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Chapter 17 Margin Notes- Atlantic Revolutions and Their Echoes 1) In what ways did the ideas of the Enlightenment contribute to the Atlantic Revolution? The Enlightenment ideas contributed to the Atlantic Revolution because people believed that the ideas were telling them to fight for liberty, natural rights, equality, and free trade, provided which provided the intellectual underpinnings of the Atlantic Revolutions.
The Enlightenment was a time of great intellectual growth and expansion, regarding what we humans knew about the world and how we interacted with one another. Many Enlightenment philosophers’ ideas are still being used throughout the economy today. From Montesquieu’s idea of the separation of powers, to Voltaire’s idea of the freedom of speech, these philosophies are what influenced America’s governmental foundation. The American government was hugely influenced by the ideas birthed during the Enlightenment.
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.
The Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Enlightenment both desired to improve European society, however the level of religious tolerance during the Glorious Revolution differed from the Enlightenment. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Enlightenment both desired to improve European society’s disposition to inherit natural rights. The level of religious tolerance during the Glorious Revolution, which favored Protestant beliefs over Catholicism, differed from the Enlightenment. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Enlightenment both desired to improve European society’s disposition to inherit natural rights by implementing the enlightened ideal of liberty. In 1688 King William III promised to “secure the whole nation” of all their
The first way the enlightenment ideas influenced the United States Government was when the Declaration of Independence was written. The Declaration of Independence has the main task of basically protecting our natural rights. The natural rights idea came from Locke and was later transformed into the Declaration of Independence. Natural rights are basically Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The second main idea that influenced our U.S Government to me is the federal system.
The American Revolution and the French Revolution were both products of the Enlightenment ideals. These ideals emphasized on natural rights and equality. Both revolutions had their similarities and differences. American Revolution was similar to the French Revolution because people started to grow dissent to the monarchy and the upper classes and because of this, the economy for each nation started to weaken. These people felt the need to revolt so that they can be free against the oppressive rule of the absolute monarchs.
Between 1750 and 1900, numerous revolutions occurred that would greatly impact the world. Though all were influential, the American, French, Haitian, and Latin American Revolutions — collectively making up the Age of Revolution — were of particular importance. Spawning from the Enlightenment ideal of constitutional rights, they resulted in the emergence of new forms of governments and nationalism. Without the Enlightenment, the Age of Revolution would likely never have occurred. The Enlightenment was revolutionary for its time, resulting in great changes to political philosophies and, in turn, politics itself.
The American Enlightenment differed from its European counterpart in that there were few atheists or agnostics that emerged from this movement. The American movement was responsible for starting a process that would help to balance religion and science. There were many great religious minds that were influential in this process as well. A theologian by the name of Cotton Mather wrote many crucial sermons that helped to refine theology.
In particular, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison used enlightenment rhetoric in the country’s founding documents. For example, in the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote, “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their power from the consent of the governed”. This was clearly inspired by the European philosophe John Locke, who believed governments are only legitimate if they are beneficial to the people. It is possible the colonies may have revolted without the Enlightenment, but a very different United States would have
Enlightenment ideas are the thinking and reasoning that helped found our modern world as we know it today. Society in America is heavily based on freedom and equality which during the Enlightenment was influenced by John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau. Locke said that all men were created equal, and that no man was more powered over another. The only exception to this rule was if the man was elected or chosen to be a leader, such as a Democracy. In today's world, we believe that all men are created equal and should be treated as equal.
Throughout the entirety of the French Revolution, enlightenment ideas were present in many of the actions taken by the revolutionaries but many actions were taken that were not consistent with enlightenment ideas. The enlightenment figures, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire, spent their lives working to create reform that expressed their ideas, many of which were focused around reason, logic, and freedom of thought. Actions such as the passing of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and the de-Christianization campaign both consisted with enlightenment ideas. The Terror, however, did not align with the ideas of the enlightenment thinkers but instead contrasted them by doing the complete opposite of what the thinkers originally
In the English colonies in North America, they experienced a time of church reform which provided a tie with the new Church of England. This created many political communities based off of a British outline and way of life. Other ties led to the beginning of evangelical protestantism in the North American colonies. Also, the emergence of “The Enlightenment” caused many american colonists to diversify and expand their religion, some even followed art.
Enlightenment philosophical concepts were mostly centered on moving away from absolute monarchies, were they held all the power but to a democracy where people were able to corporate their ideas in government and make decisions. From these teachings and new intellectual discoveries, The Enlightenment influenced the American and French revolution as well as the Latin Wars. John Locke 's Ideas were heavily utilized in both the American and French revolutions. In the American Revolution, his three rights for all were incorporated in their Declaration of Independence from the British monarchy. Similar clashes between the government and the governed occurred in Haiti.
The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening periods in American history contributed not only to the Revolutionary War, but also shaping America into its present day self. The Enlightenment period brought a sense of self-awareness; science was now applied to all aspects of life (religion, politics, trade, and life itself). Intellectuals began questioning what gives or allows a person the right to govern - as illustrated in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s book The Social Contract (1762). Rousseau’s contention was that individuals had “natural rights” to life, liberty, and property that rulers could not deny (Schultz, 2013 p. 69). The Enlightenment also spurred a reformation in education; the days of religious based curricula were being challenged, philosophy and the concept of reasoning were introduced.
The Great Awakening refer to several periods of dramatic religious revival in Anglo-American religious history. They have also been described as periodic revolutions in American religious thought. The Age of Enlightenment refers to either the eighteenth century in European philosophy, or the longer period including the seventeenth century and the Age of Reason. I would have to go with the Enlightenment because it is the basis of our political culture and it led to the Great Awakening, which is the basis of our spiritual culture.
