Many different things caused the French Revolution of 1789-1799, ranging from social injustices to an economic crisis. In France during this time, the middle class and peasantry were combined into a single estate, causing many people in the middle class to become angry about their lack of rights. The French state was deeply in debt because of King Louis XVI’s extravagant spending, and it relied on the peasants to pay all of the taxes. This led to the frustration of peasants at the unjust taxes, many of whom could not afford to pay their dues. Finally, the Enlightenment, a time where many new ideas about human rights surfaced, had a great impact on the French people and their idea of government.
During the 17th-18th century, a movement referred to as The Enlightenment arose in the efforts by philosophers to reassemble European politics, beliefs, science, and communications. The purpose was to solve problems in the world with reason. An example of philosophers can be seen in Baron de Montesquieu’s view on wanting a separation of powers; Adam Smith’s thought of laissez-faire where the government allows business to operate with little or no government interference; and John Locke’s idea that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and property. John Locke influenced the foundation for people believing in natural rights. This stimulated an outbreak of revolutions such as The Revolutionary War, French Revolution, and The Saint Domingo
During the late 17th and 18th centuries, Europe was going through a cultural and intellectual change and movement, known as the Enlightenment. During this time, writers, philosophers, and politicians heavily defended newer and modern ways of thinking. These ideas and people would eventually set the standards for today’s world and way of thought. The writers, philosophers, and politicians of this age went above and beyond to champion modern ways of thinking.
The Enlightenment was a European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition. By the early 1700s, European thinkers believed that nothing was beyond the reach of the human mind. The Scientific Revolution of the 1500s and the 1600s had transformed the way people in Europe looked at the world. The Scientific Revolution caused reformers to begin studying human behaviors and try to solve the problems of society. This new surge of learning led to another revolution in thinking known as the Enlightenment.
Enlightenment The time of intellectual change and societal improvement. The late 17th century and 18th century was a time of enlightenment in Europe caused by philosophers. During the age of reason what were the great thinkers ideas? The philosophes, great thinkers of their time, were the people who bought this enlightenment, a time of change due to new ways of thinking.
Above all, the Enlightenment played crucial role in educating people in the American societies. Although the Enlightenment initially started in Europe, it was prevalent out to America. The definition of Enlightenment means to “reimbursement or clearing up” and it is a very helpful term since it assists to give proper information about what the Enlightenment is and what they tried to fulfill that time. Furthermore, the Enlightenment had hugely impacted on the American Revolution. The most well known Enlightenment theorists in America were Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, I think.
The Enlightenment was a period of time that stressed the importance of reason and individual ideas. Many philosophers published works criticizing a country’s monarch or divulging the flaws they saw in a system within the government, such as the justice system. The Enlightenment also stressed the importance of education, and as a result of this, literacy rates experienced a major upward trend. Now able to read the philosopher’s works, a larger sum of people now were educated on the corruptions within their government. This caused a questioning of traditional practices, and people began to believe they could revise their government.
Some of the main philosophers of the Enlightenment Period were Immanuel Kant, Voltaire, and David Hume. Kant played a big role in the devolvement of philosophy for his contribution in science, social behaviors, and religion. Kant expressed the contexts for understanding ethics and values which the western world integrated into their own culture and government. Voltaire was mainly an author, writing anything from plays to novels. However, he had a great interest in science which he acquired from Madame du Chậtelet, his mistress.
The Enlightenment also promoted the idea that human political, and social, arrangements could be engineered and improved, by human action. The Enlightenment was one of the causes of the French Revolution which in turn led to many of the Latin American Revolutions of the 1820’s. 2) What was revolutionary about the American Revolution, and what was not? The American Revolution was revolutionary in the way that it brought legitimacy to the ideas of a democracy.
The ideas of equality amongst all citizens drastically inspired the oppressed lower class and lead to the storming of the Basille. The ideals of the Enlightenment were present during the French Revolution but they did not plays as great a role as they did in the American Revolution. The French Revolution was more inspired by fear and desperation when the peasants felt abused and neglected. As soon as the Reign of Terror began, the ideals of the Enlightenment seemed to be lost to fear and rage. Many of the military leaders who took over once the revolution
I agree that the Enlightenment was force for positive change in society. The Enlightenment was one was the most important intellectual movements in History, as it dominated and influenced the way people thought in Europe in the late 17th and 18th centuries. We will look at how it ultimately influenced the American and French Revolution which is still strongly governed by these ideas and principles today. The Age of Enlightenment was a European movement which emphasizing reasoning and individualism in preference to tradition.
In conclusion, the Enlightenment was vital to the American Revolution and the creation of American Government. The Enlightenment beliefs that influenced the American Revolution were natural rights, the social contract, and the right to overthrow the government if the social contract was violated. The Enlightenment beliefs that aided to the creation of the American government were separation of powers, checks and balances, and limited government. As stated before, without the Enlightenment there would not have been a revolution, resulting in no American Government. The Enlightenment’s influence on the creation of America is irrefutable.
The Enlightenment movement, also knows as the "age of reason", began from the work of 18th century scientists and philosophers. Among these philosophers were, Voltaire, Diderot, D'Alembert, Decartes, and Montesquieu. They called themselves philosophes, philosophers were more concerned with abstract theories. Philosophes dedicated themselves to solving real world problems. The Enlightenment movement emphasized reason and individualism.
The Enlightenment was a movement that shunned superstition and was more in favor with a scientific explanation of the world. The Enlightenment was also known as the Age of Reason or Age of Enlightenment. It started in Europe and America around the 17th and 18th centuries. The Enlightenment was about people who used their critical thinking skills to argue knowledge, education, politics, religion, and art. The enlightenment produced an increased number of inventions, books, scientific findings, political laws, and revolutions.
“Non sire, ce n’est pas une révolte, c’est une révolution.” This phrase, meaning “No sir, it’s not a revolt; it’s a revolution,” was stated by the Duke of Rochefoucauld as a response to King Louis XVI after the storming of the Bastille (Walton). Commenced by the storming of the Bastille, the French Revolution, a renowned period of political upheaval, began in 1789 and prevailed until 1799. Throughout the 18th century, France was dominated by the ancien régime, a political and social system characterized by monarchy and feudalism. Also during this time period, the Age of Enlightenment, a movement with a basis on reason, began to occur across Europe, and its ideology sparked contemplation among the citizens of France.
