Enlightenment Influence on American Government and Revolution The Enlightenment era was around the 18th century. A time where many different philosophers imputed many of their own thoughts and beliefs on religion, human rights, the government and other important situations involving our country today. Many figures associated with the Enlightenment were, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Baron Montesquieu, and Beccaria, to name a few.
The cause of the Enlightenment was Francis Bacon and René Descartes began doubting the normal standard of philosophy. Their curiosity led to many other philosophers to began questioning the traditional ways of belief. Enlightenment ideas influenced the establishment of the United States by our founding fathers taking Locke and Montesquieu’s ideas, of human equality, freedom, and separation of powers and putting them to use. Our nation’s beliefs are based on the Enlightenment views that Locke and Montesquieu created. The Age of Enlightenment was the
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“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in huge numbers and to the sound of trumpets,” Inquired Voltaire, one of many early philosophers that inspire and helped to promote new ideas. Early philosophers helped set the stage for enlightenment. These new ideas had people questioning the church and their rule. Imagine saying that every one in the world is wrong and you are rite, early philosophers went through this every day. The enlightenment is an intellectual movement emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition, and gave philosophers a chance to express new ideas.
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.
America’s founding fathers used enlightenment to justify their freedom from British rule. American ideals clearly reflect themes from the enlightenment movement such as toleration, natural rights of men, and enlightened leadership. “Enlightenment encouraged thinkers and activists to question the social, political, and economic order around them, and offered concrete ideas about how societies could be reordered more effectively.” (Bentley 471) Ideas from the enlightenment era laid the foundation for the justification of the revolutions that took place in the Americas during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
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.
Enlightenment had a big influence on America. The American Enlightenment started in the eighteenth century. It influenced the ideas that have shaped the Constitution of the United States (Dixon 257). The idea of liberty caused the Americans to rebel against the British. Every human being has a right to liberty so they should be able to decide whether they should
“God, who has given the world to men in common, has also given them reason to make use of it to the best advantage of life and convenience” (Locke, 35). The Scientific Revolution concentrated on understanding the physical world through astronomical and mathematical calculations, or testable knowledge. The Enlightenment focused more on “Spreading of faith in reason and in universal rights and laws” (Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, 535). While the Scientific Revolution preceded the Enlightenment, both time periods sought to limit and challenge the power of the Church, through the spread of science, reason and intellect, and political philosophies. The Scientific Revolution began with Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1542) and Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) wanting to understand the movement of the planets beyond what they authorities had told them.
In conclusion, the Enlightenment was vital to the American Revolution and the creation of American Government. The Enlightenment beliefs that influenced the American Revolution were natural rights, the social contract, and the right to overthrow the government if the social contract was violated. The Enlightenment beliefs that aided to the creation of the American government were separation of powers, checks and balances, and limited government. As stated before, without the Enlightenment there would not have been a revolution, resulting in no American Government. The Enlightenment’s influence on the creation of America is irrefutable.
