How Enlightenment Philosophers Influenced the Formation of the United States Government

Will Rath
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Many philosophers are known to the public, but it is not as well known that a philosophe

is a lover of wisdom. In fact, their love for wisdom led to many scientific advances and a new

revolution of thinking. This became known as the Enlightenment period. These special

Enlightenment thinkers were able to solve social and political problems simply through reason.

To us this is nothing more than a simple task. In their time though, this was a new idea that was

not accepted by everyone. One topic many Enlightenment thinkers thought about and worked on

was the government. The United States government was formed from two of the most important

documents to date and inspired by Enlightenment thinkers, The Declaration of Independence and

the United States Constitution.

The first document that helped form our government to be what it is today is The

Declaration of Independence. In 1776, the United States declared Independence from Britain and

the birth of The Declaration of Independence followed. A famous philosopher known by many,

Thomas Jefferson, was the main author of The Declaration of Independence. The document that

Jefferson wrote reflects the ideas of John Locke. Locke was another famous philosopher who

believed that all people were reasonable and moral, and were entitled to certain natural rights.

John Lockes idea of natural rights appear in The Declaration of Independence and have given us

privileges we might not have without him. The Declaration also said that people had the right to

revolt against unjust governments. According to The Declaration, He has constrained our fellow

Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the

executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. This
Declaration also had emphasis on the idea of popular sovereignty. According to World History:

Connections Today, Popular sovereignty states that all government power comes from the

people. This document gave citizens of the United States a power they had not experienced

before.

The second document that helped form our government to how it is today is The United

States Constitution. On March 4th, 1789, the United States Constitution was born and became

effective as the supreme law of the land. Some of the men who helped to create the Constitution

were Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine, and John Adams. According to World

History: Connections Today, These framers of the Constitution absorbed ideas of Locke,

Montesquieu, and Rousseau. Rousseau, a philosopher, writer, and political theorist shared

similar thoughts with Locke believing people were naturally good. Montesquieu had ideas of

several political theories and ideas of separation of powers. The powers were separated in to

three branches called the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, and the Judicial Branch.

Each branch of the government was protected by checks and balances. After the Constitution was

in place, people used one of their new freedoms and elected George Washington as their first

president.

In conclusion, The Declaration of Independence and The United States Constitution are

the two important documents that formed our government to how it is today crafted by

Enlightenment thinkers. Although the Enlightenment thinkers mentioned did play a large role in

how our government is today, there are no shortage of others that go unnoticed. For example, the

concept of supply and demand seems so simple to us and seems as though it has always been

around. If it were not for Adam Smith though who originally crafted the idea, where might our

government be right now? Supply and demand is used every day in places as simple as retail
stores. Another Enlightenment thinker goes by the name Voltaire, and he defended our freedom

of speech. Had he not done that during his time period, would we have the same ability to speak

freely that we have today? These questions are difficult to answer, but it is safe to assume that

without Enlightenment thinkers, our government would not be the same.