Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Voltaire influenced the Declaration of Independence and Constitution in many ways; they were also Enlightenment thinkers. First, Montesquieu believed in the separation of powers to avoid tyranny and promote liberty and justice, which was expressed in the Declaration of Independence. The theories he had made were very influential in the making of the Constitution. He wrote a system of check and balances that a government should incorporate so that one branch cannot overrule another. The branches he wrote of are the judicial, executive, and legislative, which to this day, the US still currently employs. His idea about a need for a “separation of powers” was highly critical too.…
The ideas of the Enlightenment influenced the American Revolution and the formation of the American Government because our government is based off the ideas of the first political thinkers, like Thomas Hobbs, John Locke, Voltaire, Baron de Montesquieu, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Cesare Beccaria. All of these philosophers believed in different ideas, and somehow the American government was able to figure out a way to make all of these ideas work in one government. These men formed the idea of our government, natural rights, separation of powers, checks and balances, the social contract, freedom of speech and religion, individual freedom, and the justice system. These are all things that…
He explained the principle of checks and balances to limit government power. He favored representative government and a rule of law. He denounced tyranny. He requested that when government violates individual rights, people may legitimately rebel. These perspectives were most fully developed in Locke’s famous Second Treatise Concerning Civil Government, and they were so radical that he never dared sign his name to it. He acknowledged authorship only in his will. Locke’s writings did much to inspire the libertarian ideals of the American Revolution From Locke, James Madison drew his most fundamental principles of liberty and government. Locke’s writings were part of Benjamin Franklin’s self-education, and John Adams believed that both girls and boys should learn about Locke. The French philosopher Voltaire called Locke “the man of the greatest…
The ideas of several Enlightenment philosophers, such as Locke, Montesquieu and Voltaire affected the latter U.S Constitution. Locke’s idea of how a government should be run affected the governmental power. Montesquieu’s idea of separation of powers affected the division of power of the U.S government. Voltaire’s idea of a person’s freedom affected the rights of the people. The ideas of Locke, Montesquieu and Voltaire greatly contributed to the creation of the U.S Constitution.…
The Enlightenment of the seventeenth and eighteenth century was a movement made international that was in opposition of religious dogmatism and fanaticism. The Enlightenment had given opportunity for scientific thinking, independent from the influences of religion. At its core was the idea of looking to nature and the natural order for deriving knowledge. As a defence against religious conflicts in Europe, Enlightenment thinkers supported concepts of religious tolerance and freedom. Their stress for rights of man and intellectual freedom is reflected in their enlightened ideas and these ideas subsequently influenced writers of France at this time. The igniting of the revolution would not have occurred without the influence of the political leaders of France that used enlightened ideas and writings to influence the masses. Through evocative speeches and calls for rebellion against the monarchy and estate system, people were made revolutionaries, pursuing reform. Furthermore, the revolutionaries who advocated the calls for reform and supported enlightened ideas and took steps towards initiating reforms through forceful means. Ultimately, the French revolution was the logical conclusion of years of the plight of peasantry, the three estates and the incompetency of the monarchy, igniting it through the influences of the Enlightenment.…
John Locke and Rousseau; contributed many ideas that the colonists used to write the Declaration of Independence and then later the Constitution of the United States. Both favored the common man, expressed the belief that government existed at the will of the governed, toleration of religion, and championed human rights for all men.…
Throughout time, the ideas of democracy have changed with the help of many philosophers. Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau were four of the most important founders of the ideals of democracy. Through the Enlightenment Period, these thinkers began creating new ideas that would forever change the way governments are run through time. Our own American government reflects the ideas in some way or another of each of the philosophers we studied. Through new ideas, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Montesquieu all changed the way government was run with the innovative ideas they created.…
Enlightenment affected the world politically and the worlds social systems so strongly that it deserves to be considered one of the top three important "turning points" in all of world history. Enlightenment brought positive influences to society in the late 1700's.…
