The Enlightenment was critical in creating an American democracy because of the influence it had on the way people thought. Prior to this period, most people relied on the Church to maintain order and to do the thinking. The Enlightenment encouraged thinking, philosophy, and new ways of viewing both religion and politics. This movement served as a gateway to change for America.
Ideas of natural rights, individual liberty, and the social contract from Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke and Montesquieu were most influential to American colonists. These ideas inspired the colonists to challenge the authority of the British monarchy and lay the foundation for the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
Some of the key European Enlightenment thinkers include Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, and Adam Smith. They were influential philosophers, writers, and economists whose ideas helped shape the intellectual movement of the Enlightenment, promoting reason, individual rights, and progress.
Creole nationalism drew on the European Enlightenment by embracing ideas of individual freedoms, democracy, and equality. It also drew on the classical antiquity of ancient American indigenous societies by emphasizing the importance of local governance, community solidarity, and cultural heritage in shaping national identity. This fusion helped creole nationalists articulate their vision for independent states in the Americas.
European Democracy was created in 2000.
It provided the intellectual spark for the American and French Revolutions.
it provided the intellectual spark for the american and french revolution
It provided the intellectual spark for the American and French Revolutions
Philosophers of the European Enlightenment favored the protection of Individual rights.
The monastic movement was not a cause of the European Enlightenment.
European EnlightenmentEurope enlightmentEuropean Enlightenment
The European intellectual movement called the Enlightenment, which also inspired the American Revolution (1775-1783) and the French Revolution (1789-1799).
Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.