There are many different ways in which the Enlightenment affected the Declaration of Independence and the U.S Constitution. One way was the by the idea of a Social Contract; an agreement by which human beings are said to have abandoned the "state of nature" in order to form the society in which they now live. HOBBES, LOCKE, and J.J. ROUSSEAU each developed differing versions of the social contract, but all agreed that certain freedoms had been surrendered for society's protection and that the government has definite responsibilities to its citizens. Locke believed that governments were formed to protect the natural rights of men, and that overthrowing a government that did not protect these rights was not only a right, but also an obligation. His thoughts influenced many revolutionary pamphlets and documents, including the Virginia Constitution of 1776, and the Declaration of Independence. The Bill of Rights was created as a listing of the rights granted to citizens, the Bill of Rights serves to protect the people from a too powerful government. These civil rights granted to U.S. Citizens are included in the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, Locke’s ideas about checks and balances and the division of church and state were later embodied in the U.S. Constitution as well. The Constitution replaced a more weakly organized system of government as outlined under the Articles of Confederation.
Throughout the American Revolution, the colonists were completely resentful towards their British 'king'. They yearned for their own government, and to finally set themselves apart from George III's rule and his legislation. When the Articles of Confederation were mandated, the expectation was to provide the colonies with a stable government. The Articles were then replaced by the Constitution, which had corresponding values. Essentially the document was written to salvage and improve the new government. The Constitution did many positive things for the nation, and was the perfect remedy for the failures of of the Articles. However, it is manifest that the authors of the document were not as honorable as they may have been assumed to be. How they drafted the document and the bias they have put into it is still greatly effects us. The Constitution is a counter-revolution because it contradicts the fails of the Articles, and is evident that some authors had more self-beneficial and narrow mindsets.
Over the following decade following the Declaration of Independence, the appointed leaders created the U.S. Constitution (1787), which established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens (History.com).
“Season of Hope” happened during 1870 to 1890. “Some blacks in the South pressured plantation owners into adopting individual family farming.” Also, black men’s voting rights were guaranteed and even some office accepted black. Benjamin Singleton, a slave who escaped from his owner tried to help other move to Kansas. Those who answered him were called “Exodusters”. Singleton helped black people start their own industries, even though he sooner realized he was not strong enough to do that. From 1890 the Southern states began to enforce white supremacy through disfranchisement and segregation. They tried to remove African-American from the vote list so that they could do whatever they want. Not only the race separation, black people were also
To conclude, The United States Constitution was greatly influenced by Ancient Rome, the Enlightenment, and Colonial Grievances. Due to the Constitutional Convention, the Delegates that arose from five states proposed an idea for a stronger federal government which occurred in the creation of the United States Constitution. This idea would impact the United States
The Constitution provides the basic framework of our American Government. The Constitution established the structure of the Government and a written set of rules to stabilizes the conduct of the government . The Constitution was ratified in 1788 in Philadelphia. After long diatribe and political battle between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, they finally came to and Agreement. The Constitution divided the national government into three branches; Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The government is based upon the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances even though in practice many powers and functions interchanged and are shared. In 1791 the states ratified the Bill of Rights in order to protect individuals from the power of the federal government. The 1st Ten Amendments to the Constitution involve provisions for freedom is religion, speech,, press, assembly, and petition. Through the year 2000 the Constitution has been amended twenty seven times due to interminable needs by the people.
In terms of shaping political thought and institutions in America, no two documents have had more influence than that of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The Declaration of Independence, drafted in 1776, was the zenith of the American Revolutionary campaign. Written largely by Thomas Jefferson, who was heavily influenced by John Locke’s ideas of natural rights, the document was as much a philosophical doctrine as it was a political one (Cummings 2015, 64). After being embroiled in a long, bloody war with Britain for over ten years, the Thirteen Colonies formally emancipated themselves from their mother country through the Declaration. They justified the Revolution and their need for independence in the document by
The U.S. constitution is the foundation of our national government. On September 17, 1787 it was signed by the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. ("The U.S. Constitution") By signing this, the Constitution replaced the first national governing document called the Articles of Confederation. Before it could be passed, it had to be ratified by nine of the thirteen states. Soon after the constitution was finally ratified, in 1791 the government decided to add the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. (Bill of Rights of the United States of America (1791)) After the Constitution was written, many of the great delegates or "framers" called it a miracle.
