The founding fathers were among the greatest thinkers of their time, to the founding documents they took inspiration from other American and European thinkers. America was founded on the these founding documents; The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and The Bill of Rights. The Enlightenment ideals of Deism, Liberalism and Republicanism were written into our founding documents the founding fathers.
The Declaration of Independence was written to make the colonists fight against the royal crown legitimate. The Declaration states “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” This is perhaps the most famous statement in all of the founding documents it is a prime example of Liberalism, a Enlightenment Ideology shaped by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Voltaire over the course of one hundred years, is based on the Natural Rights and freedom of the People. The Declaration also includes a large list of atrocities committed by King George III ranging from forcing Colonists to house British Red Coats to stopping …show more content…
Republicanism is defined by the power of the popular majority in choosing the top positions in the government. The Declaration shows the ideal of Republicanism in these statements; “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”, “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it” and “it is their [the people's] duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” These lines put the power in the hands of the people is the core of Republicanism
The Declaration of Independence was written to make the colonists fight against the royal crown legitimate. The Declaration states “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” This is perhaps the most famous statement in all of the founding documents it is a prime example of Liberalism, a Enlightenment Ideology shaped by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Voltaire over the course of one hundred years, is based on the Natural Rights and freedom of the People. The Declaration also includes a large list of atrocities committed by King George III ranging from forcing Colonists to house British Red Coats to stopping …show more content…
Republicanism is defined by the power of the popular majority in choosing the top positions in the government. The Declaration shows the ideal of Republicanism in these statements; “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”, “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it” and “it is their [the people's] duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” These lines put the power in the hands of the people is the core of Republicanism