The Founding Fathers were influenced by many ideas from Europe in creating the documents at the foundation of the creation of the United States. John Locke's philosophical ''Two Treatises of Government'' influenced them, particularly with the notion that government is a social contract between the people and those who govern. Under Locke's theory, we have God-given rights of life, liberty, and property which should not be taken away from us. European ideas of the Enlightenment also influenced the Founding Fathers, as did the British Whig political philosophy (not to be confused with the later Whig Party in the United States). But European notions of disbelief in God, called skepticism, did not have any influence on the Founding Fathers, all of whom believed in God. | The Founding Fathers were influenced by many ideas from Europe in creating the documents at the foundation of the creation of the United States. John Locke's philosophical ''Two Treatises of Government'' influenced them, particularly with the notion that government is a social contract between the people and those who govern. Under Locke's theory, we have God-given rights of life, liberty, and property which should not be taken away from us. European ideas of the Enlightenment also influenced the Founding Fathers, as did the British Whig political philosophy (not to be confused with the later Whig Party in the United States). But European notions of disbelief in God, called skepticism, did not have any influence on the Founding Fathers, all of whom believed in God. |