Ideas Put Forward By Enlightenment Philosophers
In both Europe and the English colonies in America, the Enlightenment era brought about a succession of significant developments. The concepts of the Enlightenment had a significant influence on the French Revolution. The Enlightenment philosophers' primary ideas, in particular, had the most influence.
The first is natural rights, which, as stated by John Locke, had a significant impact on the revolution. Natural rights were the cornerstone of France's Declaration of the Rights of Man, a human rights manifesto written during the French Revolution. The social contract notion was used in both the American and French Revolutions. The social contract notion offered people a justification to depose their monarchs in both revolutions. Because of this argument, the French people concluded that their monarchy was violating the social compact and abolished it in favor of a republic.
The third is a power balance: Montesquieu's doctrine of the separation of powers had a role in these revolutions as well. Because of how the First and Second Estates abused the peasants of the Third Estate, the king and three estates were removed from power in France.
Separation of Church and State: Religion played a significant influence during the era of absolute monarchy. It was frequently used by the people as a form of control. The French Revolution's founders were well aware of this and made efforts to ensure that it did not happen again. In France, all religions were eventually given both civil and political rights.
