ADAM SMITH
Often called the father of modern economics, Adam Smith was a Scottish economist
best known for his book The Wealth of Nations.
It was a study of economics, one of the first books of its kind, and is considered by
many to be the primary text on the free market system.
It was published in 1776—the same year that the Declaration of Independence was
signed.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU
A Frenchman, Baron de Montesquieu was a political analyst and social commentator
whose governmental ideas were crucial to political theory during the
Enlightenment.
His theories heavily influenced James Madison, a founding father and Framer of the
Constitution, and many believe the Baron’s writings influenced the Constitution
more than any other.
His view of the separation of powers of government is central to the Constitution.
THOMAS HOBBES
A historian and scientist, Thomas Hobbes was an Englishman who published his
Leviathan in 1651.
In it, he set forth his political philosophy, part of which is echoed in the Declaration of
Independence.
Hobbes believed that governments should be limited in power and that people have
unalienable rights.
JOHN LOCKE
An English philosopher, physician, and politician, John Locke shared his governmental
ideas in his famous Two Treatises of Government.
These philosophies, including his concept of the importance of separation of church
and state, helped shape the Declaration of Independence and directly influenced
Thomas Jefferson, a writer of the Declaration of Independence.
SIR WILLIAM BLACKSTONE
Sir William Blackstone was an English judge who wrote the Commentaries on the
Laws of England, a series of four books that had a profound influence on the
writers of America’s Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
Blackstone, an important Enlightenment figure, believed in protecting the rights of the
innocent and in basing judgments on common law – that is, on previous
decisions about similar issues.