Introduction
The age of enlightenment also referred to as the age of reason is a period during the 18 th century when there was an intellectual and philosophical movement characterized by the world of ideas in Europe. This century is popularly known as The Century of Philosophy. Enlightenment thus contained a myriad of ideas that emanated from reason, which was considered as the basic source of authority and legitimacy. Many ideas came to be as a result of this development including matters to do with tolerance, liberty, fraternity, progress, separation of the church and State as well as constitutional government. The movement was in reaction to absolute monarchies and the fixed dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church which greatly influenced how people lived at the time. As such, the philosophy emphasized on the application of scientific methods and reductionism and allowed for the questioning of religious orthodoxy 1 .
The Impact of Enlightenment ideas on the Colonial Society
The ideals of Enlightenment greatly influenced the colonists as they heavily borrowed them in their government. By observing the elements of the government, many features are characteristic of these ideals. Colonists used elements such as “checks and balances”, “separation of powers” among others, which originated from enlightenment philosophers such as Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu and Hobbes 2 . Colonial America underwent significant developments in its political theory which was influenced by the intellectual events in Italy, France and other parts of the world during the Enlightenment period. The American Constitution was framed with great reference to the past as well as continuing events in Europe during this particular period. People who wrote the Constitution widely read the works of intellectual writers such as Descartes, Kant, Hume, and Bacon among others.
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Reference to relevant government documents indicates the importance of these philosophers as contributors of Enlightenment. The Federalist Paper #9 : “ The Union as a Safeguard against Domestic Faction and Insurrection” which was written by Alexander Hamilton was greatly influenced by Montesquieu, the French philosopher who suggested various forms of government that would benefit the people rather than the monarchs as the sovereigns who ruled the continent. Central to America, are the concepts of “separation of powers” and “checks and balances” which have their origins from the political theories in Europe 3 . Federalist Paper # 43 by James Madison also borrows from the same philosopher in pushing for a representative form of government. The influence of Enlightenment on the colonial society cannot be overstated. It enhanced their quest for the solidification of more democratic forms of government as monarchies, and the church was increasingly questioned, giving way to science as the legitimate system.
The contribution of Enlightenment to Colonists’ claim to Self-government
Enlightenment became possible in the European nations because there was excellent sea travel that created many opportunities which provided a favorable environment for this development. Its ideals of equality, liberty, and justice, significantly aided in establishing the right conditions for the American Revolution and consequently the Constitution 4 . Self-government was non-existent in a world where monarchs ruled from above. In such an environment, there was no democracy. For America, democracy took lots of practice and wisdom. During the initial stages of their development, American colonies began nurturing a democratic tradition which took more than 15 decades.
At this point, the colonists were confident enough with their experience, to stop acknowledging the British king. This was not an easy path as it resulted in the American Revolution which led to domestic instability. The situation required a new form of government, which would have a constitution to guarantee liberty to the people. As such, the constitution was framed and drafted for the newly independent republic. The American Constitution is the oldest one in human history 5 . As such, the colonists played the vital role of bringing democracy in America which facilitates self-government. Many factors contributed to the evolution of the democratic tradition in America including the Protestant Reformation, Gutenberg's Printing Press as well as ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome. Nevertheless, the Enlightenment of 18 th -century Europe had the most significant influence on the development of the United States Constitution.
The contribution of John Locke to Enlightenment Ideals
John Locke (29 August 1632-28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and a physician. He was popularly credited as one among the most influential Enlightenment thinkers. He was also regarded as the founder of liberalism. He contributed to the development of epistemology as well as political philosophy. Not only did he influence other Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire, but the American revolutionaries as well 6 . The United States Declaration of Independence owes much of its values on him through the liberal theory and classical republicanism.
John Locke significantly contributed to the ideals of Enlightenment and through his work; he brought the inspiration that is seen in America today. As a philosopher, he challenged the kings’ theory which suggested that God chooses rulers and one cannot challenge them, as this would amount to challenging God. He argued that under the kingdoms, there was no legitimate government. He thus presented several ideas to this effect. One of such ideas was that the right to be a governor has to be granted by the people through the free and fair system of voting. The other idea was that of natural rights including the right to life, liberty, and property. He explained that these are automatic rights gained by a person when they are born. The role of the government is to protect these rights for its citizens. The importance of John Locke’s ideas is that most of them are contained in the Declaration of Independence. Thanks to his ideas, many political systems were founded and millions of people got freedom 7 .
Conclusion
The Age of Enlightenment includes intellectual ideas and philosophies that focused on reason. This movement led to the questioning of monarchs and the church leading to new systems of governments that sought to protect the people rather than benefitting the sovereigns. It had a great impact on American colonies as they borrowed much of their democratic ideas from the Enlightenment thinkers leading to the American Revolution and the creation of the American Constitution. As such, the colonial society can claim their self-governance on Enlightenment as, from it, they got the wisdom and experience that they required to challenge the monarchs and form an independent republic. John Locke was one of the Enlightenment philosophers who had a significant impact on the development of democracy. Many of his ideas were coined in the Declaration of Independence as well as the American Constitution 8 .
Bibliography
Bailyn, Benard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition . Belknap Press, 2013.
Marshall, John. John Locke: toleration, and early Enlightenment culture religious
Intolerance and arguments for religious toleration in early modern and "early Enlightenment" in Europe (12 th ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Perry, Marvin, Chase, Myrna, Jacob, James, Jacob, Margaret, and Von Laue, Theodore H.
Western Civilization since 1400 (15 th ed.).Wadsworth Pub Co, 2012.
Wokler, Robert, and Bryan Garsten. Rousseau, the Age of Enlightenment, and their
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1 Wokler, Robert, and Bryan Garsten. 2012. Rousseau, the Age of Enlightenment, and their legacies ( Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012), 44
2 Ibid
3 Bailyn, Benard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition (Belknap Press, 2013), 25.
4 Bailyn, Benard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition (Belknap Press, 2013), 28.
5 Perry, Marvin, Chase, Myrna, Jacob, James, Jacob, Margaret, and Von Laue, Theodore H. Western Civilization since 1400 (Wadsworth Pub Co, 2012), 31.
6 Perry, Marvin, Chase, Myrna, Jacob, James, Jacob, Margaret, and Von Laue, Theodore H. Western Civilization since 1400 (Wadsworth Pub Co, 2012), 33.
7 Marshall, John. John Locke: toleration, and early Enlightenment culture religious intolerance and arguments for religious toleration in early modern and "early Enlightenment" Europe (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 45.
8 Marshall, John. John Locke: toleration, and early Enlightenment culture religious intolerance and arguments for religious toleration in modern and "early Enlightenment" in Europe (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 47.
