The United States of America was founded on many enlightenment ideas and principles. Our founding fathers borrowed these ideas from multiple enlightenment thinkers, such as John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Beccaria. When they did so, they created the first state to ever be truly based on enlightenment principles. Firstly, the ideas of John Locke are shown in his book, “Two Treatises on Government” In this, he states, “…the enjoyment of the property he has in his state is very unsafe, very unsecure. This makes him willing to quit a condition, which, however free, is full of fears and continual dangers; and it is not without reason, that he seeks out, and is willing to join in society with others, who are already united, or have a mind to unite, for the mutual preservation of their lives, liberties, and estates.” This idea is what is known as the social contract. Locke’s concept of it stated that the government was there to protect people’s unalienable rights, as they are constantly at risk. However, when the government failed to do so, people had the right to overthrow it. This correlates directly with America’s overthrow of British rule. Whenever Great Britain tried to alienate the colonists’ rights, they …show more content…
He believed that people formed an agreement between each other and the government, in which they gave up some rights, so that they could live in a safe and orderly way. In his book “Leviathan”, Hobbes says, “…that a man be willing, when others are so too, as far forth as for peace and defence of himself he shall think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things;” This states that man is willing to give up some rights to live in a safe society. I think that this concept of the social contract can be related to the British monarchy. The colonists gave up some of their rights to the King, so as to have order and structure in their