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Gabby Balbuena

Mrs. Teague

World History

25 November 2018

Enlightenment and American Revolution Essay

The Enlightenment was a new intellectual movement in which thinkers attempted to

apply the principle of reason and the scientific method to all aspects of society. The

Enlightenment gave people a belief in progress, a secular outlook, and stressed the importance of

an individual. This movement caused people to question the government and motivated colonist

to retaliate against the British, this led to the American Revolution. The American Revolution

was a war, won by the 13 American colonies, to achieve independence from Great Britain

(1775-1783). Winning this war meant that the colonies no longer needed to follow Britain’s

monarch. In order to succeed as a new country, there needed to be a structured government. This

led to the creation of the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and the Constitution which

gave the citizens freedom and set a basis for America. Enlightenment thinkers John Locke,

Voltaire, and Montesquieu influenced America’s founding documents through their ideas of

natural rights, individual freedom, and separation of power.

John Locke heavily influenced the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights

through his belief of natural rights. The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence

states that all men are born equal and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

John Locke was a big advocate of natural rights; he believed all men were reasonable and created
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free with rights. The founding fathers took Locke’s idea of natural rights - the right to life,

liberty, and property - and adapted them to the Declaration of Independence to include

America’s natural rights. The Declaration of Independence also states that people have the

consent to be governed and if the government takes advantage of this power, then the people can

choose to revolt to change or end it. John Locke disagreed with absolute monarchs and believed

that all people had the consent to be governed, meaning that the power of the government should

depend on the consent, or approval, of the people. If the people feel as if they are being treated

unfairly, then they have the right to revolt and demand changes. He concluded that if everyone

was born with natural rights, he or she should have the ability to make their own individual

choices, for example, what morals they follow or what religion they want to practice. Locke also

influenced some amendments in the Bill of Rights. Amendment 2 discusses everyone having the

right to own a weapon. Since Locke believed that people would revolt against the government if

they felt the need to because of unfair treatment, then he or she would need a weapon of some

kind to protect and give them an advantage. Also in the Bill of Rights, Amendment 3 discusses

that without the consent of the owner, no one can occupy one's property. This was an issue

during the time that colonists were under the British rule because Britain established the

Quartering Act which meant that soldiers could stay at one’s property without their approval and

expect the colonists to fulfill their needs. John Locke believed in the right of property, therefore,

people should have their own property without feeling violated by others. Amendment 8 of the

Bill of Rights states that there will be no excessive fines or bail required or cruel punishments to

those who are arrested. The idea of all people being born equal would mean that no one should

be treated differently for what he or she have done and their consequences should be reasonable.
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Also, the right of life and liberty would give a person the right to live their life freely, meaning

that there should be no cruel or excessive punishments given to a person that could go against

this right.

Voltaire was an Enlightenment thinker who believed in individual freedoms, this idea is

present in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. In the Bill of Rights, Amendment 1 indicates

that all people have the right to express themselves freely and have the freedom to say or do

whatever they believe in. Voltaire fought for religious freedom and freedom of speech, stating, “I

do not agree with a word you say but will defend to the death your right to say it”. This

represents and summarizes Voltaire’s thoughts on freedom of speech because he is willing to

overlook differing opinions to make sure that all people have the ability to express themselves

freely. Also in the Bill of Rights, Amendment 6 says that in criminal prosecutions, the accused

has the right to a trial by jury. This amendment gives a person a right of trial by jury - meaning a

trial in front of their peers - which exercises his belief of individual freedoms and reason by

letting the accused use their right of freedom of speech to explain themselves to their peers.

Amendment 4 of the Bill of Rights specifies that everyone has the right to be secure, no one can

search through others belongings without a warrant. This expresses the idea of individual

freedoms because according to this amendment, all citizens have the right to privacy and deserve

to have this right not be violated by others. Article 6 of the Constitution states that no one needs

to take a religious test to be considered for any office. This article is an example of religious

freedom and tolerance, which Voltaire advocated. Having people tolerate other religions and not
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discriminating, gives one the freedom to do what they please and helps further divide any

amount of religion influencing the government.

Montesquieu’s ideas of separation of powers helped shape the Constitution, as well as the

Bill of Rights. Amendment 10 of the Bill of Rights mentions that power not authorized by the

federal government, is given to the state or people. Montesquieu believed in separating power

among the government. This amendment separates power even more thoroughly by giving power

to the states. Section 7 of Article 1 in the Constitution talks about how all bills must go through

different groups in order to become laws. Montesquieu wanted to prevent absolute monarchs

because historically they abused their power and had little care of the well-being of citizens.

Separating the powers into different branches creates checks and balances, measures designed to

prevent any one branch of government from dominating the others. Article 3, Section 5 of the

Constitution says that when ⅔ of both Houses deem it is necessary, Congress can propose

amendments. The U.S. government is divided into 3 branches: the Judicial, the Legislative, and

the Executive branch. The Judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and the Federal Judicial

Center. The Executive branch includes the President, the Vice President, and the Cabinet.

Congress is the Legislative branch and is divided into two groups, the Senate and the House of

Representatives. Congress can abuse its power of creating amendments, therefore, having a

fraction of both Houses agree, creates a limitation of power for Congress. Article 2, Section 1

and 2 of the Constitution states that the President will have power but will not be able to abuse it.

He will be limited to a maximum of two terms, each term being four years. During the time he or

she is in power, the citizens will have the right to vote for them to be elected during these terms.
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Also, when making laws the other two branches, the Legislative and Judicial, play an important

role in creating and interpreting these laws respectively. To prevent absolute monarchs, the

President will have power but when taking certain actions, he or she must cooperate with the

other branches, this is another example of checks and balances.

The Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution would not have

been established if it were not for John Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu and their ideas of natural

rights, individual freedoms, and separation of power. Their ideas are still relevant in the modern

day and have impacted society greatly; without their influence key principles of democracy

could have been missed. These Enlightenment thinkers are indirectly responsible for America’s

enduring democracy and balanced government.