What Did The Enlightenment Thinkers Say About Government

31. The Navigation Acts of 1651 were British laws that restricted colonial trade. They were designed to do two things: force the thirteen colonies to trade only with Britain and weaken Britain’s rivals, especially the Dutch. The Acts placed limits on how the colonies could trade with other countries. For example, heavy taxes meant that colonists taxed when they imported certain things from other nations. Limits in imports meant that ships from other nations could not deliver goods to the thirteen colonies. Lastly, limits on exports meant that many goods had to be shipped to a British port first, before they could be sold to other countries. The purpose of the laws was to restrict colonial trade through taxes.

32. In 1686, King James
The Enlightenment was a period of European history during the 1600s and 1700s. Enlightenment thinkers tried to use reason to understand the way the world works and improve life. Enlightenment thinkers asked three key questions about government: Where does a government get its authority from? What kinds of natural rights do humans have? Does government have a responsibility to respect the rights of its citizens? The Enlightenment sparked many ideas, including the belief that a government cannot take away natural rights, people can justly overthrow a government that does not protect their rights, the Constitution divided the government into three branches, using the concept of separation of powers, and the Constitution begins with the words “We the people,” reflecting the importance of the will of the people to the US government. So, the Enlightenment helped convince many colonists of new ideas: people have natural rights, governments should represent the people, unjust governments should be overthrown, and government power should be
John Locke (1632-1704) was an English philosopher who wrote many works, including Two Treatises of Government (1690). He supported democracy and believed that everyone was born with certain individual rights. He argued that these natural rights (life, liberty, and property) were not given by government or given by God and cannot be taken away by government. He also believed that there was a social contract between a government and its people. People agree to obey government as long as it defends their natural rights and people have the right to overthrow an unjust government.

39. By the early 1700s, the role of religion in the colonies was in decline. The First Great Awakening was a powerful religious revival in the colonies between 1720 and 1740 as traveling preachers (some women or enslaved persons) gave lively sermons that drew large audiences. Two main events caused this Great Awakening: colonists had grown complacent with their worship and ministers brought emotion into worship services. This led to a new interest in worship and religion. As a result of the Great Awakening, divisions were developed in religious groups, with some members supporting the revival and others not. It also led to broader tolerance of religious diversity and spurred the growth of universities to train new ministers. Additionally, the Great Awakening led to the growth of Baptist and Methodist churches and laid the foundation for the Second Great Awakening that would occur in the