The Influence of the Enlightenment on the American Founding

The American founding was, in significant part, the political expression of the European Enlightenment. The political philosophy that informed the founding documents, the constitutional design that the founders adopted, and the political culture that they sought to establish were all deeply influenced by the ideas of the European Enlightenment. This article examines the various ways in which Enlightenment ideas shaped the American founding, including the political philosophy, the constitutional design, and the political culture.

The Political Philosophy of the Founding

The political philosophy that informed the American founding was grounded in the natural-rights tradition of the Enlightenment, especially in the political philosophy of John Locke. The basic claim of the natural-rights tradition — that all human beings possess certain fundamental rights by virtue of their nature as human beings — was a basic commitment of the American Revolution.

The Declaration of Independence, drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson, was a direct application of the natural-rights tradition to the specific circumstances of the American colonies. The Declaration’s appeal to the natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, its condemnation of the British violations of these rights, and its commitment to the establishment of a new political order based on the consent of the governed were all descendants of the Lockean political philosophy.

The political philosophy of the founding was not, however, simply Lockean. The founders drew on a wide range of Enlightenment thinkers, including Montesquieu, whose Spirit of the Laws provided the theoretical basis for the separation of powers; the Scottish Enlightenment, whose political economy informed the economic policies of the new republic; and the various British and Continental thinkers who had developed the principles of constitutional government.

The Constitutional Design

The constitutional design that the founders adopted was deeply influenced by the political philosophy of the Enlightenment. The Constitution of the United States, drafted at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, was a masterpiece of Enlightenment political engineering.

The system of separation of powers, with its three branches of government, each with its own powers and each subject to the checks of the others, was a direct application of Montesquieu’s theory. The system of federalism, with its division of powers between the national government and the state governments, was a practical solution to the problem of how to combine the benefits of national unity with the benefits of local self-government.

The Bill of Rights, added in 1791, was a direct application of the natural-rights tradition. The first ten amendments, with their protection of the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of religion, the right to bear arms, and the various other fundamental rights, were a comprehensive statement of the natural rights of the citizens against the power of the government.

The constitutional design was also informed by the experience of the state constitutions, which had been drafted in the years following the Declaration of Independence. The state constitutions were themselves influenced by the political philosophy of the Enlightenment, and the federal Constitution can be understood as a synthesis of the various state experiments in constitutional government.

The Political Culture of the Founding

The political culture that the founders sought to establish was deeply influenced by the values of the Enlightenment. The founders believed that the proper functioning of a free republic required an educated and virtuous citizenry, and they devoted significant attention to the development of the institutions that would support such a citizenry.

The founders were committed to the development of a system of public education that would provide for the proper education of all citizens. They believed that the proper education of the citizens was essential for the proper functioning of the democratic political life, and they worked to establish schools, colleges, and universities throughout the new republic.

The founders were also committed to the development of a free press, which they believed was essential for the proper functioning of the democratic political life. The free press, in the view of the founders, was the proper vehicle for the public discussion of political questions, and it was an essential check on the arbitrary power of the government.

The founders were also committed to the development of the various voluntary associations that they believed were essential for the proper functioning of the democratic political life. The voluntary associations — the churches, the schools, the civic organizations, the various other institutions of civil society — were, in the view of the founders, essential for the cultivation of the civic virtue and the proper functioning of the democratic political life.

The Critiques of the Founding

The American founding has been the subject of intense criticism, especially in the centuries since. The critics have argued that the founding was, in important respects, a betrayal of the principles of the Enlightenment, and that the various exclusions and contradictions of the founding have undermined its claim to be a model of democratic government.

The first major critique is the critique of the contradiction between the principles of the founding and the practice of slavery. The American founders, including many of the principal authors of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, were slaveholders, and the institution of slavery was a fundamental contradiction of the principles of the Enlightenment. The contradiction was eventually addressed, although only after a long and difficult struggle that culminated in the American Civil War.

The second major critique is the critique of the exclusion of women from the rights of citizenship. The American Revolution did not extend the rights of citizenship to women, and the proper status of women, in the view of the dominant founders, was the domestic sphere. The exclusion was eventually addressed, although only after a long and difficult struggle that culminated in the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1920.

The third major critique is the critique of the treatment of the Native Americans. The American Revolution was, in important respects, a settler revolution, and the new republic was established on land that had been taken from the Native Americans. The treatment of the Native Americans was a fundamental violation of the principles of the Enlightenment, and the proper response to this violation remains an open question in contemporary American politics.

The Lasting Influence

Further Reading

• Robert Darnton, The Literary Underground of the Old Regime (1982)
• Darrin McMahon, Enlightenment Contested (2006)
• Daniel Roche, The Enlightenment in the West (2010)