The Influence of the Enlightenment Philosophers

Olivia Dellemonache

Could you imagine how the United States government would be without the

Enlightenment philosophers? The Age of Enlightenment began in the early eighteenth century.

The Enlightenment produced numerous books, inventions, scientific discoveries, laws, wars, and

revolutions. The Enlightenment seemed to hail the final triumph of human reason. The

nineteenth century romanticism was created by the age of Enlightenment. During this period, it

included a range of ideas centered on the reason as the primary source of authority and

legitimacy. The Enlightenment philosophers influenced the formation of the United States

government by inspiring the founding fathers as they drafted the Declaration of Independence

and the Constitution. The ideas of the Enlightenment undermined the authority of the monarchy

and the Church, and paved the way for the political revolutions of the eighteenth and nineteenth

centuries.

The Declaration of Independence expresses the ideas in which the United States was

founded and the reasons for separation from Great Britain. This document claimed that people

had the right to revolt against unjust governments. According to archives.gov, Unlike founding

documents, the Declaration of Independence is not legally binding, but it is powerful. By

writing the Declaration of Independence, it emphasized the principle of popular sovereignty,

which states that all government power comes from the people. According to archives.gov,

Abraham Lincoln called it a rebuke and a stumbling-block to tyranny and oppression. It

continues to inspire people around the world to fight for freedom and equality. The Congress set

up a Continental Congress with George Washington in charge. Soon after, in April 1775, this

crisis exploded into a war between the United States and Britain. In 1776, the United States
declared independence from Britain. Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the

Declaration. This document clearly reflects the ideas of John Locke. John Locke, also known as

the Father of Liberalism, believed in Life, Liberty, and Property. John Locke believed in

Natural Rights, that every person should be born with the right of life and that the monarchy

should not have the right to tell them otherwise. As stated in the Declaration of Independence,

Jeffersons writing was influenced by George Masons Virginia Declaration of Rights, as well as

by his study of natural rights theory and the writings of John Locke, including Two Treatises of

Government. He also had an optimistic view on society. Lastly, on July 4, 1776, the American

leaders pledged to protect the United States, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. The

Enlightenment philosophers influenced the creation of the Declaration of Independence because

the United States wanted separation from Britain and all the power to the people.

The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. The

Constitution created a federal republic. The first three articles entrench the document of the

separation of powers, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Without the separation of

powers, each branch of government was protected by checks and balances. The framers of the

Constitution absorbed the ideas of Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. According to

constitutionus.com, For over two centuries, the Constitution has remained in force because its

framers wisely separated and balanced governmental powers to safeguard the interests of

majority rule and minority rights, of liberty and equality, and of the federal and state

governments. As the first president of the United States, the voters would choose George

Washington. According to history.com, It was signed on September 17, 1787, by delegates to

the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, presided over by George Washington. In 1789,

the Constitution became the supreme law of the land. The Enlightenment philosophers
influenced the creation of the Constitution, to show the people the three separation of

governments. They also wanted to incorporate the ideas of the philosophers into the Constitution.

The three powers of government Montesquieu generated helped the United States government

run smoothly than it ever had before.

The Enlightenment philosophers influenced the formation of the United States

government by the inspiring founding fathers as they created the Declaration of Independence

and the Constitution. The Declaration of Independence was created to explain why the colonies

wanted to be independent. The Continental Congress set up a congress with George Washington

to discuss the Declaration of Independence. This document also ensured that the power would be

to all the people instead of the government. The Constitution is the main and supreme law of the

United States and created a federal republic. The ideas of Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau are

absorbed into the Constitution. During this time, the voters chose George Washington as the first

president of the United States of America. Our government and power of the United States would

be drastically different if it were not for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.