Diannah Halim

Ms. Teague

World History

26 March 2017

The Three Most Important Figures

Have you ever wondered when your freedoms and rights first started? Who influenced

them? Who came up with them? Well, these things were discovered during the Enlightenment,

in the American Revolution. The Enlightenment was a period in Europe where the people started

to, what they call, reason. These people figured out that people should have rights, the idea of

liberty and freedom, while also gaining much knowledge of the world. The American Revolution

was a point in time during this Enlightenment. The American Revolution introduced many

governing documents currently used today. Some things introduced during the American

revolutions was The Constitution, The bill of rights and The Declaration of Independence. There

were also many men who influenced the idea of these. The men were tremendously important

from their way of thinking. Some of these knowledgeable men include, Voltaire, John Locke,

and Montesquieu. These men had a large impact on the enlightenment as well as the American

Revolution.

The first man, John Locke. John locke from England was born 1632 and influenced the

Enlightenment. He was known to develop liberalism and created the theory that every on is a

blank page. John Locke was famous for his idea that all men are born with natural rights and if

the government does not provide this then the people have the right to alter or abolish it. An

example of his contributions is in the Declaration of Independence where he influenced this idea
of natural rights, 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. (The Declaration of Independence) This example shows

how he brought upon the people the idea of natural born rights, which is still even used currently.

This example also shows the three natural rights he believed all people obtain, Life, Liberty, and

the pursuit of Happiness. This idea is still heavily included in many current forms of law.

Adding on, he also came up with the idea of if the people dont get these rights from the

government they have the right alter or abolish it. He influenced these ideas in the Declaration of

Independence, That whenever and Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, is

the right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government. (The

Declaration of Independence) In this example it shows the large influence that John Locke had

on the idea of rights and how they applied to government and how the government should take

these rights. This example also shows a democracy where they say it is up to the people who

decide on the government, if they should keep, alter, or abolish it. Some other things he made an

impact on where Bill of Rights. In Amendment 4 it shows John Locke's thinking of rights where

is states its the right of the people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. This

shows John Locke's thinking because it states the rights of the people and that's what John

Locke's idea was rights for the people. Another example of this idea of human rights is also in

the 2nd Amendment where is states it's the right of the people to bear arms and shall not be

infringed. This example, again, shows John Locke's thinking by bringing up rights one should

have while living under the protection of the government. These examples shows John Lockes

ideas largely because they include human rights statements which John Locke came up with. All
in all, John Lockes ideas were largely influenced in many major historical documents that are

even still used today. This is how John Locke contributed to the enlightenment and how he

affected the American Revolution.

Another influential person is Voltaire. Voltaire from France was born 1694 and largely

influenced the world today during the enlightenment. Voltaire wrote more than 70 books of

political essays, philosophy, and drama. Voltaire is most responsible for establishing the ideas of

human freedoms. Voltaire came up with the first ideas of freedom of religion, freedom of speech

while also bringing in the idea of the separation between church and state. Voltaire has showed

his contributions largely in the Bill of rights where is states the ten freedoms one has,

Amendment 1- Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment or religion, or

prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the

right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of

grievances (Bill of Rights) This example shows how Voltaire influenced the American

Revolution during the enlightenment by showing how he came up with these ideas of freedoms

and others picked up his points and used them. Another example of Voltaire's ideas of human

freedoms was in The Bill of Rights where it states the people should have the freedom of privacy

in their homes. Their freedom should not be expelled when having searches and seizures, they

can only search if one has probable cause. This example shows how Voltaire influenced more

ideas of freedom from his start of the freedoms he came up with. More examples of Voltaire

influence on the American Revolution is also in the Articles of the Constitution. In section 2 of

Article 2 it states the president will have power with the advice and consent of the senate. This is

an example of Voltaire's influence because it shows the separation between church and state. In
the example, the power is up to the president not the power of the church, and the advice that

goes to the president is from the senate not from the church. This shows the separation between

the church power and the state/government power. In Article 3 it brings up how the power of the

Judicial power of the United States will come from the supreme court and congress from time to

time can ordain and establish. This example shows how Voltaire influenced the idea of the

separation of church and state. Again, in the example most of the law making power came from

the state and the judicial branch rather than the church. The church had no significance in the

political aspect. The last example of Voltaire showing his influence on the American revolution

is in Article 6 of the US Constitution, In Article 6 it states, No religious Test shall ever be

required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States(US

Constitution Article VI) In the example above it states there is no religious involvement in any

office under the United States. This shows, again, how Voltaire influenced his ideas of

separation of church and state during the American Revolution. The impact of Voltaire was

significant, he influenced many of the creations of the laws we still use today. He guided us to

the ideas of freedoms as well as not to combine church and state this was the effect of Voltaire.

The last man to have large impact over all was Montesquieu. Montesquieu from France

was born 1680 and he impacted the American Revolution during the enlightenment.

Montesquieu is known from his frame of the US Constitution. He contributed to the making of

the separation of powers (Judicial, Legislative, and Executive), and the creation of checks and

balances. Most examples of his over influence is in the US constitution. In Article 1 Section 1 it

states, All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States,

which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives(US Constitution Article I) This
example shows how Montesquieu made an impact on the American Revolution by showing how

he made a separate power for the legislative branch. This example also portrays how many

representatives and how much senate. Another example of his influence is in Article 1 section 7.

In section 7 it states how the president of the United States pass a law and how congress can

react to it. This Example shows how his impact on the American Revolution with his ideas of the

separation of powers as well as the checks and balances of each power. Another example of

Montesquieu ideas in the American Revolution is again in Article 1 Section 7 where it states if

the president passes a law but congress does not accept it cannot be a law. This example proves

Montesquieu's checks and balances by showing how the president cannot pass any law if wanted

it must go through and be checked by congress. This also maintains the balance of the three

branches. Another example of his ideas of the separation of powers and checks and balances is in

Article 1 Section 8 its how much power congress hold to a certain extent. Also, that all duties

should be uniform throughout the United States. In this example it shows how Montesquieu

ideas from the enlightenment reached the American Revolution. This example shows his idea of

checks of congress and the balance of congress so they cant have too much power. The last

example of the spread and influence of Montesquieu is in Article 2 Section 4. Section 2 states,

The president, vice president and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from

Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes or

Misdemeanors.(US Constitution Article II) This example shows the power of the president can

be taken away as soon as the/she does anything wrong of the above statements. This example

shows Montesquieu's influence because it shows his ideas of checks and balances of the three

branches. Montesquieu was an influential guy to bring ideas to the American Revolution. He
made a large impact on the world today as well as back as. This was the summary of how

Montesquieu was important now and then.

All in all, The American Revolution was a large impact on America. It brought us most

of our rights, how we live, and how our government functions together. Many of these ideas that

supported the American Revolution were from the time period of the enlightenment and lead to

the creation of our government today. The men that mainly influenced these actions again, were

John Locke, Voltaire, and Montesquieu. These men greatly impacted our society today and can

even date back their influences to the American Revolution and even to the enlightenment. This

effect lead to our current freedoms, rights, and the government system. Their way of thinking led

our country of the United States far without collapsing. The enlightenments effect on the

American Revolution was great as it influenced may of the ways today. Now I can ask again do

you know about our human rights and who influenced them?