Age Of Reason Declaration Of Independence

Words: 758
Pages: 4
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Cassandra Silva
Mrs. Hargraves
English 3A
3 November 2016
How the Age of Reason Led to the Declaration of Independence The Age of Reason was a movement that addressed the rights of the colonists and started to explain why they should have freedom. Some countries involved were Great Britain, France and Europe. The ideals of the Age of Reason include philosophy, religion, science and communications. According to History.com, “They were developed because enlightenment thinkers in Britain, France and throughout Europe questioned traditional authority and embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through rational change.” (http://www.history.com/topics/enlightenment). The democratic ideals that were formed in the Age of Reason helped …show more content…
Significant writers in the Age of Reason are Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire and Sir Isaac Newton. Since they are mostly all scientists, they are concerned about research, proving facts, collecting data, and creating reports which may be one of the reasons the Declaration of Independence came to be. Think of a crooked picture, that will represent the colonies being ruled from a country that was across the ocean. Now when you fix the picture to be straight and perfect will represent the colonies being able to separate from England. The picture looks better when it is fixed by the person closest to the frame. According to History.com, “The Enlightenment thinkers viewed the natural world as one governed by mathematical and scientific laws that could be understood by humankind through its own self-empowered and unaided faculties.” (history.com). For the picture to look perfect, it takes math and science, so that’s why the writers of the era are so important. The ideals being developed in the Age of Reason were so important because of the emphasis on math and …show more content…
Some of the values in a democratic society include liberty, justice and equality. These are directly addressed in the Declaration of Independence and were main topics of the writers and politicians in the Age of Reason. Since a democratic government is one where all people have a say, it helped the founding fathers answer the question, “What gives a person the right to rule another?” (www.ushistory.org). The answer is an election. The people elect an official to uphold their core values and expect that official to be their voice in government. These officials should not be ruling the people, they should be fighting for their best
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