Final answer:
John Locke's social contract theory heavily influenced the Founding Fathers, leading them to believe that government should protect the rights of its citizens, as reflected in key documents like the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
Step-by-step explanation:
How did John Locke's idea of the social contract influence the Founding Fathers' belief in government? The correct answer is b) It led them to believe that the government should protect the rights of its citizens. John Locke theorized that individuals have a right to 'Life, Liberty and Property,' which he argued were natural rights endowed to humans. The social contract is an implicit agreement where people sacrifice a small portion of their freedom and consent to be ruled in exchange for the government’s protection of these rights. If the government failed in its duty to protect citizens' rights or abused its power, the social contract was considered broken, giving people the right to form another government.
John Locke's influence on the Founding Fathers is evident in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and later the Constitution. Locke’s ideas promoted the concept that the best political system is one in which powers are divided among different branches to prevent any single branch from gaining too much power, a concept also advocated by Baron Montesquieu.
This influenced the Founding Fathers' design of a government with a system of checks and balances and a commitment to the protection of individual rights. Locke's notions of life, liberty, and property directly inspired the Declaration of Independence’s famous line 'Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.