Natural Rights The Enlightenment was a time period between 1650 and 1800 in Europe where people began to use logic rather than rely on the church or a king. People began to question religious beliefs and become more tolerant of new ideas. Philosophes such as Baron de Montesquieu, John Locke, Cesare Beccaria and many more introduce revolutionary new ideals that still affect our society today. Natural rights influenced the people and led them to revolution. Among the many Enlightenment ideals, natural rights did and still does hold the most importance. As shown in the Declaration of Independence, the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the Constitution and many more documents, Natural rights are the basis of our society and our identity as American
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The people were tired of being mistreated. The document was written to justify the colonist’s right to revolt against and become independent from England. The colonists had no representation in England to voice or defend their opinions and rights. The declaration states that the people have the right to overthrow a government that is not protecting their liberties, a concept that John Locke introduced with his natural rights. The document clearly states, “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.-That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..” This document educated the colonists on their own rights and they gained confidence and independence. The Declaration of Independence was crucial to the development of our society today. The Glorious revolution quickly followed and the people gained their power over the king and embraced their natural …show more content…
They hoped to establish a system where the people could trust the government and come together when under attack by a foreign enemy. It did not have the power to make the states obey them and was not able to control the people’s uprisings, like Shays ' Rebellion in 1786. The people began to feel the need for a stronger more cohesive government. Their goal was to amend (change) the Articles to make the national government more effective and so the Constitution was written. The Constitution created a government that placed the power in the hands of the people, outlined the rights and freedoms of the people. It separated the government into three branches and a system of checks and balances to go along with it to make sure that no branch gained too much power. The document reads, “We the People of United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” This shows the people defending their rights and basing their laws on their needs as citizens. They were finally voicing what they wanted and taking the steps needed to obtain it. The U.S. Constitution was the basis for the United States to become more cohesive and definitive in what the people
The people were tired of being mistreated. The document was written to justify the colonist’s right to revolt against and become independent from England. The colonists had no representation in England to voice or defend their opinions and rights. The declaration states that the people have the right to overthrow a government that is not protecting their liberties, a concept that John Locke introduced with his natural rights. The document clearly states, “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.-That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..” This document educated the colonists on their own rights and they gained confidence and independence. The Declaration of Independence was crucial to the development of our society today. The Glorious revolution quickly followed and the people gained their power over the king and embraced their natural …show more content…
They hoped to establish a system where the people could trust the government and come together when under attack by a foreign enemy. It did not have the power to make the states obey them and was not able to control the people’s uprisings, like Shays ' Rebellion in 1786. The people began to feel the need for a stronger more cohesive government. Their goal was to amend (change) the Articles to make the national government more effective and so the Constitution was written. The Constitution created a government that placed the power in the hands of the people, outlined the rights and freedoms of the people. It separated the government into three branches and a system of checks and balances to go along with it to make sure that no branch gained too much power. The document reads, “We the People of United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” This shows the people defending their rights and basing their laws on their needs as citizens. They were finally voicing what they wanted and taking the steps needed to obtain it. The U.S. Constitution was the basis for the United States to become more cohesive and definitive in what the people