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How Did Rousseau Influence The Development Of American Democracy

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Enlightenment philosophers were vital to the development of revolutionary ideas and new governments as they reshaped the way people understood issues such as liberty, equality, and individual rights. Without the values that John Locke, Charles Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau supported, the conditions for the American Revolution and the Constitution that resulted from it would be much different. John Locke’s ideas were extremely influential and I believe that his theories were crucial to the development of American independence. Locke believed that all individuals had natural rights that could not be taken away because they were given by God. As a Catholic, I believe that every person is created in the image and likeness of God, and …show more content…

His idea supported the fact that each individual had natural rights and that a monarch was not able to abuse their power and force any person to give up their rights. Rousseau promoted a civil state where all people enjoyed security, justice, liberty, property, and protection. I believe that Rousseau’s ideas were vital to the development of an American democracy because he supported the idea of giving power to the people and believed that they should vote for their own laws, but I do not agree with his idea of allotting all the political power to the people and having no separation of powers. Ensuring that people have power is crucial so that the voices of the people are heard, but the separation of powers is necessary to prevent any person or part of the government from becoming too powerful. If the political power was simply handed to the people without balance, there could be corruption. Overall, Rousseau inspired people to exercise their rights to speech and vote and his ideas were imperative and demonstrated in the beginning of the U.S. Constitution in the words “We the …show more content…

I believe that Montesquieu’s ideas were crucial to the structure of the government, as the foundation of the U.S. Constitution was based upon his separation of powers theory. Without the creation of the Separation of Powers, one branch of government would become too powerful and a system of checks and balances would not be able to be formed. The ideals that the Founding Fathers used in the creation of the American government and the ideals set in stone today would not have been the same without

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(Montesquieu, Book XI, Ch.4). Charles’ ideas inspired the French to create the Declaration of the Rights of Man and to make a better government after overthrowing the monarchy. Montesquieu also influenced the American Revolution in a massive way. He warned, “Were the executive power not to have a right or restraining the encroachments of the legislative body, the latter would become despotic; for as it might arrogate to itself what authority it pleased, it would soon destroy all the other powers.” The Founding Fathers took his advice on the separation of powers when drafting the Constitution.

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Those who were considered as general leaders of the Enlightenment years were thought to be very intellectual and were held by most people in the highest regard throughout the colonial society. Some of the more common names spoken back then were of men such as “John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison” (Sage, 2013, para. 3). Jean-Jacques Rousseau was another prominent thinker as well. He believed that all “individuals had natural rights to life, liberty, and property, which even a king or pope could not deny” (Schultz, 2010, p. 69). Rousseau, along with countless others fought for the rights of the people while insisting that each person is afforded the lawful right to live their own life and to cast aside the authoritativeness of others if they saw fit in doing

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His ideas greatly contributed to the Enlightenment in the United States. Locke argued for rights to life and possessions/property, freedom of religion and liberty. Founding Fathers, including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, fully supported Locke’s notions and philosophies. John Locke’s ideas became the groundwork for numbers of governments across the world, including America, and provided a numerous amount of people with liberty and freedom. Benjamin Franklin, Found Father and full supporter of John Locke, was a politician, diplomat, statesmen, scientist and an author.

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Rousseau argued for the elimination of privileges and social hierarchies, and the declaration reflects this principle by proclaiming that all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law and entitled to the same rights and protections. This is seen in the declaration in the words “the law must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes (National Assembly 78).” It also speaks about all being equally protected and no one doing anything which would harm another, as seen in the words “ Liberty consists in being able to do whatever does not harm another (National Assembly 77).” It draws a line when others are harmed, protecting all and limiting all to make sure people are not

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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.

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It also emphasized reason over religion in the search of knowledge. There were many great philosophers of the enlightenment and their ideas contributed to today's American government. The major Philosophers consisted of was John Locke who created our natural rights of, life, liberty, and property. He also believed in a constitutional monarchy. Another philosopher was Montesquieu, he created separation of powers and checks and balances which we use in our government today.

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Rousseau, one of the most leading philosophers during the Enlightenment, had indeed left many of legendries behind. Not only his writings had caused many of the reactions at that time, but also influenced many writers’ aspects of the French Revolution and the overall understanding of inequality and the General Will. As one of the chief political theorists during the French Revolution who was also influenced by Rousseau’s ideas, Abbe Sieyes, published the pamphlet, “What is the Third Estate?” in 1789. This pamphlet was one of the documents that changed the world and lit the flame toward the French Revolution, as characterized by Joe Janes, a University of Washington professor (Janes).

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On the other hand, in a footnote on the Book III chapter 15 he wrote that democratic governments can be more strong and viable when they join all together in confederations. He was one of the main democratic theorist that influence the French Revolution, but he never solved the problem of size or scale of

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During the Enlightenment new ideas were created that greatly impacted society. The new ideas created during the Enlightenment impacted society so much that many of the ideas were utilized when forming the government of the United States. Three European men Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau each had their own unique views of what would be best for society. Each philosopher had ideas that would make today 's society more ideal and with hard work are possible to achieve.

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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.

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Many of his thoughts and principles were studied and adopted by the founders of the United States and are evident in documents, just like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Locke emphasized the freedom of humans, the equality of all before God, regulation and authorities through consent of the governed, and he justified the overthrow of presidency when it fails the people. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was another prominent thinker from the Enlightenment era. Rousseau differed with Locke about the position of the individual in relation to the country, with Rousseau emphasizing the importance of the ruled being worried in

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In his tract "The Social Contract, or Principles political rights" Rousseau formulates the idea of the establishment of the state and the laws on the basis of the social contract. The treatise opens the phrase, which later became the aphorism: "Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains. " Recognizing the right of the people to revolt against the despot and the overthrow of absolutism, Rousseau, however, does not believe that the uprising would lead to the formation of a legitimate government. He proposes to construct an orderly, social life of the state on a contractual basis. The state will be represented by the sovereign institution it performs.

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the father of Romanticism, influenced the majority of the people in the 16th and 17th centuries. In terms of political systems, “Rousseau makes points about how a government should govern its people, saying that for the formation of a government individuals must look past their personal interests and focus on the interest of the greater good” (Marshall 1). Rousseau was concerned about human freedom and individual rights in The Social Contract which was authored by him, and which had a massive impact on French and American society. His ideas supported the Enlightenment strongly. Rousseau stated that all people were born with natural rights, and he thought that education was for exploring those natural rights.

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Representation of citizens is essential to a legitimate government because it completes a proper social contract: people give up some freedom to make decisions to their government, and in return, the government protects them. Leadership resulting in abuse of human rights, mass famines, genocide, or other major injustices indicate a breach of the social contract. Rousseau’s social contract, the main focus of his writing, sounds rather utopic: people give up freedoms to be part of their society and their community as it governs itself. However, there are problems that arise from giving too much power to people. The main issue with giving too much power to citizens is that a society can almost never be well-educated enough to consistently act in its own self interest.

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The French Revolution was undoubtedly influenced by the political theorists of the Enlightenment. The ideas of two French political theorists in particular are easily seen throughout the French Revolution, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Baron Montesquieu. Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s thoughts and texts, such as the Social Contract, instilled the entitlement of basic human rights to all men. Rousseau’s concepts on rights combined with Baron Montesquieu’s ideas on government provided the backbone of a radical movement in the French Revolution known as the Terror. When one delves into the beginnings of the French Revolution, the motives and actions of the National Assembly, and the Terror of the French Revolution, one can obviously see the influence of two Enlightenment political theorists, Rousseau and Montesquieu.

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