social contract theory of the origin of government
Chat with our AI personalities
John Locke
1689
The Second Treatise on Government
American intellectuals and politicians were greatly influenced by all of John Locke Enlightenment essays. However, the Second Treatise was particularly influential in their resistance to the British imposed taxes. They pushed forward his theory that all governments get their powers by consent of the governed, and included this principle in their Declaration of Independence.
Second Treaties of Government (chapter 2, treatise six, to be exact).