The Role Of The Enlightenment A Turning Point In European Society

Originally, people during the enlightenment were very cautious about changing the way politics had been but it gave people confidence. People started to gain confidence and fight more for freedom. The last reason was the expenses from the war that European states had to pay off and focus on that, and different ideas could become more important. 2. They resulted in a constitutional monarchy because the third estate were locked in the tennis court and then soon became the National Assembly, the wrote up the constitution.

Both Thomas Hobbes and John Locke had different ideas about the government and human nature. When Hobbes was in the English Civil War he was convinced that humans are naturally selfish and wicked people, and without government there would be no order in the world, and there would be in chaos. Hobbs thought that the ruler need a total power to keep the people under control, which would be an absolute monarchy. John Locke on the other hand, had a different opinion, it was a more positive view on human nature. Locke thought the people can learn from their mistakes and improve themselves.

English and French both had a type of government that they didn't like either and they just wanted to change it. These two wanted to change their government instead of being like Latin America and America and get rid of it completely. The English Revolution emphasized the idea of natural rights and having a selfish leader should be different. The idea of natural rights is from John Locke and having a selfish is from Thomas Hobbes. The American Revolution emphasized the idea of Montesquieu.

The Enlightenment in Europe is considered to have taken place in the 18th century, however the ideas that were brought forth in this period had started much earlier as people began to look at things like science and explorations long before. Before this period, most Europeans did not think on their own and instead listened to others, such as monarchies and churches, on what they should believe. They mainly listened to what they were told by the monarchy and churches because if they were to go against them, especially the monarchy, they would certainly be killed. This way of thinking changed for the Europeans once they actually studied the sciences of the world around them instead of just accepting what they were told. This went on to lead to the European Enlightenment.

Back then the people didn't have the courage to tell the truth but when John Locke released the theory it made the difference. Popular sovereignty is when it's ruled by the people and it is found in the preamble. This principle was made by the fact that people wanted to be independent and governed themselves. Republicanism, form of government where the people elected their representatives to create and reinforce the law and it is found in Article four section four. This principle is for the people because they wanted to feel safe, they wanted the power of choosing their representatives and they wanted to chose someone who can keep their promises and protect the rights of the citizens.

In the light of an Enlightenment era radical ideas were nothing new, however radical ideas against the British government (and the european lifestyle in general) were dangerous. The founders were directly influenced by the enlightenment, Thomas Jefferson even had paintings of Locke, Bacon, and Newton in his home. The Colonists of that day, especially the learned men were raised to believe that founding a government was one of the greatest things a person could do. Thomas Paine wrote “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.” The American revolution started as an Enlightenment movement, guided by Enlightenment principles, and brought about by the Children of the Enlightenment. The Revolution began as an infringement on the rights of English citizens, not American rights.

Different factors had a part to play in starting or even propelling ‘the Age of Enlightenment’, including the rule of the Church and State which experienced a power struggle among them, in addition to the Western discovery of latest societies with noticeably exclusive cultural traditions and norms. Many intellectuals felt unhappy with the fixed social styles amongst their very own collectives, and angry at their governments' refusal to provide non-public rights. The lasting political effect of the Enlightenment can't be overstated. At the least three fundamental political revolutions came about throughout this time period in Britain, America, and France. Those revolutions manifested thoughts centring on

• Thomas used Aristotle’s view of natural law to justify the authority of the Roman Catholic Church in political as well as religious matters. For the purpose of explaining the fundamental reasons of law he used Aristotle’s philosophy and added the use of an eternal ruler. John Locke • John Locke had a distinct influence on the writers of the American Constitution by advocating for human rights and liberty through democracy. In saying so, he believed that the mass majority of ordinary people can be capable of giving consent to their governor/ruler as opposed to the Monarch government. However if the ruler did not comply with the needs of the people, Locke believed that the public had the justified right to rebel.

After the American Revolution, the Americans were finally able to break away from British rule. They knew they needed to create a government and with that, the Articles of Confederation were born. However, the Articles gave the states too much power and gave almost none to the federal government. The Founders scrapped the Articles and created a new document, the Constitution, which gave more power the federal government than the state governments. In spite of this, not everyone was happy about the new Constitution.

This concept of separation of powers influenced James Madison when writing The US Constitution because it ensured that one branch of government could not gain more power than another. Although both were immensely influential, John Locke was more because he shaped the founding of the United States. Locke influenced in the formation of the Declaration of Independence with his redefined ideas on the nature of government and every human’s natural