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How Did The Enlightenment Influence The American Thinkers

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Thinking Europe Throughout history, the world has evolved and adapted to the changes that have been made for the past centuries since the Enlightenment. For many years, both American and European philosophers have impacted the world with their influential ways. The Enlightenment was launched by European thinkers who did more to change the world. European philosophers did more to change the world because their ideas and beliefs had given countries the inspiration to create new forms of government, made it possible for all people to have their freedom and rights, and improved the balance and equality of the world. The evolution of everyday objects that are used till this century would not have been created or even made by accident without the …show more content…

They were serious about their statements that their actions improved the balance and equality of the world. French philosopher Charles- Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède and de Montesquieu, was a highly influential political thinker during the Age of Enlightenment. Montesquieu was born on January 18, 1689 in the Aquitaine region of France. Through his masterworks, education, and travels, he gained much respect from his fellow philosophers (“Charles-Louis de Secondat Biography”). Montesquieu believed that the country of Britain had the most well-balanced and best government power during his time. They made the laws, carried out the laws of the state, and members of the parliament held legislative power. Their power of government was divided into three branches–Montesquieu called this the separation of powers. After he wrote one of his major works, On the Spirit of Laws (1748), it went on to influence American and English government. In this book, he talks about how the separation of powers would keep any individual or group from gaining control of the government. He then wrote the idea that “Power, should be a check to power” and this idea would later be called checks and balances (Online Library). Mary Wollstonecraft–an English writer and philosopher who advocated for women’s equality. She was born on April 27, 1759 in London, United Kingdom. Over time, she published her most famous work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman which was pressed for educational reforms. Wollstonecraft argued that women, like men, need education to become virtuous and useful. She is stating that women should have their rights as equal as the male society. According to Beck, Wollstonecraft urged women to enter into the male-dominated fields of politics and medicine and influenced wealthy women in Paris and other European cities to help spread Enlightenment ideas through social gatherings (199).

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