Enlightenment thinkers influenced the leaders of the American Revolution by invisioning a system of democracy.
By anna.webber1
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Locke Proposes His Ideas on Natural Rights
"According to Locke, all people are born free and equal, with three natural rights— life, liberty, and property." (Pearson 551) John Locke believed the government should protect those rights and that if they did not, the people had the right to rebel. -
Voltaire Writes About Religious Freedom
"One of his [Voltaire's] major focuses is going to be on the idea that government needs to be separate from the Church." (Byrd) Voltaire strongly believed in religious freedom, using the power of writing to announce his beliefs to all of Europe. -
Montesquieu Establishes the Idea of Seperation of Powers
"In his book [On the Spirit of Laws], Montesquieu proposed that separation of powers would keep any individual or group from gaining total control of the government." (Pearson 553) Montesquieu used Great Britain as an excellent example of separation of powers; "The members of Parliament held legislative, or lawmaking, power. The judges of the English courts held judicial power." (Pearson 553) Separation of powers became what's known today as a system of checks and balances. -
Rousseau's Social Contract
"Rousseau would say that... the government's job is to protect our basic rights... and if the government does anything besides that... the people have a right to back out of the contract and to make a new government for themselves." (Byrd) Rousseau initiated the idea of the right to rebel, which, of course, was the inspiration for the start of the American Revolution. Rousseau recounts all of his philosophies in his book, The Social Contract. -
Beccaria Promotes Criminal Justice
" He argued that a person accused of a crime should receive a speedy trial, and that torture should never be used. Moreover, he said, the degree of punishment should be based on the seriousness of the crime." (Pearson) Beccaria felt the court system should be used to protect social order, not severely punish the criminal. Beccaria elaborates more on criminal justice in his book, Crimes and Punishments. -
Thomas Paine Publishes Common Sense
Inspired by Rousseau's idea of a social contract, Paine felt that Britain violated that contract by enforcing unlawful taxes. Paine and many others of the time felt that King George was a tyrant, and that they had the right to rebel against him because Britain broke the social contract. "Hither they have fled...from the cruelty of the monster; and it is so far true of England, that the same tyranny which drove the first emigrants from home, pursues their descendants still.” (Paine) -
Women of the Revolution Advocate for Women's Rights
Both Abigail Adams and Mary Wollstonecraft were advocates for women's rights during the time of the revolution. Their ideas both revolved around the idea that women should have more say in marriage. In her letter to her husband, Abigail Adams says, Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands... If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion..." (Adams) Abigail Adams said that women had the same rights Locke proposed. -
Declaration of Independence
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." (Jefferson) Thomas Jefferson was inspired by John Locke's idea of natural rights so much that he used them in the Declaration of Independence to signify the United States as a country of undeniable freedom. -
Separation of Powers in the Constitution
"Madison and the Founding Fathers took heed of Montesquieu’s warning by establishing an independent executive (the President), legislative (the Congress), and judiciary (the Supreme Court) in the federal Constitution." (Warren) Montesquieu's ideas of separation of powers proved to be successful, since we still use this process to this day. Checks and balances gave the government both control and limitations. -
Freedoms in the Bill of Rights
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."(Madison) James Madison was deeply inspired by Voltaire's ideas of separating the Church and State and civil rights. "His [Voltaire's) major contribution... was probably his indefatigable quest for civil rights." (Boerner) -
Criminal Justice in the Bill of Rights
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." (Madison) James Madison and the other founding fathers were inspired by Beccaria's principle of criminal justice in the book, On Crimes and Punishments. "He [Beccaria] argued that a person accused of a crime should receive a speedy trial, and that torture should never be used." This principle is used today because the founding fathers used Beccaria's ideas. -
Wollstonecraft Promotes Women's Equality
Mary Wollstonecraft published an essay called A Vindication of the Rights of Women that called for equal education rights of women. "In the essay, she disagreed with Rousseau that women’s education should be secondary to men’s. Rather, she argued that women, like men, need education to become virtuous and useful." (Pearson 555) Her feministic approach to philosophy inspired other women of the American Revolution and more to fight for women's rights. -
Works Cited
Enlightenment Thinkers. Dir. Byrd. Enlightenment Thinkers. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP8k_f3PFq8. PAINE, THOMAS. COMMON SENSE. Place of Publication Not Identified: CLYDESDALE PR LLC, 2017. Print. Warren, Michael. "Charles Secondat, Baron De Montesquieu." Montesquieu, Separation of Powers, the Constitution, and the Founding Fathers. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2017. http://www.americassurvivalguide.com/montesquieu.php. -
Works Cited Part II
Pearson Education. Pacemaker World History. Shoreview, MN: Pearson AGS Globe, 2008. Print "All Amendments to the United States Constitution." All Amendments to the United States Constitution. University of Minnesota Human Rights Library, 2014. Web. 02 May 2017. Malina, Will. "How Did the Enlightenment Influence the American Revolution?" N.p., 21 Apr. 2015. Web. 2 May 2017. https://www.quora.com/How-did-the-Enlightenment-influence-the-American-Revolution.
