Effects Of Enlightenment

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Introduction

American enlightenment refers to the period where human reasoning was deemed as the liberal tools for the Americans to be liberals (Shuffelton, 15). The effects of the enlightenment were supposed to ensure Americans solve their problems and enjoy the same benefits as those enjoyed by the colonies. In this paper, the effect of American enlightenment is discussed to determine the historical background of the enlightenment as well as political and economical changes resulting from rational thinking had an impact on the growth of United States

Historical background

It is also better known as age of revolution, which happened in the 18th century between 1715 and 1818. The age is characterized

First, by the formation of the United States Constitution, Americans were in the right track in ensuring their freedom is secured. Enlightenment led to ideas that would create a conducive political environment for the Americans. One of the ideas was republicanism: The ideology had its origin from ancient Greece where the government in place is elected by the people. This was not the case during the colonial era, where British choose who to govern the American son their behalf. The second idea was freedom of the Americans. The colonies of the British had a limited freedom and philosophical leaders like Locke believed it was an infringement to the human liberty. In American Constitution this rights were identified as fundamental and were enshrined as the Bill of rights in the Constitution. Freedom of expressions which is critical in challenging politics was included in the Bill of Right (Ferguson, 47). The freedom being enjoyed in the political arena today in America by both the Republicans and Democrats is the result of American enlightenment. Democracy in the political field was missing and it was therefore, necessary for it to be included in political space. In this form of governance, the government was of the people, by the people and for the

One of the ideas that were championed during this period was free trade (Laissez faire) by Adam smith, in 1776. The government had a limited role in the economy growth. Adam based the argument on labor theory of wealth ascertaining that labor had to be employed on resources for wealth to be created (Griswold, 53). The ideology led to the free movement of persons from rural areas into major cities like Virginia. This meant that United States had diversified its economy from relying on agricultural into non-agricultural sector. Another aspect that spurs the economic growth of America was the scientific revolution that led to new areas of job creation. Scientific and industrial revolution were responsible for the diversification of the United States