ipl-logo

Enlightenment Influence On The Declaration Of Independence And The Constitution

654 Words3 Pages

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

Show More
Related
381 Words | 2 Pages

Locke’s influence on Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence All individuals are created equal. This is one of the many ideas the United States is built on. This concept existed long before the Declaration of Independence was written. This idea was introduced by John Locke who was an Enlightenment thinker. The declaration of Independence is where Americans declared their rights.

Read More
1746 Words | 7 Pages

He was a free, independent thinker. According to the Critical Thinking lesson in the ALE Student Guide, Free Thinking is defined as restraining your desire to believe because of social pressures to conform. Jefferson felt that a government needed the consent of the people, not the rule of an oppressive monarchy. He displayed great moral courage in defending his beliefs and the independence of the people. Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence to inform the British Monarchy that the 13 colonies will no longer be under its rule.

Read More
128 Words | 1 Pages

The Great Awakening strived to erase the lines between religions by promoting religious pluralism and the concept that all faiths were equal. Primarily, the separation of Church and State was finally in place, which showed the opposition to allowing religion facilitate the decisions of their nation. The Awakening weakened the cultural authority of the upper class and produced a vision of a society drawn in more equal lines. Overall, the thought of finally being equal unified the colonies and created universities that were not controlled by the Church. The new universities promoted different types of curriculum which was not based on religion.

Read More
835 Words | 4 Pages

John Locke was a philosopher, and political scientist. He believed democracy was a considerably better form of government than a monarchy. Thomas Jefferson was the third U.S. president, and was one of America’s founding fathers. He was the author of the Declaration of Independence, and played a key role in the institution of the United States of America. John Locke was a very influential person when it came to Thomas Jefferson and the ideas within the Declaration of Independence.

Read More
691 Words | 3 Pages

Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. President was a leading figure in America's early development. Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, at Shadwell, a plantation on a large tract of land near present-day Charlottesville, Virginia. When he grew up he became an Democratic-Republican, opposing a strong central government and wanting to give the states more individual freedoms. Through his work in the Declaration of Independence he promoted personal freedom. Jefferson used his presidential powers to build economic stability, start the their of the emancipation of slaves, and write Americans freedom.

Read More
426 Words | 2 Pages

The ideas of the Enlightenment influenced the American Revolution and the formation of the American Government. Firstly, The Enlightenment was a philosophical evolution that emphasized the aged ideas of the Greeks and Romans. In addition, the major philosophers of this time period were Voltaire, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Rousseau, Adam Smith and Isaac Newton. Their ideals include having an absolute monarch as a government (T.H), the separation of powers (Mont.), the government should not interfere with a free market economy (A.S), the freedom of speech (Volt.), the government could be overruled (J.L), and the government should rule according to the will of the people. Nevertheless, these ideals are important because they shaped the government that we have today.

Read More
907 Words | 4 Pages

Enlightenment views on government and policy helped the two new governments create their own unique system for governing. One ideal of enlightenment was equality. America believed in equality before the law. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created

Read More
690 Words | 3 Pages

At the start of the 18th century, the beginning of the Enlightenment was upon America. There were many factors and people who help play a part in the Enlightenment or, in other words, the Age of Reason, some of the people that assisted the enlightenment was Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adam. Each of the philosophers demonstrates the fundamental idea of the Enlightenment like liberalism, rationalism, conservatism, toleration and scientific progress. Even though each person played an important part, the most influences person that was involved was Benjamin Franklin. Throughout Benjamin Franklin`s life, he demonstrates through his action and writing that he was the epitome of the Enlightenment by showing that he was

Read More
558 Words | 3 Pages

Enlightenment was created by the English philosopher John Locke. The ideas that were influenced by enlightenment were life, liberty, and property. This also gave to the idea of natural right. Enlightenment influenced the way people finally realized that divine right wasn’t right and start to doubt it. Throughout time enlightenment has influenced a lot of important events in history.

Read More
466 Words | 2 Pages

The Enlightenment, also known as the “Age of Reason,” occurred in the eighteenth century and was a period in which ideas concerning God, nature, reason and humanity were combined, and these ideas instigated revolutionary developments in art, philosophy, and politics. The Enlightenment was crucial in determining aspects in terms of politics, government, and religion. Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Charles Montesquieu influenced the Founding Fathers and their ideas were found in the Declaration of Independence. The most important influence that shaped the founding of the United States came from John Locke, an Englishmen who redefined the nature of government.

Read More
767 Words | 4 Pages

Locke’s ideas from the Two Treatises of Government and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, were based upon the natural rights where power comes from the people. Both of his pieces contributed to revolutions, most importantly the American Revolution as power from monarchies was removed and democracies were created. Allowed for limited government power and all obligations were to the citizens. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding basis was on how the knowledge existence of God, certain moral truths, and laws of logic or mathematics pertained to the natural rights of

Read More
1454 Words | 6 Pages

Thomas Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence to break free from the control of Great Britain by unionizing the thirteen colonies. He speaks out about freedom and equality within society and shows them what freedom can do to their lives. He connects to enlightenment and supports it because he creates the birth of freedom for America. Thomas Jefferson says, “that all men are equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights”. When he says this he makes society realize that everyone may be different but we are all equal and we all have the same amount of freedom and rights.

Read More
235 Words | 1 Pages

The Enlightenment’s important theorists included a various amount of people such as the Englishmen Thomas Hobbes and John Locke along with French idealist Voltaire. One new idea and concept of the Enlightenment was religion. It was a time of religious innovation due to John Locke’s concept that government needs to have religious toleration and not impose any ideologies on their subjects. Locke also argued that human nature was liable to change and that knowledge is gained through accumulated experience rather than by accessing some sort of outside truth. Another new idea and concept of the Enlightenment was egalitarianism.

Read More
1212 Words | 5 Pages

The age of enlightenment was a philosophical peak in history that set a course for the rest of time. Many different ideas were brought about that shaped the way we live to this day, especially here in the states. Two philosophers in particular affected the United States of America; Thomas Hobbes and Tom Locke. Both of these philosophers pasts formed their philosophy and the ideas they had, which affected the government of their time, and our government today. Hobbes and Locke had very different upbringings and backgrounds, which led them to having very different points of view on life.

Read More
745 Words | 3 Pages

The Enlightenment gave people power to make the changes they wanted for independence and politics using intellect and reason, their natural right. The norm of a society that is modelled today became reason over

Read More

More about Enlightenment Influence On The Declaration Of Independence And The Constitution

Related Topics

Open Document