In the years leading up to the American Revolution the people of the colonies developed a political ideology that was to be the basis for revolution and for the formation of a new kind of state. The philosophy of John Locke, often referred to as "classical liberalism," was one of the primary sources on which the American Founders drew. Although many sources served their varied purposes, some of the most important and fundamental ideas in the Declaration of Independence are easily traced directly to Locke. Aside from the justification for revolution found in his work, Locke's emphasis on individual rights, his defense of property, and his notion of a social contract between government and governed were all essential parts of the emerging American ideology. After the Revolution Locke's influence continued and, in addition to these ideas, both his "doctrine of the separation of powers" and his conception of "the limitations of political power are ideas at the core of the American Constitution" (Squadrito 121). Although they were mixed with many other ingredients the basic outlines of Locke's thought have always been visible in American political thinking.
Locke's influence throughout the eighteenth century touched on a number of topics. For example, his works dealing in whole or in part with education emphasized the idea that the child began as a blank slate and the impressions made on him/her were essential to the formation of mind and character. This meant that "parents were largely responsible for the formation of their children's character"--an idea that became commonplace by the mid-eighteenth century and permanently revolutionized thinking about the basic nature of parenthood and the family (Wood 149). But the most influential aspect of Locke's thought was his political philosophy as embodied in his two treatises on government. The first treatise was largely a refutation of the traditional belief in the divinely sancti...