Enlightenment Idea Of Government Essay

There are many key Enlightenment ideas that are ideal to a democratic government. A few of those include the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta, and the idea of separation of powers. The philosophic ideas from Europe were pasted to the Americas, and represented in the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence recognizes some of the rights and power of the people to split from Great Britain. Another Enlightenment idea of human rights is shown in the Magna Carta. Although every person is given their rights, there is always a limit. Separation of powers is the idea that if the powers are separated, no one will abuse their power. In the Declaration of Independence, the people of the colonies are declaring their rights and independence. The Declaration of Independence explicates the idea of an ideal government, and those ideas represent a democracy. From past experience, the colonists know that a monarchy is not an ideal government. Thomas Paine used his persuasive writing in Common Sense, to emphasize the fact that colonists should split, as they were living an …show more content…
King John was forced into signing the Magna Carta, which limits the king's power (Doc 1). Examples of democracy is shown in this document by the protection of natural rights and the right overthrow the government. As seen in the Declaration of Independence, if the government does unjust actions, and the natural rights are breached, they have the power to overthrow the government or declare a redress (Doc 1). The Magna Carta also states that when a redress is desired, all property can be taken and violence can occur until the redress is granted (Doc 1). Some of the ideas in the Magna Carta are also supported by John Locke’s belief of the right to overthrow the government, The enlightenment ideas of the Magna Carta have set a precedent for the principles of a democratic