Enlightenment Influenced American Revolution And Essay

Because of the wording of the "Declaration of Independence," Locke is perhaps the most famous Enlightenment influence upon the Founding Fathers. However, a number of Continental Enlightenment philosophers had great influence upon the shape of the new nation: "Jean-Jacques Rousseau…distrusted the aristocrats not out of a thirst for change but because he believed they were betraying decent traditional values…Rousseau argued that inequality was not only unnatural, but that -- when taken too far -- it made decent government impossible" (Brians 2002). The French philosopher Voltaire's irreverent attitude towards religion and Rousseau's scrupulous belief in the integrity of the 'natural' man, untouched by law and custom, is reflected in the Founding Founders' notions of a society that was based upon a rule of law, rather than upon the whims of a leader. Rights rather than birthright were to govern the new American state.

The philosopher of criminology Beccaria's influence should not be underestimated, either, upon the shaping of the new nation. Beccaria believed in the malleability of human nature: laws could be used to shape human being's decision-making. Crime and punishment could be educational, rather than harshly brutal. Punishment should not be used to keep people in line through fear: punishment...

...

These ideas were later reflected in the U.S. Constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment (Hoffman 2002).
Another often-forgotten philosophical influence in the founding of the American system is that of Montesquieu, who said: "In republican governments, men are all equal; equal they are also in despotic governments: in the former, because they are everything; in the latter, because they are nothing." His belief in the right of every individual to maximize their happiness, so long as it did not harm others, and "his faith in the balance of power and the division of authority as a weapon against despotic rule by individuals or groups or majorities" also lives on in the U.S. Constitution today ("Montesquieu," Thoughts worth thinking, 2010).

Works Cited

Brians, Paul. "The Enlightenment." University of Wisconsin-Madison. March 11, 1998. Last

Revised May 18, 2000. February 10, 2010. http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/enlightenment.html

Hoffman, Bruce. "Beccaria." Crime Theory. January 2002. February 10, 2010.

http://www.crimetheory.com/ClasPos/onc&p.htm

"Montesquieu." Thoughts worth thinking. February 10, 2010.

http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/montesquieu/montesquieu.html

Sources Used in Documents:

Works Cited

Brians, Paul. "The Enlightenment." University of Wisconsin-Madison. March 11, 1998. Last

Revised May 18, 2000. February 10, 2010. http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/enlightenment.html

Hoffman, Bruce. "Beccaria." Crime Theory. January 2002. February 10, 2010.

http://www.crimetheory.com/ClasPos/onc&p.htm
http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/montesquieu/montesquieu.html


Cite this Document:

"Enlightenment Influenced American Revolution And" (2010, February 10) Retrieved April 26, 2024, from
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/enlightenment-influenced-american-revolution-15176

"Enlightenment Influenced American Revolution And" 10 February 2010. Web.26 April. 2024. <
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/enlightenment-influenced-american-revolution-15176>

"Enlightenment Influenced American Revolution And", 10 February 2010, Accessed.26 April. 2024,
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/enlightenment-influenced-american-revolution-15176

Related Documents

American Revolution Was Modeled After Revolutions in France and England The American quest for freedom, modeled after reform movements in England and France, has resulted in the most revered democratic society in the world. We are free of the religious and political tyranny that plagued Europe in the 18th Century and early colonialists would approve of our government in 2002. While the American Revolution and the quest for freedom was modeled after

American RevolutionThe American Revolution was a war for independence from England: the Founding Fathers had political, social and philosophical motivations. Philosophically, they were rooted in the Enlightenment, with men like Thomas Paine advocating for freedom and equality in his treatise The Rights of Man. Politically, the revolutionaries wanted independence so that they could govern themselves without any influence from abroad. As Holton (1999) explains, many of them wanted to be

Whether it was the Spanish that fought to conquer lands in the south, or the Dutch that engaged in stiff competition with the British, or the French that were ultimately defeated in 1763, the American soil was one clearly marked by violent clashes between foreign powers. This is why it was considered that the cry for independence from the British was also a cry for a peaceful and secure

In the period between the Revolution and the drafting of the Constitution, Jefferson noted that the eventual existence of a dictator in place of a king in Ancient Rome clearly indicated the existence of real failings within the Roman system: dictator is entirely antithetical to republicanism's "fundamental principle...that the state shall be governed as a commonwealth," that there be majority rule, and no prerogative, no "exercise of [any] powers undefined

His American Revolution
PAGES 7 WORDS 2318

American Revolution History has shown that the form of government which emerged out of the American Revolution was by no means perfect, but to recognize this does not diminish the importance of what was achieved as a result of the Constitutional Convention. Instead, it allows one to appreciate the disruptive and groundbreaking nature of the compromise government established by the various delegates while realizing how much it represents a continuity with

Revolution, Constitution and Enlightenment The American Revolution and the ensuing U.S. Constitution put forward by the Federalists were both products of and directly informed by the European Enlightenment. The Founding Fathers were considerably influenced by thinkers like Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu (whose separation of powers served as the model of the three-branched government of the U.S.). This paper will explain how the European Enlightenment set the stage for the American