The enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement which dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century. The core ideals that the philosophers had were that all men were born equal, with certain unalienable rights. The enlightenment influenced many other countries to push for a more fair government. The enlightenment also influenced the political ideas of colonists who pushed for independence in Britain. Although Jefferson, Bolivar, and L’Ouverture made several major changes to the government, these leaders did not entirely reflect the enlightenment in their leadership as evident by the treatment towards women, people of color, and the non-wealthy. The enlightenment leaders began questioning the traditions and …show more content…
People of color were still treated as if they were inhuman. The Declaration of Independence states, “ that all men are created equal… to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” Now, even though the Declaration of Independence does not mention race, it still only applied to white people. People of color had less than a ¼ of the rights that white people had. In fact, most people of color were slaves even after the Declaration of Independence. Today, people of color are still not always treated as equals. It is true that not all the leaders of the enlightenment were all racist. Simon Bolivar did oppose slavery, as did Toussaint L'Ouverture. In Simon Bolivar's Jamaica Letter, It is stated that “ We are still in a position lower than slavery, and therefore it is more difficult for us to rise to the enjoyment of freedom…” and In the Constitution of 1801, it states, “ There can be no slaves in this territory… all men can work at all forms of employment, whatever their color.” So even though these two leaders opposed slavery, they didn’t do everything in their power to end slavery. They focused mainly on white people and only attempted to stop