The unfair taxes and laws created by the British, resulted in the American Revolution and later a new country the idea's of the new country, were powered by the idea's of the Enlightenment Thinkers.
By Codyk3
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John Locke
Locke believed in the idea that all men are created equal. He stated that all people have rights, to life, liberty, and property. Locke also believed that the people and the government have a social contract and if the government brakes it you do not have to follow it. -
Montesquieu
Montesquieu, A French writer, believed in the separation of power, which was the division of power among different branches of the government. Montesquieu stated, " separation of powers would keep any individual or group from gaining total control of the government.“Power,” he wrote, “should be a check to power.” (Black and Beck 631). -
Boston Tea Party
During the night of December 16, 1773. A group of patriots boarded three ships full of tea, docked in Boston Harbor. They then proceeded to dump all of the crates of tea off of the ship. This wasn't just a act of vandalism it was a way to protest the newly imposed tea act that put tax on tea. It was a way to revolt against the government beliefs, using Raynal's ideas of it being okay to violently revolt. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence marks the end of the American Revolution and the beginning of a new country. Throughout the 1760's the government of England was taxing the people to death and making unfair laws.This started a war. It was a war for the rights of the people and finally on July 4th 1776, they claimed independence and were free but the ideas of the revolt were ideas of a enlightenment thinker Rousseau who believed and freedom and a social contract between the government. -
Rousseau
Rousseau, was known for his belief that everyone should have individual freedom. He questioned even the ideas of other Enlightenment thinkers saying,"Most philosophes believed that reason, science, and art would improve life for all people. Rousseau, however, argued that civilization corrupted people’s natural goodness. “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains,” (Black and Beck 632). -
Voltaire
Voltaire, Or Francois Marie Arouet a French philosopher fought for the freedom of religious beliefs, tolerance, reason and freedom. By doing these things Voltaire would often get in trouble. As Black and Beck states, "Voltaire often used satire against his opponents. He made frequent targets of the clergy, the aristocracy, and the government. His sharp tongue made him enemies at the French court and twice he was set to prison." (Black and Beck 630.) -
The Preamble
The preamble, was the document that was created to begin the Constitution, it developed guidelines in a way to limit the future governments power. It also had ties to Enlightenment Thinker John Locke's ideas of the government has consent from the people of the country to have power. -
Constitution
The most important document in the history of the United States is the Constitution it states all the rights all citizens have. It was adopted after the revolution. It states many ideas that were thought of before by Montesquieu like the nature rights of all citizens and all people. -
Bill of Rights
The tenth amendment in the Constitution also know as the Bill of Rights has similarities to Beccaria's ideas of a smooth trial and fair rules for all defendants of their crimes. -
Beccaria
Beccaria, believed that laws were made have social order and not to avenge social order. He also believed that the punishment should match the seriousness of the crime. The main thing he thought should happen, Black and Beck stated " He argued that a person accused of a crime should receive a speedy trial, and that torture should never be used." (Black and Beck 632). -
Raynal
Raynal believed in three main ideas: the freedom of will, the invalidity of slavery, and the sympathy of a violent revolution. He believed that if you believe in something that is against the government so much that it is okay for a violent revolution against it. Like in the American Revolution, the Americans believed in what they wanted so bad that they were willing to risk their life for their idea. -
Voting
Voting was a huge privilege when the United States was first established, Many people of different races and gender were not allowed to vote but as time went on all people were allowed to vote. It was found to be a natural right, and like Voltaire stated that you have the freedom of thought and expression voting helped to express your thoughts. -
Sources Cited
“Preamble We the People.” National Constitution Center – Constitutioncenter.org, National Constitution Center, constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/preamble. “Bill of Rights.” Bill of Rights Institute, www.billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/bill-of-rights/. U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/declaration. Beck, Roger B. World History: Patterns of Interaction. McDougal Littell, 2009. -
Sources Cited 2
Nicholson, Rebekah. “The Enlightenment and Its Effects on the Haitian Revolution of 1789-1804.” ScholarWorks@GVSU, scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mcnair/vol10/iss1/11.
