Leaders like Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and Washington matured alongside Enlightenment ideas in the mid-18th century.
Enlightenment writings and philosophy significantly inspired American political thinkers and colonial leaders.
Social Contract:
Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau developed the concept of the social contract.
The social contract posits that people make an informed agreement to form a government.
The government's goal should be to promote and protect the people’s liberties.
John Locke's writings had a profound impact on colonial leaders.
Natural Rights:
Government must protect the natural rights of the people.
Locke defined these rights as life, liberty, and property.
Right to Overthrow:
If a monarch violates the terms of the social contract, the people are justified in overthrowing them.
The application of these ideas in the American colonies culminated in the American Revolution.
Deism:
The Enlightenment influenced some colonial leaders like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and James Madison to practice Deism.
Deists believed in a God who established natural laws (God as the “clockmaker”).
This God withdrew from direct involvement in human affairs, allowing people to make their own choices.
Rationalism vs. Divine Right:
Enlightenment thinkers emphasized rationalism and human reason in understanding the natural world, as opposed to the Bible.
This drove a sharper wedge between the concept of monarchs ruling by “divine right” and the social contract theory based on the consent of the governed.
Paine's Argument for Independence
Publication of Common Sense:
In January 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense.
Paine was born in England in 1737.
He immigrated to Philadelphia in November 1774 after personal hardships.
He became the editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine in March 1775.
Paine advocated for radical ideas, including the abolition of slavery, which he called an “outrage against Humanity and Justice.”
Common Sense was published anonymously (“by an Englishman”) on January 10, 1776.
It sold 120,000 copies in its first three months, second only to the Bible in sales.
Arguments in Common Sense:
Paine argued that the colonies should become independent states and break all political ties with the British monarchy.
He reasoned that England should not rule a much larger continent thousands of miles away.
He saw the monarchy as corrupt and politically dangerous.
Impact of Common Sense:
The pamphlet was read aloud at taverns and inns throughout the 13 colonies.
It sparked widespread interest in independence.
Key Takeaways
Enlightenment ideas inspired American political thinkers to emphasize individual talent over hereditary privilege.
Religion strengthened Americans’ view of themselves as a people blessed with liberty.
The colonists’ belief in republican forms of government based on natural rights found expression in Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence.
The ideas in these documents resonated throughout American history, shaping Americans’ understanding of the ideals on which the nation was based.