He declared how all men are born with inalienable rights: life, liberty, and property. John Locke expressed how the main purpose of a government was to protect these inalienable rights. The French Revolution was also influenced by Enlightenment ideals. The motto of the French Revolution “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” (liberty, equality, and fraternity) originates from Enlightenment ideals, in regards to equality and liberty. The Haitian Revolution was heavily influenced by the Enlightenment.
The Enlightenment ideas of equality for men, human rights and dignity are said to have inspired the Haitian revolutionaries. One slave in particular, Toussaint L’Ouverture a freed slave and slave owner is said to have been strongly influenced by Enlightenment ideas and modeled his new nation on French ideals of freedom and citizenship. Speaking of French ideals, before the revolution, France was ruled by an absolute monarchy, but the new ideas originating from the Enlightenment era included ideas about freedom, the common people’s right to govern, equality, and other democratic ideals such as religious tolerance and freedom of speech. The unrest among the classes was caused by these new ideas of government and their potential to improve society and the everyday lives of the people by eradicating poverty, unemployment, and hunger that was present in France before the Revolution. In 1789, the French people took matters into their own hands, ultimately ousting the king and launching a republic three years later.
John Locke is one of the most influential Enlightenment philosophers of the seventeenth century. His philosophical writings of individual rights and role of government to secure these rights were a major influence on the founding fathers of the United States of America. The founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison used many of the tenets of John Locke's philosophy to construct the American political ideology of liberal democracy. John Locke's view of what a civil society and popular sovereignty inspired the founding fathers and the colonists to develop a political and social discourse which fueled the American Revolution. Locke's influence can be seen in documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist Papers.
Another significant intellectual idealist with whom his ideas was evident in the declaration of France and greatly influenced the French Revolution was Rousseau. His idea of the social contract and general will of the people can be found in number six of the declaration of France . This idea was so paramount because it said the government must obey the general will of the people and takes general will over individual rights. It allows for government to be created for a general will rather than divine right. The French Revolution expanded mass participation for the general will of the people in political life and radicalized the democratic tradition which was inherited from the English and American experiences
Sarmiento stated that cities were crucial for the cultural and civil development of the Latin American countries. He saw them as the first stepping stone toward a civilized society that could maintain itself in an ordered manner. He stated that people that live in cities are culturally superior to people living in the country. He believed that cities also played a vital role in spreading education to the
Locke’s Effect on The French Revolution There is no doubt that the Enlightenment influenced the French Revolution. The Enlightenment ideals such as natural rights, were prevalent in almost every document written up by the revolutionaries, such as article one of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, “1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.” (1, DotRM). While some may argue that other philosophes such as Rousseau or Montesquieu impacted the revolution the most, the enlightened thinker that influenced the French Revolution the most is John Locke.
New intellectuals believed that human beings could solve their social problems. Their were 4 key theorists that laid the foundation for contemporary sociological thought. Auguste Comte, the founder of sociology. He wanted to establish sociology as a science, free of religious arguments. He was convinced that using scientific principles, sociologists could solve problems such as poverty, crime and war.
Personal identity is very important because it shows who a person is. Identity can be used in a positive or negative way. People can be judgmental on the identity of people because it can transcend a particular lifestyle and background. Race, gender, economic status, and social status are all rooted to develop one’s self-identity. In the two short personal essays, “ Black Men and Public Space ” by Brent Staples and “ The Lesson ” by Toni Cade Bambara the authors tell about their social
A European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition was known as the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was heavily influenced by thinkers like John Locke, Voltaire, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, where each of their ideas had an impact on Europe. Jean-Jacques Rousseau remains an important figure in the history of philosophy because his contributions to political philosophy and moral psychology, and his influence on later thinkers. His beliefs of philosophy and philosophers were pretty much negative and explored two routes to achieving and protecting freedom: constructing political institutions that allow for the co-existence of free and equal citizens in a community where they are sovereign, and a project for child development and education that fosters autonomy and avoids the development of the most destructive forms of self interest. Rousseau also believed that the coexistence of human beings in relations of equality and freedom was possible.
It also illustrates an essential point, which is the moral center of the work. It is Bender's contention that "American Exceptionalism," the notion that the peculiar circumstances of American history exempted the United States from many of the struggles and brutalities of Europe, is not only a misjudgment, but that, in a curious way, any inward-looking national narrative almost inevitably