John Locke

John Locke was an English philosopher who laid the philosophical foundations of liberalism. His Two Treatises of Government (1689) argued that political authority derives from the consent of the governed, that individuals have natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and that unjust governments may legitimately be overthrown. His Essay Concerning Human Understanding founded modern empiricist epistemology. Both Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution bear his direct influence. He also wrote A Letter Concerning Toleration, one of the earliest arguments for religious freedom.