Enlightenment Ideas: Declaration Of Independence And The Constitution

Man’s thoughts and ideas are bound to change over time, nothing lasts forever. In the beginning of the eighteenth century, man’s way of thinking once again began to change; this time of change is known as the Enlightenment. A few essential ideas of the Enlightenment were of man’s natural rights, rights that men were born with, such as the right to freedom and the right to property. These ideas spread across the globe infecting the minds of the nations and inspiring revolutionary changes. Two prime examples in history where these Enlightenment ideas were expressed are the American Revolution and the French Revolution. Various Enlightenment ideas can be found in both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, which were two vital documents written during and after the American

In the French society there were three classes of people, the First, Second, and Third Estates. The Third Estate was the commoners and by far the largest section of people, but in the government, the Estates General, they did not have an equal representation. This was a large contributing factor to the start of the French Revolution. The Third Estate wanted fair representation in the government so that their opinions and concerns have a way to be addressed (Spielvogel 455). Representation is another idea that was touched on in the Enlightenment by John Locke. Locke’s idea was that citizens give up their natural right to judge those who harm them or their property, but by giving up this right they must also have the right to appeal to the government with their problems or the system would be unfair (Locke 269). The third Estate was not getting a fair representation to declare their concerns and they realized like Locke that it was unjust and needed to