Enlightenment Influence On Colonial America

The American colonists had just finished living in a war-zone, in which the French and Indian war had just taken place, and they, after the British won the war, were still suffering under the British’ control. The Colonists were angered by the fact that they had no representation in parliament, yet they were being taxed by the British. As Patrick Henry said at the House of Burgesses, “We can under law be taxed only by our representatives. We have no representatives in the British Parliament” (Doc 1). The colonists were trying their hardest to peacefully let the British know that they didn’t agree with what they were doing, yet nothing calm or subtle seemed to be doing the trick. The colonists had a decent reason to be angered by this taxation due to them having very little to say in what goes on in their land, yet having to pay a

The 18th century can be marked as a period of internal and external struggle for the American colonists. From improper representation, to unfair taxes, such as the Stamp Act, to being overall abused by Britain, the colonists were justifiably angry. From this anger, the slogan “No taxation without representation” was born and quickly began to emerge from the lips of almost every colonist all across America. The demand from colonists everywhere for no taxation without representation weighed heavily as a symbol for democracy, as it revealed the mindset of many – Britain was using the hardworking colonists and took their money without even giving them a say – and laid the foundation for the American revolutionary war, allowing more arguments and

Thomas Jefferson is the most influential Enlightenment thinker for American society, because his beliefs in small government coupled with low spending, strict constitutionalism, and low government control over people’s lives helped mold America as we know it today.

However, the colonists started to bite the hand that feeds them once Parliament imposed direct taxes like the Stamp Act of 1765. Colonists believed Parliament did not have the right to directly tax the colonies when the colonists had no representation in Parliament. "No Taxation Without Representation" became a slogan the colonists used to protest the taxes implemented by Parliament. Even though British cities also did not have representation in Parliament, they also were not 3,000 miles away from Parliament. How could Parliament impose taxes on the colonies when they were thousands of miles away and did not know how it felt to live there? Shaped by the Enlightenment thinkers, colonists thought that people were born with natural rights that the government could not take away, such as life, liberty, and owning property. The Stamp Act of 1765 required the colonists to pay a direct tax on the majority of printed materials, this tax threatened the colonists' liberty which spurred the colonists into various protests and only then did the British repeal the act. Furthermore, the Proclamation of 1763 forced colonists to remain east of the Appalachian Mountains, colonists felt this took away their right to property because why did they fight long and hard for the lands in the French and Indian War just to not colonize them? Why would the colonies be a part of an empire that constantly took away their

Taxation without representation was a great factor in the start of the American Revolution. Patrick Henry wrote a speech saying “We can under law be taxed only by representatives. We have no representatives in the British parliament.”(document 1) From that line in the speech given at the House of Burgesses it states that the colonies can only be lawfully taxed by their own representatives. The British have no representatives in their parliament so the taxing that was put on the colonies was done all by the British parliament without talking to the colonies about it. Not only was it unlawful for the British to

The new ideas started controversy amongst the United States and so a Revolution started. The British raised taxes on goods to pay off their war debt; however this angered the colonists and so they boycotted goods. They also dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor to protest. This was the last straw and the American Revolution broke out. The American Revolution happened because Americans wanted freedom from Britain. They wanted their own government, so the American Revolution occurred. The Revolution is extremely important because if it had never happened, we would not have the freedom and independence that we have today. We would still be living under Britain's rules and ideals. Some Enlightenment thinkers that transformed the Revolution and still impact today are Montesquieu, who created the idea of separation of powers, which we still use today. John Locke helped form the ideas included in the Declaration of Independence, like life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Voltaire believed in freedom of speech as religion, which the US Bill of Rights is based off of. These well-known philosophers transformed the United States and helped start the Revolution because of all the controversy. The Enlightenment philosophers and ideals impacted the American Revolution

