Enlightenment Philosophers

Leaders of the early United States were inspired by the philosophers of the Enlightenment era, the most well-known being:

• Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

  • Primary work: The Leviathan

  • Believed that humans would regress to a “state of nature“ that resulted in anarchy and chaos if not governed

  • His solution for this issue was to have an absolute sovereign - a ruler with absolute power that would still honor a contract between them and the people.

• John Locke (1632 - 1704)

  • Primary work: Second Treatise of Civil Government

  • Believed in Natural Law: the law of God in which humans have natural rights that cannot be taken away from them, all humans are born free and equal

  • Conveyed the idea of consent of the governed, that all rulers were to honor according to the Natural Law.

• Jean-Jacques Rosseau (1712-1778)

  • Primary work: The Social Contract

  • His definition of the social contract: an agreement between the government and its people that the people will give away some of their rights in exchange for security.

  • Also had the idea of popular sovereignty: the people as the ultimate ruling authority

• Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755)

  • Primary work: The Spirit of the Laws

  • Was a proponent of the separation of powers in the government, each branch (executive, legislative, judicial) having defined and separate roles

These ideas gave birth to republicanism: a political ideology in which men were entitled to "life, liberty, and property" and these could not be taken away except under laws created through the consent of the governed.

limited government: one kept under control by law, checks, and balances, and separation of powers.

Declaring Independence

• In 1776, after the war between Great Britain and the colonial United States had begun, the Declaration of Independence: a document that provided a moral and legal justification for the rebellion was written and approved on July 4, 1776.

• Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams were the three principal writers of this Declaration

The Constitution

• After it became clear the Articles of Confederation did not provide a sufficient structure for government, the Confederation Congress convened in May 1787.

• James Madison (The “Father of the Constitution”), George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and representatives from participating states selected a Grand Committee, that consisted of one delegate from each state to form the Constitution.

• This constitution contained many enlightenment era ideas and most importantly, it established a system with the following key points:

  • A system of checks and balances of government

  • allocates power between federal and state governments

  • Based on the rule of law and balance between majority rule and minority rights

• representative republic: a collection of sovereign states gathered for the national interest, national needs, and national defense