Introduction
The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in the eighteenth century. The principles of Enlightenment had a significant impact on social and political development in Georgia, and while they did not last long, they left an enduring legacy in terms of philanthropy. The Founding Father ideology is a philosophical idea that describes the influences and political progress during the time (Herbjørnsrud, 2021). Several concepts played a major role during this time, and they were expressed differently depending on the context in which they were applied.
Discussion
Rationalism holds that people can learn things by using reasoning skills. This was a big change from the prevailing belief that information could only be acquired through religious authorities or written words. Empiricism states that knowledge is created through observation of the outer world and human experience. Progressivism believes that by using reason and observation, individuals can advance endlessly and linearly through time. The idea of a civil war being resolved by a negotiated settlement was a key response to the bloodshed and turmoil of the English Civil Wars in the 17th century. Cosmopolitanism reflected the idea that Enlightenment thinkers were global citizens who used reason rather than prejudice to make decisions. In general, Enlightenment thinkers believed that reason was a more accurate way of judging things than emotion.
The Royal Charters of the Virginia Company of London granted all Englishmen the right to establish new colonies in North America. The agreements stated that immigrants’ rights to English citizenship were not taken away when they left their native countries. Many immigrants believed they still had the same rights as English citizens even after settling in the American colonies (Herbjørnsrud, 2021). The descendants of the immigrants believed they still had the same citizenship rights as the early settlers. After their seven-year global conflict, France and England acquired a significant number of new colonies and debts. The inhabitants of these new colonies were considered the monarch’s tenants. Enlightenment philosophy placed a high value on the use of reason, which allows humans to understand the universe and improve themselves (Britt, 2018). It was believed that the goals of rational humanity are knowledge, freedom, and pleasure.
In the Founding Fathers’ ideology and the representative government, of argument was that all people were created equal, and had equal rights. Natural Rights asserts the concept and idea set of use of the natural setting to advocate for independence and mitigation of human vices such as slavery. According to the Social Contract, people come into the world without any opinions, but as a result of their social environment, they develop into what motivates society and representative democracy (Spurlin & Valsania, 2021). In the Articles of Confederation, the Enlightenment asserts the concept of establishing and maintaining national independence and sovereignty. Only the powers that the former colonies attributed to the King and Parliament were delegated to a small central authority (Herbjørnsrud, 2021). The Constitutional Enlightenment consolidated the development of the American Constitution and revolved around three Enlightenment intellectuals: John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Conclusion
The American Revolution and its aftermath influenced the formation of the Canadian government. According to Thomas Hobbes, a supreme ruler should be responsible for government. According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation, Locke was a “reluctant” Democrat because he believed in representative government, Montesquieu was a “balanced” Democrat who believed in a combination of a legislature-controlled king, and Rousseau was an “extreme” Democrat because he believed in universal suffrage. Each had an impact on the development of the American government (Britt, 2018). Concerning the Bill of Rights, the Anglo-American tradition of legal and constitutional guarantees of individual liberty, and the Enlightenment idea that reason should govern all human affairs. Enlightenment intellectuals praised the legal and constitutional protections developed by the English and Americans but wanted them to be applied worldwide (Spurlin & Valsania, 2021). The French revolutionaries believed that the Declaration of Rights would serve as a model for people all over the world. Instead of relying on tradition, its reasoning would be based on logic.
References
Britt Arredondo, C. (2018). Critique of providential enlightenment. In Enlightenment in an age of destruction (pp. 27-69). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Herbjørnsrud, D. (2021). The Quest for a Global Age of Reason. Part II: Cultural Appropriation and Racism in the Name of Enlightenment. Dialogue and Universalism, 31(3), 133-155. Web.
Spurlin, P. M., & Valsania, M. (2021). The French Enlightenment in America: Essays on the Times of the Founding Fathers. University of Georgia Press.