Due December 1, 2017
Each member of the founding generation looked at the American society around them in the terminology and philosophy developed during the Age of Reason. The “founding fathers” of the United States of America were all students of the philosophes and purposely set about developing the fledgling nation based upon these ideas.
In this post, you must demonstrate how at least one idea or philosophe helped influence the creation of the newly formed American nation. Remember not to repeat the elements of a fellow blogger's post; unless you bring a new or unique perspective to the information. Also, remember to use illustrative historical details to strengthen and develop your post.
Links that may be of assistance include:
Voltaire
http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/darrow5.htm
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/voltaire.htm
Rousseau
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/rousseau.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/Rousseau-soccon.html
Montesquieu
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/montesquieu-spirit.html
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/montesquieu/
Locke
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/l/locke.htm
Hobbes
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hobbes-moral/
http://www.iep.utm.edu/hobmoral/
Adam Smith
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/smith.html
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Smith.html
In this post, you must demonstrate how at least one idea or philosophe helped influence the creation of the newly formed American nation. Remember not to repeat the elements of a fellow blogger's post; unless you bring a new or unique perspective to the information. Also, remember to use illustrative historical details to strengthen and develop your post.
Links that may be of assistance include:
Voltaire
http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/darrow5.htm
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/voltaire.htm
Rousseau
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/rousseau.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/Rousseau-soccon.html
Montesquieu
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/montesquieu-spirit.html
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/montesquieu/
Locke
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/l/locke.htm
Hobbes
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hobbes-moral/
http://www.iep.utm.edu/hobmoral/
Adam Smith
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/smith.html
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Smith.html
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a philosophe, was an influence in creation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in America. His idea was that man was essentially good in the “State of Nature”, a period in which laws and government does not exist leaving man to his own devices. In his theory about the nature of man he also believes that despite being generally good willed, man is corrupted by bad experiences in society and the scientific and artistic advancements gave to much power to the government and created greed and jealousy. Along with this belief he thought that the will of the majority was above the minority, but he also thought that everyone was equal, had secure freedom and had the right to justice, regardless of the will of the majority.(Resource 1) The General Will is also to be obeyed by the individual, meaning that the individual man must make a decision based on the will of the majority. (Resource 2). Our Constitution reflects the will of the majority in the elections of laws and a president, though Rousseau wouldn’t agree with electing of representatives. Believing that one man could not represent the majority accurately. The individual, under the Bill of Rights has the right to a speedy trial (Amendment 5), and security in their persons, property, papers, etc. without warrant (Amendment 4). Rousseau is reflected here in his belief that everyone was equal and had these rights. Though our Constitution is based of the individual much rather than the General Will, our government functions in elections are part of Rousseau’s beliefs just as our Bill of Rights are. The creation of our nation was heavily influenced by the Enlightenment and it thinkers and theories, Rousseau, being one of the more influential.
ReplyDeleteSavannah, while I believe your argument concerning how Rousseau’s influence can be seen in our election process is fairly strong, I’m a tad confused over your interpretation of his influence on the 5th amendment, or more specifically, his belief in the right to a speedy trial. Perhaps, instead you could further develop your argument that Rousseau is the principal influence on the development of the American nation by expanding upon the Social Contract. His theory of the social compact amongst individuals to create a government (popular sovereignty) was a leading philosophy during the Enlightenment and outlined the qualifications of a legitimate government. Furthermore, his belief in a direct democratic voting process still influences voting on more local levels, if not on the federal.
DeleteSavannah, I do agree with you, but I feel it is important to state that “everyone” was not actually, everyone. Women and minorities were exempt from the broad term of “everyone.” That is one key difference between Rousseau’s ideals and America’s translation of his rights into the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
DeleteAlthough, the creation of the American nation was heavily influenced by a great number of Enlightenment ideals I believe John Locke’s philosophies were at the forefront of this influence. John Locke, much like Hobbes, believed that humanity existed in an apolitical State of Nature in which everyone had full access to their natural rights (life, liberty and the pursuit of property). However, finding this form of life unstable people decided to relinquish some of their rights to a central authority that was capable of protecting their other rights. This Social Contract also protected a person’s civil liberties as “no ruler could claim absolute power over all elements of a citizen’s life.” (IEP). Moreover, as the government was instituted by its citizens, it was thus under an obligation to attend to its citizens’ wants. If the government failed to fulfill these wants or compromised its citizens’ rights it was warranted, Locke argued, for citizens to rise up in revolt against the government (IEP). The American colonists were clearly influenced by this ideal of revolt, as they put it into practice with their separation from the England. Furthermore, Locke’s influence is clearly felt in the America’s founding documents: the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. The assertion found in the Declaration that all men are entitled to certain unalienable rights, such as life, liberty and happiness are clear examples of Locke’s influence. While the exact wording differ slightly, these natural rights have often been portrayed in such a way that property is implied. As for the Bill of Rights, the first amendment establishes the separation between Church and State, an idea that Locke had advocated for in Letter on Toleration (Stanford).
