Influence Of The Enlightenment

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The Enlightenment was a juncture in time in which scholars had questioned the traditional customs and common theories of society. Although the dates of when people began to discard any religious connotation in all aspects of society can date back to the Renaissance when several inconsistencies in the bible were revealed because it was a time of academic and intellectual revival, we, the patriots of America, are solitarily and truly influenced by Enlightenment philosophers. The inception of why people reevaluated the conditions in which they abided by during the seventeenth to eighteenth century era was due to the publication of Isaac Newton’s “The Principia,” which was a novel explaining how God created the scientific laws of physics and that the natural laws of the universe can be applied in any case or scenario by utilizing the scientific method (a series of organized steps to ascertain a conclusion). As a result to the innovative challenges toward the traditional customs of society, many others followed Newton’s tracks and essentially commenced the Enlightenment. John Locke – another major political figure of the Enlightenment – believed that the government received absolute power from its people (the governed) and that everyone voluntarily relinquishes a portion of their freedom to protect their inalienable rights that are life, liberty and estate (property) under a constitutional government; therefore, Locke has come to be known as the Father of Liberalism – liberalism meaning the philosophy of the rejection of divine right monarchies.
Not only was John Locke one of the most momentous and dominant political figures in history, but others have greatly influenced the way we ideally picture the world. Montesquieu – a French writer – studied British and Roman government and had admired the methods utilized to sustain their empires. Montesquieu applauded the integration of the great chain of being by establishing divisions of power within the political hierarchy. As an observant of various forms of government, Montesquieu felt that the separation of power was the most plausible method to establish the ultimate government structure. Subsequent to Montesquieu is another Frenchman by the name of Voltaire. Voltaire was amongst a union of Frenchmen who called themselves the Philosophes. The Philosophes would assemble in Paris during the night to discuss certain scenarios and apply all aspects of nature to attempt to solve the predicaments at hand by advocating reason, nature, progress, happiness, and liberty (echoing the scientific method announced by Isaac Newton). Voltaire was the most famous of all these men because he wrote books in which he utilized satire to belittle his enemies and to target the governments’ foolishness. Voltaire was the one who believed in the discretion of religion and the freedom of speech; he wrote as a weapon against those who posed a threat to him.
In addition to Montesquieu and Voltaire, Rousseau is equally as prominent as these Enlightenment thinkers. Rousseau was truly inspiring because of the fact that he believed in a democracy. It was Rousseau’s initial thought to hold elections for those who wanted to be representatives of the people in parliament because he felt that the people should be able to have control over who they are being represented by, which raises speculation on whether our political figures who embody the people of the colonies actually possess the proper qualities and understand what the people necessitate from those who have the power to make a difference in society. All in all, these Enlightenment theorists became extremely fundamental and incredibly important figures that sculpted our rights and beliefs.________________________________________
Great Britain has made many allies and enemies as well, which only concludes that Britain has fought very valiantly for its victories and success. As time passes by, the colonies begin to claim authority to land that can be found
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