Both English philosophers, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, believed there is a "social contract" -- that governments are formed by the will of the people. This was a change from the older view that kings were placed in authority by God.
Thomas Hobbes published his political theory in Leviathan in 1651, following the chaos and destruction of the English Civil War. He saw human beings as naturally suspicious of one another, in competition with each other, and often harmful toward one another as a result. Forming a government meant giving up personal liberty, but gaining security against what would otherwise be a situation of every person at war with every other person. Hobbes' started the social contract theory, but the version the American founding fathers found more appealing was that of John Locke.
John Locke published his Two Treatises on Civil Government in 1690, following the mostly peaceful transition of government power that was the Glorious Revolution in England. Locke believed people are born as blank slates--with no preexisting knowledge or moral leanings. Experience then guides them to the knowledge and the best form of life, and they choose to form governments to make life and society better. Locke repudiated the view of "divine right monarchy" (that kings were given authority directly by God) in his First Treatise on Civil Government. In his Second Treatise on Civil Government, Locke then argued for the rights of the people to create their own governments according to their own desires and for the sake of protecting their own life, liberty, and property. He also asserted that the people have the right to change a government if the government isn't serving to protect their rights properly. This view is particularly what was put forward in the Declaration of Independence.