Our founding fathers were inspired by influential people to write the great documents for America. For instance, Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, was inspired by ideas of philosophers in the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment ideas from political philosophers were used by other founding fathers as a means to motivate others for the Revolution. After the Revolution, James Madison also used ideas of Enlightenment philosophers to construct the United States Constitution. Philosophers, like Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau, all had a great influence in the making of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
An American Journal Article Review: “Deciphering Memory: John Adams and the Authorship of the Declaration of Independence” The article began with John Adams, who was portrayed as a man of principle and integrity, recalling a particular event where he appointed Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence and the latter who seemingly denied the whole incident ever happened. The dominant purpose of this article seems to be to convince the readers that science, specifically cognitive psychology, can explain why both parties gave conflicting memories of the event. Robert E McGlone claims that there are new advancements in psychology that can be used to further explore the nature of a memory. To begin with, McGlone contested Dumas Malone’s 1948 writings, which implied that “if Adams’s recall of detail was suspect, his memory of essentials is correct”. He reasoned that “commonsense resolution of the matter alone cannot resolve the issue”.
On the other hand, the nobility had many rights. Today it’s greatly known that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were well influenced from the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment thinkers argued against these traditions, and called for individual freedoms, governments of the people, and religious freedom. They were "enlightened" because they believed that humans could answer questions for them, and sought ways to put this philosophy into practice. John Locke, an Enlightenment thinker, highly influenced the Declaration of Independence.
AP Government Summer Assignment The Enlightenment was a European intellectual movement that encouraged individualism and reason instead of tradition. Thinkers such as John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau and Montesquieu wrote powerful works revealing these Enlightenment ideas. These works heavily influence the formations of governments. Ideas from these writers and their works are particularly evident in the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. The Virginia Declaration of Rights is a document that was written in 1776 to protect the rights of men before the development of the United States.
Thomas Paine: “Friend, Foe, Inspirer, and Journalist to the Patriots in Igniting A Glorious Cause for The American Revolution” Donnie L. Briggs, Jr. Brandman University Author Note This paper was prepared for History 330, taught by Professor Bingley. The author wishes to thank Craig Bingley for suggestions to the content of this research document and understanding the significant role Thomas Paine had in the influence and formal design of “The American Declaration of Independence.” Abstract This research paper is a guide to understanding one of the most influential patriots in American History and most important his literary contributions to the glorious cause of the American Revolution. The paper gives insight to the reader that failure in academia is not necessarily a true assessment of an individual’s inability to prosper or a true measurement of one’s destiny. The reader will gain an enormous amount of appreciation for Thomas Paine and how he utilized written communication, and journalism to inspire and transpire ideologies to an oppressed and despondent society. Thomas Paine embraced the notion that the equal moral considerations of all humanity implied equal access to natural resources to survive.
William Penn, founder of the English North American province of Pennsylvania, believed strongly in democracy and religious freedom. Penn was born in London on October 14, 1644 to Admiral William Penn and Margaret Jasper. Penn studied at Oxford University in England where he was greatly influenced by Puritans, a type of religion. However, due to his rejection of the beliefs of the Church of England, he was expelled and later attended the Inns of Court, a school based on the study of law. William Penn was interested in the Quaker world and took interest into understanding their ways.
In order to liberate Japan from Feudalism, Fukuzawa thought it was crucial for Japan to become familiarized to the Western ideas and technologies, and what he thought would forever change Japan. Fukuzawa first learned Dutch and later learned to English after visiting america ; he visited the United States twice and travelled through Europe for almost a year before the Meiji Restoration which was in 1868. Through these journeys Fukuzawa became accustomed to western ideas and begin to understand the basic principle of America’s society and what they stood for. Learning English became important to Fukuzawa, and he got to practice holding his position under the Shogunate government. Fukuzawa states, “Whenever a message was received from the American or British legation, I would attempt to read the original text.
In G. Wallace Chessman’s book Theodore Roosevelt and the Politics of Power, Chessman discuses Theodore Roosevelt’s early years at Harvard where he was quite the scholar, his political framework through the New York State Assembly where he was the voice of reform. The book also talks about Roosevelt’s military roles in the Spanish-American War, whereas after he turned into a national war hero; to his unexpected Presidency with all the peaks and valleys through it. It talks about the Progressive Political party that he was so actively involved in. G. Wallace Chessman wrote this book for an audience that would like a new insight or a deeper breath of knowledge of Theodore Roosevelt’s political career. G. Wallace Chessman wrote the first chapter with the intent to show the audience the roots of Theodore Roosevelt’s upbringing.
Carl Rogers is the foremost developer of this type of therapy, which is centered on the client. He believed that people are very capable of self realization and self actualization if given the right atmosphere. Rogers changed his major several times in college before settling in to study clinical psychology. He, like many philosophers before him, drew his deep passion for the study of people from his own experiences as a child in the family circle. One of the principals Rogers believed in to the core was that he didn’t have all the answers and his theory wasn’t the end all.
Calvin also built a university in Geneva in 1559 that prepared young scholars for the ministry or civil service. His educational ideas eventually spread to Germany, France, the Netherlands, and England. Perhaps the most influential philosopher and theorist of the Renaissance was John Locke. Locke’s contributions began with his An Essay Concerning Human Understanding published in 1690. In this work, Locke contradicts the theory of innate ideas and put forth the concept of the human mind as being a “tabula rasa” or blank slate where it is void of any ideas.