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Impact of french revolution in europe
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Enlightenment and the french revolution
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The Enlightenment, an intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries, had far-reaching effects on the political makeup of Europe and the New World. One of the most notable effects, occurred when the French people, inspired by the Enlightenment, fought for the notions of equality, liberty, and fraternity. The French sought to cease the corrupt aristocracy of controlled government and institute one that championed individual freedoms and the ideals of the Enlightenment. The French Revolution aspired to and achieved a government and society based on ideals of the Enlightenment.
To cease the corrupt aristocracy of controlled government, Locke’s writings and ideas were introduced. Locke wrote, that the government was not perfect. He also wrote that the government would make mistakes, so he urged the people to not overthrow it. Locked asked the people, all through his writing, to not be angered by the ‘little things’ that occur once in a while, but the long train of crimes committed. One of the main events that occurred during the French Revolution was the “Tennis Court Oath.” ...
Spielvogel states, “To many Europeans it proved that the liberal political ideas of the Enlightenment were not the vapid utterances of intellectuals. The premises of the Enlightenment seemed confirmed; a new age and a better world would be achieved.” ( Spielvogel 567). The Revolution embodied the living aspect of the Enlightenment Ideals in Western European minds. They saw what the ideals looked like in action, and they started to build upon that idea to implement in their own lives.
Locke and Tocqueville were born nearly two hundred years apart from each other. This span of time corresponds to great changes in the European political spectrum, with Locke being born before the English Glorious Revolution (1688) and Tocqueville born after the French Revolution (1789). Much of what Tocqueville and his contemporaries would have written would have taken for granted the innovations to political thought which Locke and his contemporaries would have fostered. Thus, in areas such as the primacy of human self-interest, to the necessity of nominal societal participation in government, to the belief that “freedom cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith,” our authors share a common ground. It is from this common ground that Locke and Tocqueville most radically depart from one another, beginning with Locke’s conception of
The Enlightenment political thought helped the Glorious Revolution of 1688 in England. James II wanted to strengthen his royal power alone and weaken the militia while raising his own army. The Enlightenment helped the English opponent to come forth and overthrow their king with the help of the Prince William of Orange and his wife Mary. They then reestablished the monarchy and accepted the Parliaments Bill of Rights. With the Enlightenment period, individuals helped get their words out and they learned to questions their ideals and beliefs. With the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the individuals were able to overthrown their king and establish the representative government and that a well-regulated militia under the locals control was best for everyone. The Enlightenment political thought helped the Glorious Revolution to establish a representative government and take control on what’s best for
Consequently, throughout history there has been many corrupt governments, authoritarian regimes, controlling monarchies and volatile dictators that prove Locke’s principles that once the populace feels there life is being disregarded the majority will organize and revoke the oppressors’ system in the name of freedom. For instance, our founding fathers rejected England’s right to tax therefore they declared their freedoms in writing and once ignored they simply rebelled. As we know the colonies were successful and now we live in the great nation known as, “United States of America.” In Haiti, th...
The Enlightenment was a major turning point in history. Multiple ideas that were established during the Enlightenment were eventually utilized in many government systems. Although some people known as “Enlightened Despots” did not accept the ideas developed by people such as John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Ultimately, the Enlightenment ideas showed that they were more powerful and were more significant than the power of the army.
John Locke, an English philosophe, like many other philosophes of his time worked to improve society by advocating for the individual rights of people. John Locke strongly believed in more rights for the people and was against oppression. In his book, Second Treatise on Civil Government, Locke stated, “(W)e must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose [manage] of their possessions . . .” (Document A). Locke means every man is naturally equal, no one was created better and he has certain guaranteed rights. This helps society because it would deny a monarch to strip a person of their guaranteed rights and it would make the monarch less powerful and his/her power would be given to the people. The greatest change to government Locke states as necessary, “(W)hen the government is dissolved [ended], the people are at liberty to provide themselves, by erecting a new legislative [lawma...
