(during the period 1760–1805), was the source for 34 % of all quotations cited by our Founding Fathers. After reviewing an estimated 15,000 items, including newspaper articles, pamphlets, books, monographs, etc., Professors Donald S. Lutz and Charles S. Hyneman, in their work “The Relative Influence of European Writers on Late Eighteenth-Century American Political Thought” published in the American Political Science Review, revealed that the Bible, especially the book of Deuteronomy, contributed 34 % of all quotations used by our Founding Fathers.
The other main sources cited include: Baron Charles Montesquieu 8.3 %, Sir William Blackstone 7.9 %, John Locke 2.9 %, David Hume 2.7 %, Plutarch 1.5 %, Beccaria 1.5 %, Trenchard and Gordon 1.4 %, Delolme 1.4 %, Samuel von Pufendorf 1.3 %, Cicero 1.2 %, Hugo Grotius .9 %, Shakespeare .8 %, Vattel .5 %, etc. These additional sources as well took 60 % of their quotes directly from the Bible. Direct and indirect citations combined reveal that 94 % of all quotations referenced by the Founding Fathers are derived from the Bible.1542