_ had tremendous influence on the mind-set of the American colonists

D. all of these

Explanation:

All the men mentioned above had a tremendous influence of the American colonies through their writings. Through John Locke and Thomas Hobbs, the colonists learnt about the Social Contract theory. This influenced their fight against the British who according to the theory, could be overthrown if they were not serving the interest of the people.

Charles de Montesquieu wrote about political theory and called for the separation of powers between different branches of government as well as between church and state, both of which were adopted by the Americans after they won their independence.

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