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English Philosophers
English Philosophers
By Logan Cramer
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The English Philosophers paved the way for many modern day normalities we take for
granted in society. Freedom from corruption, equality, and separation of powers are fundamental
principles we live by as a country. The origin of these ideas are the enlightenment thinkers. The
founding fathers swore by these ideas, and founded our country upon them. These ideas also
reached many authoritarian governments of the time, resulting in the development of democracy.
These fundamental beliefs and ideas were foreign to most people of the period, so the
implementation of them vastly changed society forever. These inventions paved the way for
greatness
Many ideas from the Industrial revoltion period are fundamental building blocks of safe,
developed countries. Voltaire stood by the idea of separating the church from the state. This
prevents governments from abusing their powers to appease the interests of a certain religion.
This prevents authoritarian corruption from seeping into countries, and is a fundamental piece of
our constitution. Another brilliant idea of this period for governing a state was Montesquieu's
separation of powers. This idea, like Voltaire's, stands as a fundamental aspect to our constitution
and Bill of Rights, which are fundamental pieces our government abides by. According to: World
History: Connections to Today: "The framers of the constitution used the ideas of Montesquieu
and Voltaire" (pg.462). These thinkers of the enlightenment period helped shape this country into
what it is today
When most people first heard of these new ideas of the industrial revolution. Given this,
people wanted their own country to adopt these ideas. Obviously, authoritarian governments and
dictatorships would never adopt these ideas, so people became angry. This anger brewed by
populations worldwide resulted in massive revolts. One of the most significant of which was the
American Revolution in the late 1700s. People were fed up with the unjust nature of their rulers
in power. According to: World History: Connections to Today: "Revolutionaries fought angrily
against the old unjust order" (pg.519). The Americans of course won, and incorporated the ideas
they fought for in the foundations of the new nation. They incorporated these ideas from the
After the Americans won the revolution, the industrial revolution were introduced as the
documents the country must abide by. According to: World History: Connections to Today:
"Thomas Jefferson wrote the declaration of Independence, which clearly represents the ideas of
John Locke" (pg.461). The people took notice of these documents, read them and understood
their influential meaning. These documents are pro freedom and equal treatment for all, which
are the United States countries greatest values. Slowly, people began to understand these
documents true meaning and naturally began to inherit the same values these documents preach
for. This has allowed for a widespread adoption of the enlightenment intellectuals ideas
throughout all of the United States. This adoption is not just limited to those in official positions
either. People began to adopt these values into their daily lives as morals to live by, which
allowed the adoption of the ideas to go far beyond its intended purpose, resulting in a strong, free
States. We've adopted their ideas in many inventions we see today. The inventions have paved
the way for modern society, The free society of the United States have also adopted the ideas
from the inventors. The impact of the values held by these thinkers have had an everlasting
impact on our society and government. Would we be as advaned today without the industrial
revolution?