How did Thomas Hobbes influence the American constitution?

Thomas Hobbes' philosophy, particularly his views on social contract theory and the necessity of a strong central authority to maintain order, influenced the framers of the American Constitution. While Hobbes advocated for an absolute sovereign, his ideas helped shape the understanding of government as a construct based on the consent of the governed. This notion of a social contract underpinned the Constitution's emphasis on popular sovereignty and the establishment of a system of checks and balances to prevent tyranny, reflecting a compromise between Hobbesian order and Enlightenment ideals of liberty.