Enlightenment and the Constitution

Tyler Alexander

Have you ever wondered where the United States got its morals from? The

Enlightenment is categorized as great thinkers who started thinking about political views. These

people were known as philosophes. The philosophes often spoke out against the government

through writing and they professed their own opinions on how to rule. They all had their own

opinions on how to rule and the basic morals of people. I argue that the United States adopted

the ideas of the Enlightenment Philosophers through the Constitution. I will prove this by

explaining the ideas of Voltaire, John Locke, and Montesquieu.

Voltaire played a big role in the development of the constitution. He believed greatly in

freedom of religion and speech. He also believed that no human should be a slave under any

circumstance. He also believed in the separation of church and state. According to

philosimply.com, “Voltaire was critical of the French government’s practices of colonialism and

slavery, and was one of the first to promote the liberal ideals of freedom of speech, the right to a

fair trial, religious toleration.” The philosophe John Locke also influenced the United States

Constitution. He believed that all people were equal and that everyone should be judged equally

in court. Lastly, Montesquieu played a role in the development of the constitution. He believed

that democracy played a huge role in the government and that a successful government would be

a democracy. He also developed the three branches of government we use today. According to

ncsl.org, “The term "trias politica" or "separation of powers" was coined by Charles-Louis de
Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, an 18th century French social and political

philosopher.”

The Enlightenment period was a very important part in history especially for the United

States. It was a time of great thinkers that gave their thoughts on how to run a country. Each

philosophe had a different opinion but they all have intelligent ways to rule. Voltaire, Locke, and

Montesquieu are a good example of this. Each one of them had a different way of ruling and they

all believed their way was the best. However, the United States combined their ideas to base our

country off. Could you imagine if the United States would have never considered the ideas of

these philosophes? How would we be living today?