UNIT 4, LESSON 6
Word Attack
diplomat
merci
Constitution
Almanack
Monsieur
Please highlight the following information:
1. Determine what ideas Jefferson included in the Declaration of Independence that
echo the beliefs of John Locke.
2. Discover which Enlightenment ideas were included in the U.S. Constitution.
3. Establish what aspect of the U.S. government do we owe to the French thinker
Montesquieu.
4. Find out how Jefferson, Franklin and Madison knew about Enlightenment ideas.
5. Define words in the word attack as well as new words in the lesson.
Big Idea: Enlightenment in the United States
“I hold that a little rebellion now and then is
a good thing, and as necessary in the
political world as storms in the physical” –
Thomas Jefferson
According to John Locke, if a
government is taking away citizens’ liberty,
it is the duty of those citizens to protest.
They must demand change. If the
government does not listen, then they must
replace it with a new one. In 1776,
American colonists decided they could no
longer tolerate Great Britain’s rule. They
were tired of paying taxes while having no
voice in the government. Finally, they took
action. The colonists proclaimed their
freedom from Great Britain in the
Declaration of Independence. A committee
of patriots had selected 33-year-old Thomas
Jefferson to draft the colonists’ demands for
freedom.
Jefferson was well suited for the
task. With private tutors as a child and
college and law degrees, he had the best
education available. He had made the most
of his schooling – reading and studying for
long hours each day.
Jefferson seemed to have been
interested in everything. He examined fossil
bones and Native American mounds. He
collected books for his library. He observed
life and figured out how to make it better.
Jefferson invented the first storm windows
and a clock that could tell the day of the
week as well as the hour. He was a truly
enlightened thinker. It is not by chance that
the Declaration of Independence echoes the
ideas of the European Enlightenment.
Jefferson started the Declaration of
Independence by stating that “all men” are
entitled to certain natural rights including
“life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Like John Locke’s natural rights “life.
Liberty and property,” Jefferson believed
these ideas would suit America, a new world
where people of little means – those with
little property – have the right to seek
happiness.
Here is another idea that Jefferson
and Locke shared. In the late 1600’s, Locke
declared that a government has a duty to
preserve its citizens’ natural rights. If their
rights are not protected, then the citizens’
should change or replace the government.
Both Locke and Jefferson described
a government that gets its power from the
people. That defiant idea that led to the
Glorious Revolution in England in 1688 and
the American Revolution in 1776.
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin became known
as an American philosophe. Franklin, who
lived into his eighties, spent much of his
long life seeking knowledge. He read
widely. He studied, experimented, invented
things and traveled. Franklin exchanged
letters with European thinkers and scientists,
including some of the philosophes that
worked on the Encyclopedia.
Franklin did more than study what
others had to offer. He added to the world’s
store of knowledge. The series of
publications, Poor Richard’s Almanack, was
a cross between a journal and an
encyclopedia. It was aimed at helping
people improve themselves. Franklin also
helped Jefferson write the Declaration of
Independence.
As a scientist, the enlightened
Franklin experimented with electricity and
invented the lightening rod. He also
invented bifocal glasses. As a politician and
diplomat, a person who works for the
government through dealing with
governments of other nations, he traveled to
France seeking support for the American
Revolution. Franklin was a welcome
addition to discussions in Paris.
An Enlightened Government
You have learned earlier how the
delegates of America’s Constitutional
Convention wrote a code of laws for the
independent nation. Among those delegates
was James Madison of Virginia, whose
work at the convention earned him the
nickname “father of the Constitution.” Like
the European thinkers of the Enlightenment,
Madison studied and observed. When faced
with the job of drafting a constitution, he
threw himself into the task with true
Enlightenment spirit.
Madison stayed up late in the
upstairs chamber of the Philadelphia
rooming house, reading and taking notes by
candlelight. He lists problems that must be
solved. He studies governments of other
times and other lands and considers their
solutions. He studied and admired the
works of John Locke, as Jefferson did. He
enthusiastically agreed with the notion that
officials can govern with the consent of the
people.
James Madison came to each
session of the Constitutional Convention
inspired by the writings of Europe’s
Enlightenment thinkers. The delegates
created a document that, according to its
own words, aimed to “promote he general
welfare.” And to this day, the Constitution
protects the rights of American citizens.
Merci, Monsieur Montesquieu
Merci is the French word for thanks.
The young United States owed a thank-you
to Baron de Montesquieu for his ideas on
government. For he was the man who
suggested that in order to protect the rights
of the people, the power of the ruler must be
limited. If you take a look at the United
States Constitution, you see Montesquieu’s
ideas in action. A system of checks and
balances keeps any one person or any arm of
the government from having too much
power. Also, it uses his ideas of a balanced
government by dividing powers between the
national government and the states.
In 1798 the United States
Constitution became the law of the land. It
outlined a government that gave more power
to its people than any other in the world.
The European Enlightenment had
encouraged dreams of a freer society and a
government based on reason. American had
risen to the challenge and created the idea
for a government that was created by the
people to serve the people. The Constitution
of the United States put these ideas into
action.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Women in colonial America were not encouraged to become enlightened. Nevertheless, some
made a point of becoming educated and thinking about the world around them. One of the most
intelligent and influential women of the time was Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams and
mother of John Quincy Adams.
Vocabulary Review
1. French word that means thanks is
2. A person who works for the government through dealing with other nations
governments is a
Comprehension Questions
1. What ideas did Jefferson include in the Declaration of Independence that echo the
beliefs of John Locke?
2. What Enlightenment ideas were included in the U.S. Constitution?
3. What aspect of the U.S. government do we owe to the French thinker
Montesqueiu?
4. How did Jefferson, Franklin and Madison know about Enlightenment ideas?
5. What European philosophe did Madison most admire?
6. How did Montesquieu influence the new American government?
7. Who was known as the American Philosophe?