How Did the Enlightenment Influence the American Revolution Essay Sample
The enlightenment period is known as the root cause for the American revolution that has the objective of freedom of speech, equality, freedom of religion, and press.
The revolution comes up intending to change anything that may be belief, faith, custom, usage, legislation, or any other thing that has been running for years but with the need of the society, it requires to change.
And American revolution was realized introduce to get independence and free from England’s rule. To get independence, the enlightenment thoughts help the fighters to become free and independent.
Essay Example on How Did the Enlightenment Influence the American Revolution
Thesis Statement – Enlightenment Influence the American Revolution
John Locke and the Enlightenment thinkers had a major impact on America as we know it today. Their ideas on individual rights, natural law, and rationalism helped influence American Revolutionaries like Thomas Jefferson. The impact that these thinkers had is reflected in how Americans think of themselves to this day.
Introduction – Enlightenment Influence the American Revolution
Many ideas encourage the philosophers to get independence and set their constitution and to achieve their objective, enlightenment ideas helped a lot. At this time, the Americans did not possess the right of speech, press, religion, and such loopholes led to the influence of enlightenment ideals that are about freedom of speech, press, Right to equality, and religious tolerance.
This was the reason for the American revolution where Americans revolted against England for their independence. As to live a life, liberty is one of an indispensable component and Jefferson reiterated such principle in light of the natural right to life liberty, and happiness.
Such rights are the result of enlightenment ideas and freedom fighters’ revolt for obtaining such rights. This American revolution was identifier as the anti-colonial war for independence that Americans eagerly wished for.
Main Essay Body – Enlightenment Influence the American Revolution
Enlightenment ideas
The American Revolution not only changes the American economic, political condition but also set liberty to citizens where they can avail themselves of the benefits of their natural rights.
Because the natural rights of any person are the fundamental and primary rights that need to be given to every person by its birth. The person born with certain natural rights and all such rights is inherent therein which is expressly dealt with in the American revolution.
The influencer of the enlightenment period support such fundamental rights and stimulate the citizens of the country for getting independent. Such ideas and actions led to the American revolution that is not only a war of liberation but also a war for getting independence.
The supporters of the American revolution believes in such primary rights and furnish more property.
Separation of power
Many authors believe and advocated that everything was made up of laws, rules, and regulations. On this behalf, Montesquieu wrote the book named the spirit of laws that embodies the significance of the separation of power in three major branches that our legislature, executive, and judiciary.
Such separation of power can be seen in the state of England and secure that power could not be vested in the hands of one authority and rule of balance and check applied.
With the help of such a rule, balance can be maintained and power can be checked so that arbitrary, capricious, and excessive use of power could not be exercised by authorized established by the procedure or rule of law.
Spirit of the laws
With such rules exist in the state no branch can exercise absolute power and it is distributed in the hands of three branches. This also provides power to the citizens of the country and freedom in the government. The book of the spirit of the laws stimulated the American colonists that incorporate such enlightenment ideas within it.
One of the core enlightenment ideas finds in the separation of power rule that provides freedom to individuals. And after reading and interpreting the book, American colonists believed that once they execute such separation of power in the state, England was no more able to control the state.
In such enlightenment ideas, one of the influential thinkers was Jean- Jacques Rousseau and who published the social contract book in 1762. He reiterated his words in the book that how a contract is established between the citizens and the state to protect the interest of its citizens and in what manner the government should work to do so.
Rousseau believes that man is born free and such fundamental rights are built so it should bestow such right without any restriction to it. In the American Revolution, Rousseau’s philosophy influences a lot, and on the other hand, John Locke is known for his contribution in the field of political theories, economic, philosophy and devoted his writing to developing political thought.
The influencers of the American revolution heavily found their existence on philosophies of Rousseau, Locke, Montesquieu, etc. The theory of social contract developed by Rousseau reiterates that government derives its power from its citizen and against such power, they contracted to protect the law and order of the state and protect security and freedom to its citizen.
Locke argues in its philosophy that every person inherent natural right to hold their property and no one is allowed to infringe such right, not even the state. And if the state violates such rights of its citizen then they can oust the government in the next election. And all such philosophies influence the colonist to attain freedom or independence from England so that citizens of the state can avail the benefits of the rights.
Conclusion
The Enlightenment was a time period in the 18th century when people started to question their beliefs and traditions. Enlightened thinkers like John Locke, Voltaire, and Thomas Jefferson all played important roles in shaping the American Revolution by influencing how Americans thought about government and individual rights. The Enlightenment’s emphasis on reason over tradition helped shape America as a nation that values equality of opportunity for its citizens.