Enlightenment and American Revolution

The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement that stressed reason, individualism and

skepticism as well as improving problem solving abilities. Philosophers were able to share their

views and influence the public to think deeper about the world around them. The Enlightenment,

or the Age of Reason, didn’t just stay in the European area. The Enlightenment began to

spread, eventually reaching the brand new civilization of America. The Enlightenment had a

massive influence on the American Revolution, in which the Patriots in the Thirteen Colonies

won independence against Great Britain in a battle that lasted from 1765 to 1783. Several ideas

from important documents of America comes from philosophers in the Enlightenment. Natural

rights and social contracts are a big part of the official separation between Great Britain and

America, and the philosophers that created these ideas helped shape the country to what it is

today. John Locke, Voltaire and Montesquieu all influenced America’s founding documents

through their ideas of natural rights, individual freedoms and separation of powers.

John Locke was an English philosopher and physician who is considered “The Father of

Liberalism. He believed that humans are naturally reasonable and that all people are born free

and equal. John Locke’s views and writings impacted the Declaration of Independence, and it

can be shown in the second paragraph, where the Declaration of Independence states that all

men are created equal and everyone has natural rights. John Locke’s beliefs were heavily

based on the phrase ‘Life, Liberty and Property. John Locke also believed in the consent of the

governed, which is shown in the second paragraph. It says that if any part of the government

gets out of control, the people can change or destroy it. Another example would be where the

Declaration of Independence states that the government’s power comes from the governed

people. America was heavily inspired by John Locke’s ideas. His teachings were a large reason
of why America broke from Britain, which was because they failed to protect their natural rights.

Voltaire was a French writer, philosopher and historian. He was famous for his wit and used

satire to attack the French monarch on things that he didn’t agree with. He disagreed with and

criticized the Roman Catholic Church. As he fought for tolerance, reason, religious freedom, and

freedom of speech, Voltaire influenced the Bill of Rights in great measures. In Amendment 1, it

states that Congress cannot make a law that says we have to partake in a certain religion,

which shows Voltaire’s advocacy for freedom of religion. The Bill of Rights also says that

Congress cannot hold the people silent on their opinions. This shows the exercise of freedom of

speech, another idea of Voltaire’s. Voltaire also believed in reasoning and justice. Amendment 6

says that every person that is accused has the right to receive a fair trial in court. Amendment 2

says it’s the people’s right to own a gun and keep it in their house. These two Amendments

show tolerance, fairness, reasoning, and justice plus, there still are many more examples of

Voltaire's ideas in the Bill of Rights. He had firm beliefs and wasn’t afraid communicate his idea

of individual freedoms.

Montesquieu was a French political philosopher whose teachings were influential on the US

Constitution. Montesquieu was a big advocate of separation of government. In Article 1: Section

2 of the Constitution, The House of Representatives choose those who are in office and also

have the power to impeach the President. This section shows Montesquieu’s idea of division of

power among different branches. Another example of this would be in Section 8 of Article 1. It

states that the Congress collects taxes but other duties are completed in different parts of the

government. Montesquieu wanted separation of power and balance. He also made sure that

individual duties had a fair and equal amount of duties as well. In Amendment 1, Section 3, the

Constitution says that the Vice President is the head of the Senate, but cannot vote unless that

voting is divided equally. Overall, Montesquieu helped shape the government and make each
duty fair and equal.

All of these powerful documents display the influence of of John Locke, Montesquieu, and

Voltaire’s ideas. All of their views have shaped what the United States is today.