The Enlightenment period in Europe was a shift in the way that society thought about power and liberty. The ideals of this period helped to inspire the revolutions of the 18th century. The American colonies desired liberty from foreign rule, the French wanted to increase the power of the people in their class structure, and the Haitians fought for representation for the millions of slaves on their island. While the ideas of the enlightenment were not fully employed in each of these revolutions, they brought the nations closer to a fully representative government, rather than one of absolute power.
The Enlightenment philosophers helped influence the American Revolution and the formation of the American government by all having their own opinions and beliefs and fought for them. Some examples are John Locke and how he believed we are all born with natural rights or Voltaire and how he fought for our freedom of speech and religion.
The Enlightenment was an astonishing time of transformation in Europe. During this time in the eighteenth century there was a progressive movement that was labeled by its criticism of the normal religious, social, and political perceptions. A number of significant thinkers, with new philosophies, had inspired creativeness and change. These thinkers had many different thoughts and views on people and the way they act, and views on the government. Two well-known and most influential thinkers of this time were the English political philosopher John Locke and the French political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. These two men had laid down some of the intellectual grounds of the modern day government and both had different opinions on what the government’s role in a society.
The Enlightenment is a unique time in European history characterized by revolutions in science, philosophy, society, and politics. These revolutions put Europe in a transition from the medieval world-view to the modern western world. The traditional hierarchical political and social orders from the French monarchy and Catholic Church were destroyed and replaced by a political and social order from the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and equality(Bristow, 1). Many historians, such as Henry Steele Commager, Peter Gay, have studied the Enlightenment over the years and created their own views and opinions.
...gainst the British monarchy in 1776, it encouraged ideas, such as taking arms against a tyrannical action, as well as inalienable liberties for all (i.e. John Locke). These ideas, as well as many others proved to have an everlasting impact on the cause of the French Revolution.
The Enlightenment was a time of social growth that was driven by four philosophers; Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Charles Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Each of the four philosophers had different views on how to, the government should be ran and organized. The way today’s government is based upon some of the things that the each of them believed and stated. An example of an enlightenment would be the European movement of the 17th and 18th century that was influenced by Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau.
The Enlightenment was a major influence of the French Revolution. The Enlightenment caused the revolution in three ways. First of all, the Enlightenment made people see how France was not a perfect society. It opened their eyes to the fact that France was helping other countries more. For example, the French government gave money to support the American Revolution while the people in their own country need money. Also, Voltaire who was an Enlightenment thinker caused uproar by the peasants upon his return to France when he announced that England was superior to France (Voltaire 7). Second, it made people skeptical about whether the government was there to fulfill their duty of protecting the people’s natural rights. The Enlightenment encouraged people to question divine right, the God-given authority rulers claimed to have (Enlightenment, Its Origins and the French Revolution 15). Finally, it made the third estate realize how the taxation was simply greed. It made their eyes open to the fact that...
middle of paper ... ... Revolutionists fought for a government by the people and for the people, one where everyone was equal and had the right to vote. The Enlightenment changed the way people viewed politics, the government, and religion. It made the people realize what they wanted France to be, eventually causing them to revolt against the government, making France a republic.
Locke used the arguments that a government is nothing if it is not supported by the power of its citizens. He argued that the citizens of the government were not well represented in the government so it was justified to be overthrown. This is what he thought about the overthrowing of King James of England in 1688. Locke argued that if the people in a country were to dissolve then the government in that country will also dissolve. He saw a country as a big group of people with similar views. He talks about how society decides to act as a whole group. When they split apart is when society becomes different groups and the government then falls. Many colonists were from England and witnessed or knew about the Glorious revolution and felt like they were mistreated the same way the people of England did at that time. Locke’s ideas played a major role in influencing the colonists to realize they were not being treated fairly and they had a right to fight for freedom to create their own