A 17th century English philosopher who greatly influenced the development of epistemology and Western political philosophy. His writings on "natural law" significantly influenced the American Declaration of Independence, especially the passage:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

His "Two Treatises on Government" addresses a lot of the concepts that were enshrined our government's founding documents, yet were published nearly a century before the Revolutionary War.
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke


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