Which philosophical movement significantly influenced the ideas behind the American Revolution?

The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement that emerged in the late 17th and 18th centuries, characterized by an emphasis on reason, individualism, and skepticism of traditional authority. The ideas central to the Enlightenment profoundly influenced the American Revolution by promoting concepts such as liberty, equality, and democracy. Thinkers like John Locke argued for natural rights—life, liberty, and property—which became foundational principles in the revolutionary discourse and the subsequent formation of the U.S. government.

Enlightenment philosophers encouraged the questioning of monarchies and the divine right of kings, advocating instead for government by consent and the right of individuals to govern themselves. The Declaration of Independence, for example, reflects Enlightenment ideals by asserting that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed and that individuals have the right to alter or abolish unjust governments.

In contrast, Romanticism, which followed the Enlightenment, focused more on emotion and individual experience rather than the reason-driven logic of the Enlightenment. Realism, emerging later in response to Romanticism, dealt with the portrayal of everyday life and society rather than political philosophy. Utilitarianism, though it emerged in the same period, was more concerned with the greatest happiness principle than with establishing the foundational political and