Unit 3: Topic 4 - Philosophical Foundations of the American Revolution Flashcards
What was the Enlightenment Movement?
The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was an intellectual and cultural movement in the eighteenth century that emphasized reason over superstition and science over blind faith.
Instead of explaining human problems through religion, rationalism was a belief that all problems could be solved through deductive reasoning and scientific inquiry.
Explain how the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening are similar.
Although the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening are two ideologically different events, one espousing rationalism while the other embraced religion, they both questioned authority.
This was because enlightenment philosophers like John Locke claimed that a government’s power comes from the people, not a King, and not from God. Meanwhile, religious leaders like Jonathan Edwards claimed that we were all “sinners in the hands of an angry God”. To Edwards, and other people who were swept up during the Great Awakening, even the King was a sinner, capable of doing sinful things, since we were all equal in God’s eyes.
Explain Deism.
Deism is the belief that a god exists, but that he chooses not to intervene in actions or events in the universe.
For example, deists don’t pray, since they believe that God will not intervene.
Who was John Locke? What were his ideas?
John Locke was a 17th-century English philosopher and political theorist that contributed to the Enlightenment.
Locke, in his Two Treatises of Government, reasoned that while the state (the government) is supreme, it is bound to follow “natural laws” based on the rights that people have simply because they are human. He argued that sovereignty ultimately resides with the people rather than with the state. Furthermore, said Locke, citizens had a right and an obligation to revolt against whatever government failed to protect their rights.
Key Ideas: Natural Rights, Consent of the Governed, and Empiricism.
What were the three natural rights that John Locke believed every individual had?
Locke believed all individuals are equal in the sense that they are born with certain “inalienable” natural rights. That is, rights that are God-given and can never be taken or even given away. Among these fundamental natural rights, Locke said, are “life, liberty, and property.”
Define Natural Law.
First expounded by John Locke, the principle of natural law claimed that merely by his existence, man was endowed with rights which could not be taken or abridged by government.
Natural law’s principles provided a justification for the American Revolution, and were listed in the Declaration of Independence.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Define Empiricism.
Empiricism promotes the idea that knowledge comes from experience and observation of the world.
Define Consent of the Governed.
Refers to the idea that a government’s legitimacy and moral right to use state power is justified and lawful only when consented to by the people or society over which that political power is exercised.
Who was Jean-Jacques Rousseau? What was his idea regarding a Social Contract?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was an Enlightenment philosopher who believed that a government must preserve “liberty” and “virtue.”
For Rousseau, a state consists of a union of its members, whose laws are acts of the “General Will” that protect the liberty and equality of its citizens. Rousseau believed that when any government usurps the power of the people, the social contract is broken. Once the social contract is broken, not only are the citizens no longer compelled to obey, but they also have an obligation to rebel.
Define Monarchy, Republic, and Despotism.
Monarchy: a political system based upon the undivided sovereignty or rule of a single person.
Republic: a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law.
Despotism: oppressive absolute power and authority exerted by government; rule by a despot (think of a tyranny)
Key Distinction: Difference between absolute monarchy and despotism is that in the case of the monarchy, a single person governs with absolute power by fixed and established laws, whereas a despot governs by his or her own will.
What type of government did Montesquieu believe worked best?
Why was the separation of powers a key component of his ideal government structure?
Montesquieu concluded that the best form of government is a Republican government that is divided into 3 branches: legislative, executive, and judicial powers.
It was important that there was a separation of powers because it ensured freedom and liberty. With a check and balance system in place, each branch can check each other to prevent any branch from becoming too powerful.
How did Enlightenment ideas affect the American Revolution?
The era of the Enlightenment was at its peak in the mid-18th century-the very years that future leaders of the American Revolution (Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams) were coming to maturity.
Their political philosophy, derived from Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, had a profound influence on educated Americans in the 1760s and 1770s-the decades of revolutionary thought and action that finally culminated in the American Revolution.
What did Thomas Paine advocate for in his pamphlet entitled: Common Sense?
In January 1776, Thomas Paine published an essay arguing in clear and forceful language for the colonies to become independent states and breaking all political ties with the British monarchy.
Paine argued that it was contrary to common sense for a large continent to be ruled by a small and distant island and for people to pledge allegiance to a king whose government was corrupt and whose laws were unreasonable.
What impact did Common Sense by Thomas Paine have among the colonies?
Paine‘s Common Sense sold hundreds of thousands of copies and persuaded many Americans to favor independence.
What was the Second Continental Congress?
Purpose: The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War.
Time Frame: It convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, with representatives from 12 of the colonies. This came shortly after the Battles of Lexington and Concord and was in succession to the First Continental Congress which met from September 5 to October 26, 1774.
Outcome: The Second Congress functioned as a de facto national government at the outset of the Revolutionary War by raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and writing petitions such as the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms and the Olive Branch Petition.
