Democratic Ideals & Enlightenment

Overview

This lecture introduces the core democratic ideals reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, focusing on Enlightenment influences such as limited government, natural rights, popular sovereignty, social contract, republicanism, and separation of powers.

Democratic Ideals and Enlightenment Influences

• The main democratic ideal is limited government—government power should be restricted to protect individual freedoms.
• The Enlightenment, a European intellectual movement, strongly influenced the Founders' ideas.
• John Locke and Thomas Hobbes discussed natural rights, rights given by a creator and not by monarchs.
• Locke believed in the rights of life, liberty, and property as natural rights inherent to humans.
• The state of nature is a theoretical condition before government; Locke saw it as peaceful, while Hobbes saw it as chaotic.
• Popular sovereignty means governing power comes from the people.
• The social contract is the idea that people agree to form governments to protect their rights (Rousseau).
• If a government becomes tyrannical, people have a duty to overthrow it, according to Rousseau.
• Republicanism means people elect representatives to govern on their behalf (Montesquieu).
• Montesquieu advocated for separation of powers into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.

Enlightenment Ideas in Foundational Documents

• The Declaration of Independence was written to explain the colonies’ break from Britain, highlighting Enlightenment ideas.
• "All men are created equal" and "unalienable rights" echo Locke’s natural rights theories.
• The Declaration references the social contract: governments exist to secure rights.
• Popular sovereignty is shown in "deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
• The Constitution reflects republicanism by creating a representative republic, not a direct democracy.
• The framers favored republicanism over pure democracy, fearing mob rule.
• The Constitution establishes separation of powers among three government branches.
• Each branch has checks and balances to prevent any one from becoming too powerful.

Key Terms & Definitions

• Limited Government — Restriction of government power to protect individual rights.
• Enlightenment — 18th-century intellectual movement focusing on reason and individual rights.
• Natural Rights — Fundamental rights inherent to all humans (life, liberty, property/happiness).
• Popular Sovereignty — The principle that government power originates with the people.
• Social Contract — Agreement where people consent to government for protection of rights.
• Republicanism — System where citizens elect representatives to govern for them.
• Separation of Powers — Division of government into executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Action Items / Next Steps

• Review and become familiar with the texts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
• Watch the next video for a deeper analysis of the Declaration of Independence.
• Prepare to study the Articles of Confederation in a future lesson.