Elements Of The Enlightenment

One his theories, stated in his book called Leviathan said that people are not able rule themselves because of how selfish mankind is and they need to be ruled by an iron fist. His political theory was that was also stated in Leviathan was that we should respect government authority under all circumstances to avoid violence. Hobbes was scared of the outcome of the social contract which meant people could get rid of the government if they were unhappy with what they were getting. In order to make well with the social contract he states in Leviathan that people should be completely obedient to the government. His reasoning was that if there was no government, there would be chaos.

Government Essay The Mayflower compact, and John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government helped establish the principles of freedom, independence, and natural rights that were used to shape the ideas on which our founders created the Declaration of Indepence. The Mayflower compact was important because it was the idea that people had the right to determine the form of government in which they wanted to be governed (Nobles 1215). This concept was important because it was based on biblical principles that they got their rights from God, not from a king, government, or ruling elite (Nobles 1215). John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government was important because it helped create civil societies in which people would give up order to receive protection and security from their government(Locke 1690). This was important because it created a peaceful living and order, but also the people still had the right to overthrow their government if they felt they were not representing the people anymore and abusing power(Locke 1690).

During the Pre-Enlightenment, the views of freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of the press shaped the ideas that were part of that era. Without the ideas from thinkers, such as John Locke and Thomas Jefferson, there would be no protection of freedom of expression. While they continually tried to publish their thoughts, they came upon strict censorship, religious and governmental, which made them fight for tolerance, reason, freedom of religious belief and freedom of speech. John Locke was one of the most influential thinkers during the Pre-Enlightenment and his writings catapulted him into notoriety since it touched upon the subject of religious toleration. In his “A Letter Concerning Toleration,” Locke states that “no private person has any right in any manner to prejudice another person in his civil enjoyments because he is of another church or religion.

The citizens of America need unalienable rights to protect themselves from the government. The unalienable rights are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In the document Andrew Sullivan

The Declaration of Independence states, “--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”. In the article Why Government, it states, “But Locke also believed that governments should protect people’s natural rights.” Both of these quotes show that the purpose for creating government, is so that the protection of the natural rights of the people is ensured. Also, the idea that these fair powers are just what Men (human beings) are receiving and what they should receive from the creation of governments. Both of these quotes combine with each other, because of the pinpointed idea of how the government was created in order to benefit to the natural rights of the people, and to protect these

Enlightenment Influence on American Government and Revolution The Enlightenment era was around the 18th century. A time where many different philosophers imputed many of their own thoughts and beliefs on religion, human rights, the government and other important situations involving our country today. Many figures associated with the Enlightenment were, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Baron Montesquieu, and Beccaria, to name a few. Much of the American Government used today comes from fellow philosophers who with their help; helped put our country in order. John Locke proposed that humans are born with natural right laws; Declaration of Independence, Preamble to the United States Constitution, Representative Government (Republic) and Limits

Furthermore, freedom of speech is a right given to people. The government assures they will not censor opinions when it states, “Congress shall not make no law...abridging the freedom of speech or of the press,” in the Bill of Rights, (B). The government will not interfere with people’s right to express their opinions, nor will it censor information distributed by the press. The freedoms of religion and speech are vital to American democracy because religion unites and speech enables everyone to have a voice. Freedom of speech and the press ensures that the government does not become corrupt.

The founding fathers were influenced by many events and documents. They used these ideas to create the United States’ Constitution. One document that influenced America was the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower Compact was written when the people in the United states made it because it was a new world and they needed laws . it was the first american democracy and it formed the constitution because it was a minnie example of what the gornmeto the new united states The Mayflower Compact shows the idea of Self-Government.

This excerpt is dedicated to the legislative power, he talk about how the laws are and how they represent the country that the people live in. He goes into the detail for each of the law that the monarch represented, but this shows also that people in the colonies also had some of a say in the laws that were created in the colonies. He also talks about the office holders and talks about the kind of power that they have and the power that they represent. Finally the article by Thomas Paine Common Sense, was talking about the American Independence. He talks generally about the government and religion, but be also touches upon the colonies and what the colonists went through under the British Monarch.

(The Scientific Revolution) (Tab) The periodization of the Scientific Revolution has twisted like vines throughout world history. With new information, research, and opinions, different things have been added or altered within the time period even going as far as adding in sub-periodizations (The Scientific Revolution). The time stamp for the Enlightenment is from roughly 1685 to 1815. The scientific discoveries made during the Enlightenment is one of the most amazing things in human