The Enlightenment: The French Revolution

The Enlightenment also spurred a reformation in education; the days of religious based curricula were being challenged, philosophy and the concept of reasoning were introduced. The institution of the Press was reformed as well. Newspapers and magazines began circulating and reporting on the goings on of the day - people were becoming informed. People were thinking for themselves and questioning the authority of positional power and religion.

Some citizens have wanted the past autocratic rule of communism and others have wanted a more westernized democracy for the state. Regime change is also an important topic in class because it often leads to significant changes in a state. This was true in Iran when the regime changed from the Shah to the Islamic Republic. The regime switch caused many changes including the requirement for women to wear veils, the termination of many French schools, and assemblies against western influence. In Unit Four, the class discussed how China switched from the dynastic rule to a communist rule.

During the Enlightenment, major philosophers like John Locke emerged and questioned the role or power of the government. Born after the English Civil War, John Locke discussed how people had natural rights like life, liberty, and property, which needed to be protected by the government. If this was not being done, he proclaimed that the people had the right to rebel. Other philosophers also convinced the French people about the corruption and misdeeds of the French monarchy. For example, Baron de Montesquieu frequently spoke that there should be a separation of power in

Ideas are powerful. Their continuous use has often pushed people to go further - to assess themselves time and time again. Not all ideas succeed, but the ones that do leave a lasting impact on people and challenge established ones to the very core. The Enlightenment was defined by intellectuals who reevaluated existing ideas of rule government and society in a movement that would impact the western world. Western government and society was influenced by the Enlightenment, a movement where intellectuals developed ideas that challenged and reevaluated established ones.

The Enlightenment was critical in many aspects of the colonial America way of life, which commonly affected the politics, government and religion. Without these principles of understanding and the new way of thinking, the United States would have drastically been different since those ideas shaped the country in its infant years. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution was overwhelmingly influenced by The Enlightenment both during and after the American Revolution. Many different concepts came from this new governmental structure such as, freedom of oppression and natural rights. These concepts were influenced by Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke and Isaac Newton where they helped set a clear path for colonial and present America to follow.

Religion, democracy and mercantilism played major roles in the development of Colonial America. Religion affected development as it always does, checking those with extreme greed with the threat of hell and encouraging those with good intentions with the promise of heaven. Democracy played a major role in colonial America because in an age of people being fed up with the king democracy held increasing amounts of leverage in the government. While this was going on a strong sense of mercantilism fueled the budding country's economy. Religion, democracy, and mercantilism were the main factors that fueled the development of colonial America into the country we have today religion checked people with bad intentions and encouraged those with good purposes, democracy created a government run by the people for the people and mercantilism fueled the entire country.

People of France were faced with much more adversity due to unfair taxation, slavery, debt, and being within the homeland. Enlightenment thinkers inspired the people of France to gain knowledge and realize that absolute monarchy is a terrible form of government, and to replace it with a government in which rights are granted, and the power of the government lies in the hands of the people. The French people succeed, and ideals of liberty and equality became a way of life for the

The Magna Carta’s Influence “The Magna Carta was a document issued by the English noblemen who demanded rights from the king and limited the rights of the king’s power,” (A). The document had monumental effects that reverberate throughout the world today. The Magna Carta is an indispensable document to democracy because it has impacted many other substantial texts, protects citizen’s legal rights, and guarantees individual freedoms. The Magna Carta has influenced numerous documents that give rights to the people. The document changed the way acts and thinks by changing the political and social order of countries.

In France the advancement in scientific thought was limited by the Catholic hegemony over knowledge, while England on the other hand due to the laxing of policing mechanism provided the ideal space for progress in scientific thought. Religion which had played an important role in the advancement of science since the sixteenth century becomes ever more significant in the span of two decades from 1640 to 1660. The moderate Puritan reformers were now being challenged by a number of radical sectarian movements who saw in science the potential to bring about radical changes in the society. The moderate reformers who later established the Royal Society of Science in 1662, had to declare its goal of promoting an organized pursuit of experimental science in order to distance themselves from any attempt at radically reforming the church or the state. The threat of being deemed heretical loomed large over the puritan scientific reformers and they sought to divert it by coming up with the Christianized versions of upcoming scientific theories.

The French Revolution was the outcome of several sensitive issues which were indigestible by the people of France with the passage of time. There was a time when people wanted a kind of renaissance in their lives but could not advocate their plight without the encouragement and boost and this was the time around 18th century when the writings of Voltaire came as an enlightenment and courage and boost for their lives to be looked upon not by the others but by themselves first. Hence, this was the influence of Voltaire’s words stuffed with truth, wisdom , and light to see the life with the own perspectives and self when people with their combined will stood together for a magnificent revolution called as French revolution.