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Thesis
The enlightenment ideas made the people in the British Colonies want the rights that they were born with, resulting in the colonists fighting against the king of England and the things he did were against the rights of the people; like how the people of the Aztecs captured and turned on the leaders to help the Spanish conquistadors. -
Locke
“According to Locke, a ruler gains authority through the consent of the governed. The duty of that government is to protect the natural rights of the people, which Locke believed to include LIFE, LIBERTY, AND PROPERTY” (US History). The theory of this is that every person in the world has three natural rights. Locke was one of the first enlightenment thinkers that made a change. He was also known as the father of Liberalism. -
Montesquieu
“Montesquieu wrote that the main purpose of government is to maintain law and order, political liberty, and the property of the individual. Montesquieu opposed the absolute monarchy of his home country and favored the English system as the best model of government.” (Constitutional Rights Foundation). He believed that the purpose of the government was to maintain the law, liberty, and an individual's property. He said that there should be three branches of government that could check the others. -
Rousseau 1
“In Rousseau’s democracy, anyone who disobeyed the general will of the people “will be forced to be free.” He believed that citizens must obey the laws or be forced to do so as long as they remained a resident of the state. This is a “civil state,” Rousseau says, where security, justice, liberty, and property are protected and enjoyed by all.” (Constitutional Rights Foundation). -
Rousseau Analysis 1
Rousseau -
Rousseau 2
“Rousseau argued that the general will of the people could not be decided by elected representatives. He believed in a direct democracy in which everyone voted to express the general will and to make the laws of the land. Rousseau had in mind a democracy on a small scale, a city-state like his native Geneva.” (Constitutional Rights Foundation). He thinks that the will of the people should not be chosen by elected officials. He thought that there should be a social contract within the government. -
Debt
The French and Indian War put the British crown in debt. In order to increase revenues for the costs of defending the expanding British Empire, Britain taxed the colonies” (Britannica). The King was running out of money from war so they decided that they should tax people in the colonies more than in the home land. This is connected because They should be able to be free from the stuff that happened in a complete other continent. -
Townshend Acts
“Britain established the Townshend Acts in 1767. This series of acts placed taxes on tea, lead, paint, paper, and glass imported to the colonies. The acts were resisted through violence, deliberate refusal to pay, and hostility toward British agents” (Britannica). -
Boston Massacre
“Simmering tensions between the British occupiers and Boston residents boiled over one late afternoon, when a disagreement between an apprentice wigmaker and a British soldier led to a crowd of 200 colonists surrounding seven British troops” (History). -
Boston Massacre Analysis
A British soldier went and killed people because he was mad at the way they were talking to him and in his face. Also that they had an argument that made him take the shots. This is connected because It was the colonist will to argue his rights with the soldier. -
Taxing Tea
“Parliament again tried to assert its authority by passing legislation to tax goods that the Americans imported from Great Britain. The Crown established a board of customs commissioners to stop smuggling and corruption among local officials in the colonies, who were often in on the illicit trade” (History). -
Taxing Tea 2
The British government tried to tax the colonists for imported goods. They made a group of people to make sure that no one was smuggling anything. This is connected to the enlightenment because they took the rights to buy things without having a large tax on them. -
Works cited
“BRIA 20 2 c Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau on Government.” Constitutional Rights Foundation, www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-20-2-c-hobbes-locke-montesquieu-and-rousseau-on-government.html.
“Causes and Effects of the American Revolution.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/summary/Causes-and-Effects-of-the-American-Revolution. -
Works cited
“Foundations of American Government.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/gov/2.asp.
Kiger, Patrick J. “7 Events That Enraged Colonists and Led to the American Revolution.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 20 Aug. 2019, www.history.com/news/american-revolution-causes.