The Enlightenment was critical in many aspects of the colonial America way of life, which commonly affected the politics, government and religion. Without these principles of understanding and the new way of thinking, the United States would have drastically been different since those ideas shaped the country in its infant years. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution was overwhelmingly influenced by The Enlightenment both during and after the American Revolution. Many different concepts came from this new governmental structure such as, freedom of oppression and natural rights. These concepts were influenced by Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke and Isaac Newton where they helped set a clear path for colonial and present America to follow. This had an enormous influence on not only the way of …show more content…
With this awakening came as a better understanding for people to choose how they have a relationship with their god. Instead of having an all-powerful church that would most always require some sort of membership, they allowed the people to choose their own church and join at free will. This gave the people the right to maintain the relationship with god in however the pleased. The leaders of the colonies were still very religious but used these influential views from The Enlightenment to establish a free will of religion instead of being tied down to one religious authority.
It’s a known fact that the key figures in helping shape the United States such as Thomas Jefferson were greatly influenced by the ideas and concepts of The Enlightenment. Jefferson was a Virginian statesman, scientist, diplomat and overall a very well educated and practical man. With his clear and level views he became the author of The Declaration of Independence. This document would go on to change the new world for the better of its citizens and allow The Enlightenment ideas to live