The Enlightenment had a profound impact on the thinking of America colonies because it not only applied the scientific method and cautious investigation, but it was also based on research and experiment of political and social life. This method was first originated from the French thinkers, but would later spread to Britain as well. Enlightenment thinkers believed every human institution, tradition, and authority should be judged on the bar of reason. One of the most well-known Americans who exemplified the Enlightenment method during the eighteenth century world was named Benjamin Franklin. He used this method in establishing newspapers, publishing, and last but not least conducting experiments which demonstrated that light was also another

“No taxation without representation” was a slogan that the colonists used to oppress the British because they were not allowed to be represented. Evidence in the textbook states “Many believed that Great Britain had no right to tax the colonies at all without their consent.” and also “take from any man any part of his property, without his consent in person or by representation.” This means that colonists

Enlightenment thinkers, also known as philosophers had a major impact on the American and French Revolution. Philosophers from the 1700s influenced the making of two documents known as United States’ Declaration of Independence and France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens. The Declaration of Independence is a document that was written in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson. It reflects the beliefs of enlightenment philosopher, John Locke. Written in 1793 by Marquis de Lafayette, the Declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen was influenced by the beliefs of Voltaire, another Enlightenment thinker. John Locke didn’t like the idea of absolute monarchy. He favored the idea of self- government and equal rights. Locke believed that the

Many colonists were angered because of high taxes England chose to enforce on them. These taxes were a result of the British participation and victory in the French and Indian war. However, what made the colonists even more angry was the fact that they were being taxed without representation in England’s Parliament. The colonists thought that, in order to be taxed by the British, they should have representation in it. They saw it as unfair to be taxed by a government they had no say in. As Patrick Henry said in his speech made to the Virginia House of Burgesses, “We can under law be taxed only by our own representatives...The Stamp Act is against the law. We must not obey it…” (Doc. 1). Since many colonists thought this taxation broke the law, some of them chose to protest by going to the House of Burgesses, boycotting imports, or simply not paying it in response. This response is justified; if

Both the Enlightenment and the Great awakening caused the colonists to alter their views about government, the role of government, as well as society at large which ultimately and collectively helped to motivate the colonists to revolt against England. The Enlightenment was vital in almost every part of the founding of America, which included everything from government, to politics itself, as well as religion. Many of the ideas from the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening shaped our country as a whole in its seminal years, inspiring everything from the American Revolution, to the Constitution, and even electricity and stoves. Without the central ideas and figures of both the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment era, the United States

The next grievance the colonies faced would be the British forcing taxes upon the colonists, without their consent. During this time, Parliament was full of British people and no colonists. This was a problem because the Colonists then had no vote or say in anything they passed. Through not having any colonists vote, they passed an act that put taxes on all colonial good exported and bought. After it was voted in, the colonists were made and coined the term “No taxation without representation”. This term meant that they can not get taxed if they were not apart of the vote or in Parliament. The colonists agreed and put this into the document of declarations and resolves, and said “every idea of taxation internal or external, for raising a revenue on the subjects, in America, without their consent.”

The colonists believed they had a right to be represented in Parliament before being taxed or at least vote for the taxing officials. The phrase “no taxation without representation” began to become popular within the colonies.

Furthermore, Great Britain had commanded new payment methods which created a ruckus with the Americans causeing great anger. Rebellion and discontent were rampant. The colonies started rebelling against ‘Mother England’ because of taxes issued to the colonies, in as much, England’s power did not allow them to have representation. The Revenue Act of 1764 made the Constitutional issue of whether or not the king had the right to tax the people who are living in his kingdom or the thirteen colonies. Eventually, this "became an entering wedge in the great dispute that was finally to wrest the American colonies from England" (Carey 48). "It was the phrase "taxation without representation" (Montgomery 138) that was to draw many to the cause of the American patriots against the mother country. That has royal authority to be able to term public opinions into a revolutionary battle.

Consequently, the British Parliament imposed taxation on the colonists in the 1760’s. The colonists resented this intrusion, for they felt they were not truly represented in the British government. Taxation without representation became the rallying cry of the colonists.