I think we have alot of different perspectives being talked about. My perspective is to look at the influence Locke, Hume, Rousseau had on the founders,,,,,,and there are many others, but it is obvious others have more general philosophical or political philosophical perespectives.
A person with the political philosophy perspective will look at each philosopher in sum or in sum as it relates to a political philosophy. A person with an interest in American Democracy, Colonial/Revolution/Constitutional/Founding Fathers perspective, such as myself looks into the contributions each has made into that framework. So, that is my perspective for comments in the future.
A persons political philosophy will be largely shaped by their cosmology(worldview) and therefore it is important to understand what undergirds a philosophers politics.
Check out this Thread for a more detailed understanding of Locke's cosmology.