ABSTRACT
The United States was founded on the principle that all persons had natural rights to life, liberty and property, which is to say that the Framers of the Constitution accepted the theories of John Locke rather than Thomas Hobbes. Government did not simply exist to maintain law and order and keep the masses under control, but to preserve, defend and guarantee the rights of the people. By popular demand in the 1780s, the Bill of Rights was also added to the Constitution, which stated expressly which rights were guaranteed to the people and what the exact limits of government ...
