The Enlightenment Era influenced the American Revolution resulting in, the creation of a new government that supports human rights similar how our society accepts and acknowledges people's differences today.
By Lorena2002
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John Locke
“He believed that people could learn from experience and improve themselves. As reasonable beings, they had the natural ability to govern their
own affairs and to look after the welfare of society “ ( Black & Beck 551).
the Enlightenment influenced John Locke to come up with the idea on all people being free and equal with three natural rights including; Life, liberty, and property. He brought up the purpose of government which was to protect all citizens... -
John Locke II
... if at any point they failed the citizens had right to overthrow it. -
Hobbes and Locke
"Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Both men experienced the
political turmoil of England early in that century. However, they came to very different conclusions about government and human nature" (Black & Beck 551). Hobbes believed that people were born selfish and wicked and without governments to keep in order they would be a way of every man against every man also he though that in human nature life would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. -
Hobbes and Locke II
John Locke believed that people could learn from mistakes and improve themselves. Also he believed that all people were born free and equal with three natural rights life, liberty, and property. -
Thomas Hobbes
"The horrors of the English Civil War convinced him that all humans were naturally selfish and wicked" (Black and Beck 551).
Before Thomas Hobbes’s idea that all people are naturally evil and selfish, every area of the world had a king that ruled with absolute power, or a monarchy. So at this time, Britain and America believed it and made its government that way. When the colonists came over to the United States. -
Thomas Hobbes II
...Britain did not agree with it so they ultimately started a war. In the long run, the colonists abandoned the monarchy idea and started a government that didn’t involve a king. -
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
Locke and Rousseau developed the Social Contract theory where they decided that the government borrowed its power from the approval of those governed. Jefferson would use these words and others from Locke (Life, Liberty and property), to espouse the American promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. -
Mary Astell
“In 1694, the English writer Mary Astell published A Serious Proposal to the Ladies” (Black & Beck, 554). In her novel Mary Astell attempted to improve the status of women also she explained the lack of education for women.
In her book, she informed the lacks of educational opportunities open for women. In later writings, she had used the Enlightenment arguments about government to criticize the unequal relationship between men and women in marriage. -
Paris Salons
"...these hostesses held regular social gatherings called salons. At these events, philosophers,writers, artists, scientists, and other great intellects met to discuss ideas and enjoy artistic performances (Black and Beck 558).Salons provided a place for women and men to gather for conversations. In a male-dominated society, women served as the hostesses, decided the agenda of topics to be discussed, and regulated the conversation. This led to reduced marginalization of women in Paris. -
Enlightenment in France
"The Enlightenment reached its height in France... Paris became the meeting place for people who wanted to discuss politics and ideas" (Black & Beck 552).
After the Enlightenment reached France people discuss politics and ideas in Paris the meeting place. The philosophers went to Paris to discuss their ideas in the meeting with other philosophers. -
Barron de Montesquieu
"Montesquieu oversimplified the British system (it did not actually
separate powers this way). His idea, however, became a part of his most famous book, On the Spirit of Laws (1748)" (Black & Beck 553).
Montesquieu made a point that the best way to secure liberty and prevent a government from becoming corrupted was to divide the powers of government among trusted people. James Madison and the... -
Barron de Montesquieu II
... took this into consideration by establishing an independent executive, legislative, and judiciary in the federal Constitution. Montesquieu's idea led on to a disagreement and caused war. -
Jean Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau liked system of direct democracy. He wanted the people and the government to create a social contract. This social contract consisted of letting the government have control over the people and in return, the government with protect their human rights. He stated, "First, there is natural liberty, which is the duty of man to provide for his own... second civil liberty, which consists of the freedoms people relinquish and allows people to govern and maintain order."(Nicholson 92). -
Jean Jacques Rousseau II
Slavery has always been an issue in the past. Rousseau wrote that “Man is born free… but everywhere he is in chains.” (Nicholson 92). During the American Revolution many slaves continued to support the British because they would promise slaves that any of them that fought with Britain would be freed. -
Cesare Bonesana Beccaria
"..Turned his thoughts to the justice system. He believed that
laws existed to preserve social order, not to avenge crimes. In his celebrated book On Crimes and Punishments (1764), Beccaria railed against common abuses of justice" (Black & Beck 554).
The commentary of Baccaria's essay, "On Crimes and Punishment," fated torture and the death penalty. Baccaria's ideas were likely to stir arguments with the government so he first published his essay anonymously... -
Sugar Act / Stamp Act
"By reducing the earlier Molasses Tax’s rate and expanding enforcement, the British hoped that the tax could be effectively collected" ( Lumen).
Molasses Act colonial merchants had been required to pay a tax of six pence per gallon on the importation of foreign molasses. But because of corruption, they mostly evaded the taxes and undercut the intention of the tax. This hurt the British West Indies market in molasses and sugar and... -
Sugar Act / Stamp Act II
... and sugar and the market for rum, which the colonies had been producing in quantity with the cheaper French molasses.Like Rousseau -
Cesare Bonesana Beccaria II
... Everyone was talking great about it, Baccaria republished it with his name. Three tenets: free will enables people to make choices. rational manner will help with making choices and manipulation. Baccaria's law makes it so you wont be killed for eating a apple. -
Catherine The Great
"In 1767, Catherine formed a commission to review Russia’s laws...Among other changes, she recommended allowing religious toleration and abolishing torture and capital punishment (Black and Beck 562).
