US History DB1 Name Class Date Professor Age of Enlightenment Part One The Age of Enlightenment was a period in European and American history where people in society began to apply reason to their thought process and began to investigate alternative modes of thinking. During the Enlightenment social institutions, political and economic processes, and just about every aspect of society was approach applying reasoning, this resulted in a great deal of reform. The Age of Enlightenment heavily influenced a whole new approach to government and the treatment of citizens in a free society. The new way of thinking that developed out of the age of enlightenment influenced great American thinkers resulting in important documents, such as the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence. The Enlightenment influenced the development of a new world inspired by important figures, such as Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, to name a few. For example Benjamin Franklin believed citizens should have the right to pursue wealth or their own self interest (Ralston, 2013). Due to this thinking Jefferson embraced the right of Americans to pursue happiness and the right to liberty. Part Two The thinking that developed out of the Age of Enlightenment is still important and significant in American society. Americans are still afforded natural rights, originally suggested by Locke, and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (Sage, 2012). The ideas of Thomas Jefferson concerning the rights that should be afforded the citizen are still fiercely guarded and still shape how laws and policies are made in the country. Thanks to the Age of Enlightenment citizens in America are afforded due process rights in legal proceedings and reason is applied to the development of new laws. The ideas developed out of the Age of enlightenment are still relevant to modern society because reason is the norm in the way influential people in the country make decisions. Thanks to the enlightenment scientific methods are applied to research and laws are created designed to protect the people not the government. Every aspect of American society has been influenced by this new way of thinking. The focus is on creating a better society that ensures everyone in society has the same opportunities instead of the focus being on a religious society and worshipping some monarch. References Ralston, S. (2013). American Enlightenment Thought. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved February 11, 2014 from http://www.iep.utm.edu/amer-enl/#SH3a Sage, H. (2012). The Enlightenment in America. Retrieve February 11, 2014 from http://resources.saylor.org.s3.amazonaws.com/HIST/HIST211/HIST211-1.4.1 Federal Government US Federal Government Expansion of Authority Name Class HIST105 Professor US Federal Government Expansion of Authority The following essa ...