Enlightenment: 1660, 2002, And Beyond
New and controversial logic spawns many reactions and changes within a society, and in many ways greatly benefits it by revolutionizing the way of life. Several examples of these new ideals came from the Enlightenment Era, which was an intellectual movement that reshaped and altered the political, cultural, and social outlook of the United States forever. This time period lasting from 1660-1798 was truly an "age of reason" in which many ideals were developed such as beliefs that individuals are the masters of their own fates, that human nature is essentially good, that natural and civil rights exist, and that a need for a balance of power was crucial to the progression of society. Key thinkers during this time were John Locke, Frederick Douglas, Thomas Jefferson, and the founding fathers of the United States of America, who all proposed new ideas and theories on how to improve society. As a result of their efforts, many changes in America happened including the creation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, the abolishment of slavery, giving women the right to vote, and movements toward equality. Despite the practice of so many notions of this era, the fact still remains that our society is not perfect and that enlightenment is a continuous progress which will strive to better our culture.
In an indirect way, John Locke’s thoughts were a major inspiration for giving rise to the key principles of America’s political mindset. His work, The Second Treatise of Government, motivated the founding fathers to write the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, which ventured to break away from England to establish a new self-governing entity. The ground-breaking work established many unheard of ideas such as separating the church and the state to have no ties between religion and government, the distribution of power within the governmental structure, and most of all the rights of life, liberty, happiness, property, and the...
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