Louis Hartz, the prominent 20th century theorist, once said that John Locke "dominates American political thought as no thinker anywhere dominates the political thought of a nation." Despite challenge from historians like J.G.A. Pocock and Bernard Bailyn, who claim classical republican thought exerted much greater influence over the Founding Fathers than Locke ever did, this estimate of the latter's political significance, delivered 60 years ago by Hartz, remains widely held, especially within libertarian circles.
Among the most seminal of the Founding Fathers' ideas incorporated into the Declaration of Independence and Constitution that are often ascribed to Locke are those of government by consent, yielding a concomitant right of rebellion against tyrannical rule; the moral equality of humans, reflected in their all supposedly enjoying equal rights to life, liberty, and to the acquisition and holding of private property; and a right to live and act according to their own religious predilections, within the constraints imposed by the corresponding rights of others.
Despite the close scholarly attention Locke's political writings have continued to receive, there remains at their core a curious enigma, seldom remarked on, that stubbornly defies adequate explanation. It is that, although Locke's political writings are deeply infused throughout with Biblical allusions and references, these are drawn much more from Hebrew Scripture than from their Christian counterpart, despite Locke's apparently sincere, lifelong commitment to Christianity.
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