The Beginning
The Scientific Revolution of the 1500's sparked something in the minds of European thinkers. Scientists had used natural law, rules discoverable by reason, such as gravity, to make new true assumptions about Earth's science. European philosophers applied Natural Law to themselves, why not use natural law to better understand society, economy, and government? This thinking began the Enlightenment Era, a period in the 18th century that stressed reason, logic, criticism, and freedom.
Philosophers
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were the two "starters" of the great Enlightenment philosophers. They basically came conclusions about human nature and government. Although their ideas were significantly different, the incredible thing about the Enlightenment was that these clashing of ideas did not intervene each other, it was basically a time where new philosophies were craved and accepted. In the 1700's, there was a group of thinkers, or "philosophes", that contributed to understanding and improving society. Among these thinkers was Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Laissez, and Smith. Click on any of these names to know more about them.
Spreading of Ideas
In cities all across Europe, such as Paris, new ideas brought upon by 18th century philosophers challenged societies and started conversation among the kingdoms. These ideas caused people to abandon the traditional society based on divine rule and absolute monarchy. New literature, science, art, and music were the most sought after topics. These topics were discussed at Salons or informal social gatherings. Here thinkers exchanged ideas and discussed Europes most important topics. One famous salon was "Madame Geoffrin", a respected salon which brought the brightest and most talented people of Europe. Here a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played his incredible music pieces. As the Age of Reason grew bigger, some rulers or monarchs adopted the ideas being used. These rulers were called "Enlightened Despots" and used their power to bring about political and social changes.
The American Revolution
In the 1750's, a string of 13 prosperous colonies ran across the coast of America. These colonies were filled with different religious and ethnic groups. Americans were far away from the British Empire, and had a fair amount of free speech and an exchange of ideas. In these colonies, people felt like they were missing the rights that England had, mainly "no taxation without representation". Basically, once war prices increased and England had to tax the colonies, Americans were not happy. They declared independance to the King, by sending them their Declaration of Independance, written by Thomas Jefferson. This declaration used several of the ideas from the European enlightenment, such as Locke's beliefs: people had the right to "alter or abolish" unjust governments. At first, America looked like it wasnt going to win the on-going war. Eventually, with the help of the French, the Americans caused the British surrender, and the Treaty of Paris ended the war.
The French Revolution
After the American Revolution, the french nobles still enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle while the other 97% of the population suffered of hunger and disease. This, combined with the success of the Americans being able to rebel against their government, sparked the beginning of the French Revolution. This was a period of time where the lower class, which was most of France, used the Enlightenment ideas to cause chaos in their society. Apart from already heavily taxing peasants, Louis XIV chose to pay off France's debt by taxing the nobles and higher classes as well. This caused nobles to also go against the French government. The population wrote a new French constitution that met their needs, and then rebelled against the King, cutting his head off.
Enlightenment Ideas Used Today
Many governments, such as the United States, use some ideas requited from the Enlightenment Era. United States, for example, used Montesquieu ideas of separation of power. Also, natural rights are included in most of the countries constitutions. Other than that, social contract is also applied to most governments or presidents.