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Impact of the Enlightenment on the Declaration of Independence

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Enlightenment ideas were highly embodied in the declaration of United State Independence. The major enlightenment ideas highlighted that each and every citizen has the right to reason, autonomy, and the notion that all human beings are equal by nature. In addition, enlightenment ideas stated that the government and religion are separate. In this essay, I will highlight how the different enlightenment ideas were embodied in the declaration of Independence in the United State of America. Enlightenment ideas affected Independence Declaration in U.S Constitution in different ways. Some of them include:
Citizens in a country have rights of liberty, pursuit of happiness, and right of life. In this notion, government was supposed to protect its members …show more content…
In this notion, the government was to abolish all nobility titles for the benefit of its citizens. The enlightenment idea was embodied in declaration of independence in U.S to protect the poor citizens from humiliation of the nobles using slave trades and slave punishments.
In conclusion, U.S government had a bigger role in declaration of independence but the major role was to protect its citizens and wealth. By embodying these enlightenment ideas, the government saved its wealth as well as the freedom of its citizens. U.S government succeeded in embodying these enlightenment ideas and that is why the government is the strongest in the world in both power and …show more content…
These ideas were formed on the premise that government’s duty is to safeguard people’s natural rights such as liberty, life, and property. Therefore, these rights could not be taken away as there were ‘unalienable’. However, when the government failed to perform its duties, Locke argued that they should set up a new one. These Enlightenment ideas about natural rights became the reason for the Declaration of Independence. Additionally, the idea of popular sovereignty (political power) was based on the disposition that government’s power comes from people. This was a radical novel idea because for years rulers claimed that their power comes from wealth, social status and God. Thereafter, the idea of popular sovereignty was incorporate in American constitution (Harris & Daniel,

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