The Enlightenment of America

After the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century, America underwent an intellectual shift known as the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment Period rejected traditional social and religious ideas and emphasized on man’s ability to reason. Also, various philosophers of that time period contributed to forming the foundation of the American Revolution. Influenced by the philosophical ideas of Montesquieu (1689-1755), the American Revolution came into fruition and became not only a war of freedom from British rule but also a war that capitalized on political theories such as liberty and equality. In liberty, Montesquieu introduces his concept of individual rights. Lastly, in equality, Montesquieu introduces his idea of separation of powers in government. Before one can comprehend the theories of Montesquieu, one must first understand the philosopher Montesquieu.
Montesquieu, a French philosopher, highly believed in a liberal government and had a high interest in law. Born from an aristocratic family, Montesquieu attended the University of Bordeaux and obtained a law degree. After his uncle’s death, Montesquieu became the Président à Mortier in the Parliament of Bordeaux. The position mainly dealt with judicial and administrative matters. Because this was a high administrative position, Montesquieu was more involved with the schematics of government. This is perhaps where Montesquieu drawn one of his major political theories: equality.

The quote “constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it ...” (Munro 48) depicts Montesquieu’s belief of equality in government. In other words, he believed in the concept of separation of powers in government. Furthermore, he believed that government should be divided into three branches: executive, judicial and legislative. Each branch should be kept in checks and balances in order to minimize the abuse of power over one another. With this concept, the colonists wanted liberation from the British Parliament in order to create their own unique democratic form of government. As a result, this initiated the American Revolution as a war for independence from British rule. Another factor that led to the American Revolution was the colonists’ need for liberty.

“Liberty is the right to do what the law permits” (Frame 8). This powerful quote by Montesquieu signifies his concept of individual rights. Although an individual has rights, it does not mean that they have the freedom to do whatever they please (Bok). In other words, citizens can only perform actions that are not considered a criminal offense. As a result, there is more order in society as citizens know their boundaries. With the colonists, this concept of liberty was taken on a larger scale. Because they were under British rule, the colonists’ individual rights were mostly abridged. This is evident through the major taxation that the British Parliament had placed on the colonies after the Seven Years War. The colonists’ individual rights were abridged when the British Parliament established several tax legislation without their consent. Moreover, the colonists refused to pay taxes imposed by a Parliament in which they had no representation. As a result, the colonies’ demand for liberty invoked rebellious events such as the Boston Tea Party of 1773. In addition, the colonists’ yearning to have their individual rights acknowledged by the British Parliament became one of many factors that led to the American Revolution.

In conclusion, Montesquieu introduces his concept of liberty through the use of individual rights. Next, Montesquieu introduces his idea of equality by the use of separation of powers in government. Overall, through the influence of Montesquieu, the American Revolution came into fruition and became not only a war of freedom from British rule but also a war that capitalized on political theories such as liberty and equality.

Work Cited
Bok, Hilary.“Baron de Montesquieu, Charles-Louis de Secondat” 18 Jul. 2003. Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 25 Apr 2009. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/montesquieu/>.
Frame, Edward. “The Enlightenment.” Valencia Community College. Orlando, Florida. 23 Apr. 2009.
Munroe, B. William. The Government of the United States: National, State and Local. New York: Macmillan Company, 1919. Google Book Search. 24 Apr 2009.
<http://books.google.com/books?id=yc1AAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Government+of+the+United+States+By+William+Bennett+Munro>.