How did the Enlightenment threaten traditional culture?- A philosophical movement in eighteenth-century Europe that fostered the belief that one could reform society by discovering rational laws that governed social behavior and that were just as scientific as the laws of physics. 5. What caused the American Revolution? (Full Answer)- The British government had long imposed taxes to pay for the cost of troops stationed in the colonies to defend against French forces in Canada. When the British gained control of Canada from France fewer troops were needed.
Zinn also uses an excerpt from historian Charles Beard to explain his reasoning. Beard basically said that the rich controls the government or the laws the government operates by. Zinn points out that the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights shows that quality of interest hides behind innocence. Meaning that Congress completely ignores the freedom of speech. Professor of history Gordon S. Wood views the struggle for a new constitution in 1787-1788 as a social conflict between upper-class Federalists who desired a stronger central government and the “humbler” Anti-Federalists who controlled the state assemblies.
The colonist of America to their self no bigger believed they were or wanted to be British citizens so the Americans dragged Britain in 1775 by starting the revolution and the creating their own government in 1776. The French revolution on the other hand was start by a group out of the third estate made of merchants, artisans and professional known as the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie brake out in revolution due to tour major events: desire for a wider political role, the wish for -restraints on the power of clergy, monarchy and aristocracy, population growth and the Poor harvest of 1787-1788. The methods taken by the Americans and the French to achieve revolution were just as different as the causes of each revolution. On the American
As the European lands were building powerful states on the foundations of revolutionary ideas, and dismantling the whole system, the United States forged a strong central government to deal with the political and social issues that divided the American republic. The irony of America’s call for freedom from British oppression
As we see in this segment of Document 6 “Reason is in the estimation of the philosopher what grace is to the Christian. Grace determines the Christian's action; reason the philosopher's.” the philosophers of the Enlightenment strove to explain everything by means of logic and reason which was a mindset that was pioneered during the Scientific Revolution. Essentially, Enlightenment thinkers took the rational mindset from scientific discoveries of the Scientific Revolution and began to apply it to society. Isaac Newton's discoveries established the principles of the Enlightenment. At the time, discovery was looked at with skepticism as people had become accustomed to the bible being the only source of information about the world.
Some of the most recognizable and debated statements are found in the Declaration. During this time period the colonies were faced with what they felt were serious injustices. and as British citizens, the fact that they did not have the same rights as those living in England itself was a tremendous insult. One of the biggest grievances was that they were not allowed representation in Parliament, or to establish any representative form of local government, When the King did allow government, he appointed men whose loyalty to the Crown seemed to be the only qualification needed, not the ability to govern. Because the British government was not fulfilling Jefferson’s previously mentioned definition of a government’s duties; they were forced to take the very necessary step of removing themselves from the King’s rule and ruling themselves.
Imagine you are fighting in a war. Fighting for your country against a country that has a monarchy. American history is based on all of the events that happened and how America became what it is today. Revolutionary writers Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson all wrote pieces to defend America, however In John Adams piece “Defense of the Constitutions of Government in Massachusetts During the Revolution”, Adams argues that free government has a great advantage over a simple monarchy. Adams relies on juxtaposition and counter argument to develop his argument that a free government is better than a monarchy.
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).
History 181 Professor:Doyle Student:Zhiyi Shen Date:6/20/2014 Revolutionary America In the late eighteen century, America had a great change and transformation in their politics and society. The relationship between British and American has shifted from then on. The 13 colonies had independence from British government, and write the Constitution to build their new politics, government, and diplomacy depended. The Constitution and such as Common Sense and the Declaration of independence were play a important part of the revolutionary America. The United States Constitution was the first constitution in the world.
The American Revolution was more radical and had much more significance than the French Revolution because the American Revolution was a catalyst for real, historic and permanent change. The American Revolution created a new egalitarian government that was truly based on the ideals of the philosophes of the Enlightenment and would have a lasting impact on Western Civilization. The Declaration of Independence states that its citizens would fight for their “inalienable rights” of “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness” and “it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish” a government that deprives them of these rights and “institute a new Government”. This was radical for its time because the Founding Fathers took principles and ideas and put them into a declaration of action against the state. “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” were far more than conceptual ideas during the period leading up to the American Revolution as well.