She expanded the Russian Empire, improved administration, and vigorously pursued the policy of Westernization. Her reputation as an "enlightened despot," however, is not wholly supported by her deeds. -
Voltaire
"The French king and France’s Catholic bishops were outraged. In 1734, fearing another unpleasant jail term, Voltaire fled Paris" (Black and Beck 553).
Voltaire spoke for the freedom of the press and the tolerance of religions. He was arrested by the French government twice. Voltaire said that God, created the universe and began the mechanisms in it before allowing it to run on its own path and not changing it. -
Voltaire II
...Voltaire spoke for the freedom of the press and the tolerance of religions. He was arrested by the French government twice. Voltaire said that God, created the universe and began the mechanisms in it before allowing it to run on its own path and not changing it. -
Boston Massacre
" As more than 2,000 British soldiers occupied the city of 16,000 colonists and tried to enforce Britain’s tax laws, American colonists rebelled against the taxes they found repressive, rallying around the cry, “no taxation without representation" (History). The Boston Massacre was a deadly riot between the American colonist and British soldiers because the colonist tried to enforce Britain's tax laws. That is when the Americans rebelled against the taxes.. -
Boston Massacre II
"...Rousseau asserts that modern states repress the physical freedom that is our birthright, and do nothing to secure the civil freedom for the sake of which we enter into civil society. In today's society we have a constitution which dives the power between the federal government and the states " (History ). -
Boston Tea Party
"A political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Massachusetts against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled an element of trade in the colonies" (Lumen).
In the 1760s, Britain was deep in debt, so British Parliament imposed a series of taxes on American colonists to help pay those debts. The Stamp Act of 1765 taxed colonists on virtually every piece of printed paper they used, from playing cards and business licenses to newspapers and legal documents. -
Quartering Act
"The new Quartering Act similarly allowed a governor to house soldiers in other buildings, such as barns, inns, among other unoccupied structures, if suitable quarters were not provided"
(Lumen).
Massachusetts, where barracks already existed on an island from which soldiers had no hope of keeping the peace in a city riled by the Townshend Revenue Acts, British officers followed the Quartering Act’s injunction to quarter their soldiers in public places, not in private homes. -
Declaration of independence
"Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed " (History).
The Declaration of Independence is mainly written on the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like, John Locke. What Jefferson mostly wrote, comes directly from Locke’s ideas about the government. -
Declaration of independence II
...The Declaration says that people have certain rights just because they are human. These rights are not given to them by the government and cannot be taken away from them. They are human rights. -
Checks and Balances
"The idea that a just and fair government must divide power between various branches did not originate at the Constitutional Convention, but has deep philosophical and historical roots" ( History).
Montesquieu established three separate government branches. This provided a specific power to each branch which set up the "Checks and Balances" system... -
Checks and Balances II
..With this system, each branch will check the branches of the other two branches, keeping the government from becoming too powerful. -
Mary Wollstonecraft
“Among the most persuasive was Mary Wollstonecraft, who published an essay called A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792” (Black & Beck 554). She insisted that women should be educated. Also that women should be free to enter business, pursue professional careers, and vote if they wished -
Workscited
Rayca, Brian. “How Did the Enlightenment Influence the American Revolution?” Quora, www.bing.com/cr?IG=CD7F568D3FDA4F3EBE34782EAD0E59A1&CID=0DA18584CE1064563F318E60CFBF65E7&rd=1&h=Hmmlc_inJPEppb7FubTNVG3BEIet0SBtYd9MQ8bgTCg&v=1&r=https%3a%2f%2fwww.quora.com%2f&p=DevEx.LB.1,5476.1.
“Enlightenment Contributions - John Locke.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/site/johnlockerocksocks/enlight. -
Workscited II
“Charles Secondat, Baron De Montesquieu.” Montesquieu, Separation of Powers, the Constitution, and the Founding Fathers, www.americassurvivalguide.com/montesquieu.php.
“How Did Jean-Jacques Rousseau Impact Government?” Enotes.com, Enotes.com, www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-did-jean-jacques-rousseau-impact-government-280589.
Beck, Roger B. World History: Patterns of Interaction. McDougal Littell, 2005. -
Workscited III
“Cesare Beccaria.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 7 Nov. 2016, www.biography.com/people/cesare-beccaria-39630.
Iggans, Brian. “ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.” Sutori, www.sutori.com/story/enlightenment-and-the-american-revolution-61e9339c-3249-4d10-b1e8-26d097082bc8.
Nicholson, Rebekah (2006) "The Enlightenment and Its Effects on the Haitian Revolution of 1789-1804," McNair Scholars Journal: Vol. 10: Iss. 1, Article 11. -
Workscited VI
Causes of the American Revolutionary War, www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/causesrevwar.htm.
