empowered with the ability to limit the others' power.

The Social Contract

Swiss-born philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) also developed ideas that were incorporated by the founders of the United States. Rousseau wrote a political theory titled "The Social Contract" (1762). Its first sentence reads, "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains." He believed strongly that the individual should never be forced to sacrifice his rights to any ruler or leader. Every person in the land should have the right to vote to express his general beliefs. 

Rousseau identified government as a human invention. It serves as a sort of contract between common people and those who govern them. According to the contract, citizens should elect people to represent their needs and desires. Doing so would allow individuals' rights, happiness and property to be better protected than it would be in an everyone-for-themselves type of society. The philosopher also offered a warning: This contract could quickly become dangerous if the most powerful members of society — traditionally, also the wealthiest — created social and economic inequality as a permanent feature of a nation. Rousseau argued that government needs to protect all people equally, or it breaks the social contract. His ideas were essential in the formation of the U.S. government, which focused on shared power and equal rights for all citizens.