How did the Enlightenment Ideas influence the French Revolution?
In the Enlightenment, people had new ideas about government. This gave the French the perfect way to have their country work well. John Locke, an Enlightenment thinker, said that no king should have absolute power. He believed in a constitutional monarchy, which basically meant he thought that any ruler should have rules to follow too. He also believed in a social contract: people give a little of their freedom to their ruler, but he/she cannot take away their natural rights, the rights that they are born with, and they have the right to get rid of him/her if he/she is a bad ruler. The French liked these ideas. Baron de Montesquieu believed in a separation of powers into three branches (executive, legislative, and judicial). He said they should hold equal power so it did not become a despotism (tyranny). His ideas were influential in many countries, including America. Voltaire, an Enlightenment writer, thought that people should have the right to free speech and religious freedom, whic
