The political philosophy of John Locke is most clearly reflected in the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson was in charge of writing a formal document. He was a man of the Enlightenment when thinkers turned to reason and science to explain both the physical universe and human behavior. Locke, a philosopher of the Enlightenment thought that all men have inalienable rights. The purpose of government is to protect those rights which are life, liberty, and property.