The American colonies assertion for freedom from the English rule officially began with the Declaration of Independence. In the monumental document the founding fathers state their grievances with the English policies, and most importantly make a promise to the American people of maintaining a fair constitutional republic based in pluralism in which sovereignty lies with the citizens. The follow through to the promises made by the Declaration of Independence is the United States Constitution. The Constitution set into official law the equality of American citizens, created a network of checks and balances, relying on an informed populace to preserve the republican system of government, and the secure establishment of a federal model, resulting from the prior events, conflicts, and compromises that necessitate the existence of the Constitution as well as being inherent in it’s writing and ratification.
As the first clause of the United States of America's Declaration of Independence reads, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” so the United States of America Constitution proclaims its purpose: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The forefathers of the United States of America wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights reflecting the original beliefs on why separation from British rule was imperative, as well as, destiny for the colonies. It is through the promoted ideas written in the Declaration of Independence that many constitutional principles stem and protected rights are given.
The United States constitution sets forth the nations supreme laws it establishes the national government and defines the inalienable rights and liberties of every citizen the creation of the constitution was a process that involved promises and struggle among the founding fathers of the nation. The victory of the confederate states in the revolutionary war presented the independent states with the major challenge of establishing a peacetime government following the victory of the confederacy reaction, but also an understanding reaction thus introducing a document that provided the laws of the land. The states had several different reactions in creating the Constitution. The constitution directed its attention to many problems in this country; it offered quite a challenge because the document was suitable to several views
The United States constitution is said to be unique compared to any other forms of law. There are four ideal concepts that set the constitution apart from any other law. The four ideal concepts is representative-democracy, federalism, separation of powers, and interpretation (Marks; 9/8/16). All of these concepts were different from the other world governments at the time in 1787. Most likely taking influence from Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke, the U.S. constitution tries to establish trust between the people and the government. It sets up limitations, functions, hierarchies, and constant debate. The constitution serves as a benchmark and a reference point to see what the government can and cannot do.
The general gist was to create non-tyrannical state, more importantly to declare the independence and to separate both politically and economically from British monarchy. The Declaration of Independence consisted of three pieces of Jefferson’s view on the need of separation from British monarchy. At the same time, colonists were benefitted from the British government by a treaty, however it did not provide any political authority over nation, soon the colonies had united to abolish British control, and they had less interest to allow them to meddle in their internal matters. The determination to create the constitution was to establish powerful government and sustain the democracy by avoid forming tyranny. The Constitution enabled the opportunity to form the federal government which based on the taxation with regard to create their own defense army as well as created judiciary and foreign relations (Ryan, 2012). It was crucial that the government avoid tyrannize over the states and the people. The Constitution formed the system in which there was a double sovereign, which allows citizen can access to the same authority in two different states. Madison argues that an extensive republic is the best security against factionalism, because it makes factions against each other without damaging as a whole, and making them exhaust each other during the conflict. The Federalists was dedicated to convince their opponents that fragile government cannot protect from foreign invasion and revolt. Clearly, it was huge contribution and collaboration of well-educated men and their hard work and passion made the United States
A constitution is the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation is governed. Our founding fathers created the US Constitution to set specific standards for our country. We must ask ourselves why our founding fathers created the Constitution in the first place. America revolted against the British due to their monarchy form of government. After the American Revolution, each of the original 13 colonies operated under its own rules of government. Most states were against any form of centralized rule from the government. They feared that what happened in England would happen again. They decided to write the Articles of Confederation, which was ratified in 1781. It was not effective and it led to many problems. The central government could not regulate commerce between states, deal with foreign governments or settle disputes. The country was falling apart at its seams. The central government could not provide assistance to the state because there wasn’t a central army. When they realized that the Articles of Confederation was not up to par, they held a convention, known as the Constitutional Convention of 1787. As a result of t...
The Constitution is the greatest document in American history. It has pushed for progressiveness and equality. The Constitution is basically the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution was written to organize a strong national government for the American states. Before the Constitution, the nation's leaders had established a national government under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles gave independence to each state; the states lacked authority, the ability to work together, and to solve national problems. The U.S. Constitution established America's national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens using five big ideas and this shaped today's America.