Enlightenment

Enlightenment The powerful Enlightenment ideas of the eighteenth century, concerning reason and natural law, spread widely throughout Europe and its colonies and gave hope to many people for future progress and reform. As England gained control over the colonies in America, many colonists felt victimized by the unfair treatment they were receiving from their mother country. They used the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers, or Philosophes, in their aim for independence and liberties. The Enlightenment ideas also spurred the discontented French to revolt against their unfair ruling class. Both, the Americans and the French, were “enlightened” by the new, liberal and logical thoughts, and these encouraged them to demand change in the social order and unjust authorities they were subjected to. The ideas of the Enlightenment were spread through the writings of many Philosophes, through different intellectual gatherings, and through travelling. For example, when the price was lowered on Diderot’s “Encyclopedia,” it became available to more people of different classes. It was used as a weapon against the old French society and encouraged tolerance, reasoning, and improvement of society. There were also gatherings in which the people would discuss new ideas for reform. Salons ideas, french, enlightenment, revolution, people, american, rights, france, colonies, became, spread, power, natural, independence, classes, church, based, americans, through, thinkers, society, reason, progress, over, new, much, mother, montesquieu, man, locke, liberties, law, encouraged, declaration, country, control, considered, caused, america, writings, united, unhappy, unfair, trade, took, tolerance, thoughts, supply, subjected, states