ReplyDeleteIsabel, this is very well written and I agree whole heartedly. I can’t find anything else you could have added in the readings and I can’t think of anything else we have talked about in class. Locke was a heavy influence in our government back then and even today. You described this influence well and thoroughly.
DeleteIsabelle this blog was very well written, and I agree with savannah there isn't much more you can added.
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ReplyDeleteSam, though I agree with you, perhaps you could elaborate further by describing Montesquieu’s view on how a country can make a its own government, in the sense that he knew that his idea may not work for everyone. He described the government as something that should adapt to people, the climate of the people and the size of the land the country laid upon. I feel that by also describing this you could you also point out that though America used a large amount of his ideas they did not use all of them and made their government fit America and the needs of its people. Even today we see a bit of this ideal, though perhaps not verbatim from Montequieu’s writtings, in the form of amendments that are made to the Constitution to fit the time period and the people of the country.
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DeleteSam, I agree with you wholeheartedly, however I would also like to point out how American government has reshape Montesquieu’s ideals of the separation of powers and the branches of government. His concern with dispersing power throughout the government to “limit any one [function] from exercising the core functions of another” translated into the formation of the American legislative, judicial, and executive branches and their checks on one another to ensure that power does not become concentrated in one particular area (www.ncsl.org).
DeleteSam, I believe your argument could be further developed concerning your assertion regarding the separation of powers. As you mentioned, a separation of powers is recommended in order to “avoid the government operating in a tryannical manner.” This is accomplished because the separated powers have the ability to check each other. The system of checks and balances is essential to the American system and your argument regarding Montesqieu’s influence on the American government could be strengthened by this fact.
ReplyDeleteThe Age of Enlightenment was a pivotal moment in European History. The ideals of enlightened thinkers brought about prominent change not only in Europe, but were highly influential in the forming of the new American nation. Adam Smith and his ideals of Capitalism “laid the intellectual framework that explained the free market” (Ludicafe).
ReplyDeleteAdam Smith’s theory of Laissez-Faire Capitalism, as written about in his work The Wealth of Nations, provided Europe and America with an alternative to mercantilism. Smith opposed Mercantilism openly, and felt that “the primary advantage of trade, he argued, was that it opened up new markets for surplus goods and also provided some commodities from abroad at a lower cost than at home.” Through his opposition of Mercantilism, he contributed to “a succession of free-trade economists” (Concise Encyclopedia of Economics). America’s economic system was heavily influenced by Adam Smith’s ideals, and they are still evident today as it evolved into a Capitalist country.
This is really good ReAnna. Perhaps you mention how he believed self interest could help the economy run. Overall, this was well done.
DeleteThe Enlightenment had a profound effect in American history, and people don't even know it. There was one idea in particular that had a greater effect than others. Baron De Montesquieu was a French noble and political philosopher. He studied various governments all over Europe, but one in particular interested him him the most, and that was the British government. After his studies he wrote two treatises, the really important one that I'm going to talk about was the Spirit of Laws. “This treatise presented numerous theories - among the most important was respect for the role of history and climate in shaping a nation’s political structure.”
ReplyDeleteIn Montesquieu’s treatises it stated that “in every government there are three sorts of powers; the legislative; the executive; in respect to things dependent on the laws off nations…” (Sourcebooks) It also recommended “ a “separation of powers” in order to avoid the government operating in a tyrannical manner” (Mr. L’Heaureux’s power point). Montesquieu’s ideas became the foundation for the U.S. constitution hence why I said earlier “ the shaping of a nations political structure.” For these reasons I chose Montesquieu’s Spirit of Laws as the most important Enlightenment idea that effected America in a profound way.