How Did The Enlightenment Influence On America

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Influence of Enlightenment Thinkers on America Many people think that America’s founding fathers were the originators of revolutionary principals that America is based on. They give complete credit to men like Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Gorge Washington to how America is today. But in reality, earlier enlightenment philosophers came up with the ideas. Enlightenment philosophers, such as John Locke and Baron de Montesquieu, where thinkers that started to judge and doubt the status quo of social structure, religion, and government in the 17th and 18th centuries. At the time these philosopher’s ideas were radical, and even considered senseless. Now because the founding fathers introduced these ideas into America, we see that these ideas work. The founding fathers used an incredible amount of ideas from enlightenment philosophers such as natural rights, separation of power, and consent of the governed. …show more content…

America took the idea of natural rights mainly from John Locke. John Locke was an enlightenment philosopher born in the 1700’s that said that natural rights were “the right to life, liberty and property.” (Doc 1) He believed that all people should be entitled to certain rights that no one, including the government, can take away. The founding fathers used John Locke’s idea of natural rights in the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson, the main author of the Declaration of Independence, says “Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness” in ("The Declaration of Independence and Natural Rights.") Although Thomas Jefferson and John Locke differ a little, they’re main message of natural right are the same. So, although the exact wording wasn’t the same they both believed in the same message of natural

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