The Enlightenment influenced the American Revolution through many events and philosophers during this time.
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Thomas Hobbes Idea
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 (Enlightenment). So at this time, Britain believed it and made its government that way. When the colonists came over to the United States, 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 (Appleby, 153). -
John Locke
The idea that all men are born with three natural rights: life, liberty, and property, by John Locke, had a major influence of the Revolution (Enlightenment). He had the idea that the job of the government was to protect these 3 natural rights. He insisted that when government violates individual rights, people may legitimately rebel, which is what the colonists did (Nicholson, 4). -
Montesquieu’s idea
Montesquieu’s idea of separation of powers is what shapes the American government today (Nicolson). His idea was that the government be split into three parts: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branch. This was another thing that influenced the American Revolution because it added one more thing to have a disagreement on, which caused the war. -
Rousseau's Idea
Rousseau had an idea {of} a social contract, {an agreement} between the government and people (Enlightenment). He stated that people have the right to back out and start a new government whenever they wanted (Nicolas, 4).Most of Britain did not think that was correct, yet the colonists did. Even though the American Revolution was a long, tiring journey for both the colonists and Britain, it had a good outcome for us.This is another reason why the Enlightenment influenced the American Revolution. -
Lean-Jacques Rousseau
Lean-Jacques Rousseau wrote that “Man is born free… but everywhere he is in chains.” (Enlightenment). During the American Revolution many slaves continued to support the British because they promised any slave that fought with them would be freed (Nicolson). -
Lean-Jacques Rousseau Continued
Slavery has always been an issue in the past, but when there is a war being fought, every body matters, and even though 30% may not seem like a lot, at the time I would imagine it does (Tea). This idea of equality has been and probably always will be a problem so it is important to know how much it affects life. -
Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre was one of the first battles of the American Revolution (Tea). {The first person to die in this battle was named Crispus Attucks.} He is very important because he is considered the first American casualty of the Revolution. These new ideas of Enlightenment {had caused} lots of tension and eventually caused fighting between the two different groups. -
Lexington and Concord
The first official battle of the American Revolution War was on April 19, 1775, at Lexington and Concord, when a British soldier fired his gun. This shot is famously known as “the shot heard ‘round the world” (Appleby, 135). This was influenced by the Enlightenment because there was an abounding amount of tension and disagreements about new ideas, causing such anger. -
Social Contract with Britain
After the French and Indian war, Great Britain passed laws to protect British interests in the colonies (Tea). Although, being influenced by Rousseau’s idea of a social contract, the Americans believed that they should be able to start a new life in a new area. Obviously, the British did not take that very well and eventually started a seven year war. Even though the Revolution happened many years before and after the actual war, the years of battling was seven years long. -
The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation did not give the government the power to tax people. Because of this, people who owned property were able to keep it and not be wiped out by taxes they could not {afford}. This connects with John Locke’s idea that all men are born with property, and when you are born with something, {it }cannot be taken away from you (Appleby, 135). -
Abbe Gregoire
In the French Revolution, enslaved Africans were considered equal. {Abbe Gregoire was one of the people who had this idea and influenced people to think this way} (Nicholson, 2). Since the American population was {about 30% African slaves,} the slaves would want to be on Britain’s side because they still believed in the equality of slaves when the French Revolution ended. This is similar to another event that happened but has a different meaning (Tea). -
Works Cited
Appleby, Joyce, Ph.D., Alan Brinkley, Ph.D., Albert S. Broussard, Ph.D., James M. McPherson, Ph.D., and Donald A. Ritchie, Ph.D. The American Journey. Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. Print. Enlightenment Thinkers. Dir. Jeremyange91 Byrd. YouTube. YouTube, 18 Dec. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP8k_f3PFq8. -
Works Cited Continued
Nicholson, Rebekah (2006) "The Enlightenment and Its Effects on the Haitian Revolution of 1789-1804," McNair Scholars Journal: Vol. 10: Iss. 1, Article 11. Available at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mcnair/vol10/iss1/11 Tea, Taxes, and The American Revolution: Crash Course World History #28. Dir. Crashcourse. Perf.
John Green. YouTube. YouTube, 02 Aug. 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlUiSBXQHCw.