The Enlightenment known by many as the Age of Reason was a turning point in history. Man people believe that without the Enlightenment, many of the laws, and rules would exist. For example the United States Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were greatly influenced by the Enlightenment. For example, John Locke, an Enlightenment thinker highly influenced the Declaration of Independence by stating that the natural rights of people include life, liberty and property except the founding fathers changed it by stating life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The American Revolution itself has been called the embodiment of Enlightenment ideas. If the founding fathers were not influenced by some of these ideas, maybe the United Sates would not be a democracy; it could have been an absolute monarchy, aristocracy, etc. Some of our human rights would not exist if it were for the Enlightenment. Philosophers such as Montesquieu, Rousseau, Locke, and others lead to many great changes. These ideas were used by some to challenge absolute monarchies. An absolute monarchy is a government ruled by one ruler. These ideas also impacted both government and society.…
The enlightenment was an intellectual movement that brought an age of reason to the world that occurred during the 17th and 18th centuries. First, this revolution changed the way the European society thinked. The thinkers from the enlightenment wrote about rights and tried to apply reason to humans actions so everyone started to call for this rights.The enlightenment thinkers wanted a better society in which the people will become more equal for example John Locke wrote that all humans have natural rights that are life, liberty and property. Second, the enlightenment changed the way the countries were rule. The people started to call for those rights that the thinkers were writing about and this created other revolutions like the French revolution. The new countries in South America also gave more rights to the people and followed the ideas from the enlightenment such as separation of powers from Voltaire and the freedom of expression from Voltaire. Finally, this changed the position of people in their society. The women also got more rights thanks to Mary Wollstonecraft who stated the “If all men are born free. How is it that all women are born slaves?” this thinking slowly gave more rights to the women. The way criminals were treated also changed thanks to Beccaria who wrote against the abuses of justice that helped to outlawed certain kinds of torture in many European nations.…
John Locke also said that government derived “from the consent of the people” and not by divine right. And therefore, if the people did not like what the government was doing, they had the right of rebellion. This is a great influence because this is why America wanted to write the Declaration of Independence in the first place.…
John Locke is one of the most influential writers and political philosophers in history. On top of that he is most likely the most influential in the forming of the American constitution. Many of the ideas that Locke had formed were used in the creation of the United States Constitution. He left an abundance of thoughts and ideas on human understanding, religion, economics, and politics that still influence the structure, environment, and operation of public administration today.…
John Locke’s Enlightenment ideas were very influential to America. Locke believed in natural rights which are life, liberty, and property. Thomas Jefferson stated “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.” Locke also believed in a limited government. If a government was to fail its duties or was to violate natural rights, the people had the right to get rid of the government. That reflected on America because America has the right to impeach a president.…
The Enlightenment, or the age of reason, started out as a cultural movement of intellectuals in Europe during the eighteenth century. The main purpose of this movement was to achieve knowledge and understanding of life through the use of science rather than the use of tradition and religion. The ideas of the Enlightenment opposed greatly superstition, intolerance, and abuse by the church and state subsequently placed a heavy emphasis on science, logic, and reason in order to understand the natural and human world and how to make government and society more fair, free, equitable, and humane. The Enlightenment came after the Dark Ages, so it literally means to bring light to the thinking and analysis of most intellectuals. At the time, intellectuals and philosophers did not see the magnate and the relevance the ideas of the Enlightenment would bring to the North American Colonies which resided a sea away.…
Despite his rejection of philosophy, Jean-Jaques Rousseau was a pivotal new thinker during the period of Enlightenment. He strayed from the extreme positive and negative views of Hobbes and Locke, introducing a new perspective on the concept of the state of nature. The philosophy of how humans act in their most natural state was a common topic, but Rousseau’s take, theorizing that humans are born evil but corrupted by society, offered what seemed to be the most realistic belief. His opinions on effective ruling strategies and the most successful way to raise a child remained relevant, even more so during the forming of the US government. His governing tactics stood as inspiration for multiple aspects, but his most prominent ideas involved…