A king shall make and interpret the law and have authority over everyone in his kingdom. King James I trusted that because he implements the law he shall abide by them at his will, but only as he sees fit. Cardinal Richelieu of France, Louis XIV of France, and James I of England all considered absolutism to be important in ruling a country. Only one powerful ruler could anticipate his subjects to follow in his rule. Absolutism reigned powerful with Louis XIV and James
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.
Washington brought his concerns to the American people by trying to persuade them that their independence, safety, and liberty were all to be determined by the unity of their states. Since their union of the states was created by the Constitution it would be the most stable source of security while it would come down to the most frequent attacks. Washington’s main focus was to attract the people to look past their religion, and political views and put their liberty and independence as their main priority. Through 7 presidents from 1800-1840 Washington’s speech seemed to remind each leader to keep the American peoples liberty above all else. For example the boom of the market revolution in the first half of the nineteenth century a great transformation took place as innovation in transportation and communication took place.
Thomas Jefferson clearly shows through The Declaration of Independence that liberty and a legitimate government is important, as well as, giving men equal opportunity. Taking these rights away then brought to light to the colonists on how to establish a government where these attributes still stand. The people could not merely step away from Great Britain on small and petty accounts. It had to be depicted that there were several problems occurring under the rule of the King. Jefferson had to prove their rights to liberty, equality, and a true government were being buried in the ground by who they saw as a
One way of doing so was to classify and systematize knowledge; another way was to search for natural laws that were thought to underlie human affairs and to devise scientific techniques of government and social regulation. John Locke argued that governments were created to protect the people; he emphasized the importance of individual rights. Jean Jacques Rousseau asserted that the will of the people was sacred; he believed that people would act collectively on the basis of their shared historical experience. Not all Enlightenment thinkers were radicals or atheists. Many, like Voltaire, believed that monarchs could be agents of change.
New ideas and beliefs spread through Europe and worldwide and marked a change from only having religious texts to also providing intellectual texts. John Locke, an English Enlightenment thinker, shared his views on society in his text Two Treatises on Government. He claimed that nobody should have more power than another and the people should live in state of equality (Doc 2). Up until this point, the church had all the authority but Locke provided insight that everyone should be equal. Baron de Montesquieu, a French Enlightenment thinker, said in his book The Spirit of Laws that he thought “there should sorts of power; the legislative; the executive… and the judicial” (Doc 3).
He insisted that when government violates individual rights, people may legitimately rebel. Locke believed that human nature is characterized by reason and tolerance. That everyone had natural rights from the moment that they were born. Natural rights were life, liberty, and property. He believed that the government had an obligation to protect the citizens natural rights.
I could also use ethos by correlating it with Jefferson's statement that congress is cautious and reasonable men. Thomas Jefferson effectively used ethical appeal in the beginning of his manuscript, by asserting the statesmen that make up the Continental Congress are “men of good sense, good character, and good will.”(Jefferson) Ethos appeal needed to be used because Jefferson knew it was necessary the citizens and representatives understood the Continental Congress are competent and ethical in their actions. The writer also recognized the civilian populous would not support the Continental Congress if they believed them to be unethical and incompetent. How can this be used in future classes? Though out the rest college, I will have
Jefferson says, “We hold these truths to be self-evidence, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson, 80). He states how having these natural rights mean happiness to the citizens. We were created to use our ability to reach what we desire happiness should be. In “The Aim of Man” Aristotle has his own views when it comes to material and spiritual happiness. Aristotle argues that material is what an object consist of and this matter we could not live without.
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.