Enlightenment and the American Revolution

Enlightenment
Effects on the
American
Revolution

World History

Table of contents

Which Enlightenment
thinkers came up with the
ideas that led to the
American Revolution?

How did the
Enlightenment causes the
American Revolution?

What are the main parts
of the American
Revolution?

What were the effects of
the American Revolution?

01

04

02

03

Causes

Characteristics

Effects

Enlightenment
Thinkers

How did the
Enlightenment
cause the
Revolution?

01

Ideas from the Enlightenment

Life

Liberty

Pursuit of
Happiness

Unalienable
Rights

Separation
of Powers

Popular
Sovereignty

Everyone
has the right
to live.

People can
choose their
way of life,
behavior,
and political
views.

People have
the right to
do what
makes them
happy.

Everyone is
born with
certain
rights.

A form of
government
where one
branch limits
the power of
another.

The
government
gets its
power from
the people.

Poll

Which Enlightenment idea do you think is the most important?

• Popular Sovereignty

• Liberty

• Pursuit of Happiness

• Unalienable Rights

• Separation of Powers

No Taxation without Representation

As British citizens, the colonists were not treated
as full citizens and had limited representation in
Parliament.

The French and Indian War (Seven Years War)
made the British government go into debt.

The British government imposed taxes on the colonists to help pay off their debt.

The colonists were upset because they did not get a say about the taxes, but they had to pay them.

Open Ended

You met your test goal and the teacher gave you a pizza party. After you already ate the pizza, the teacher said that you  had to pay them back for the cost of the pizza, napkins, plates, and drinks. Would you be upset? Why or why not?

Mercantilism

●The colonists were also mad about
the Mercantilist system.

●The British took the colonies natural
resources and made a profit from
them.

●The colonists did not make as much
money as the British even though they were the ones with the goods.

Open Ended

The CIA send you on a treasure hunt to find gold. When you find the gold, you have to give it to the CIA, but they will only pay you $500 for the gold. The CIA takes the gold and makes it into a necklace that sells for $1,000,000. Is that fair? Why or why not?

What are the
main aspects of
the American
Revolution?

02

Revolt Against the British

The merchant class protested against British taxation without representation.

The protest led to colonists wanting to break away from British rule.

The American Revolution set up a
democratic-republican form of government based on Enlightenment ideas.

Reorder

Put the following in chronological order.

• French and Indian War

• "No taxation without representation!"

• American Revolution

• The Constitution is written.

1

2

3

4

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

What were the
effects of the
American
Revolution?

03

Effects of he
American
Revolution

●The United States became independent
from Great Britain.

●U.S. Constitution (1789) included the
ideas of:

○Constitutionalism: the government has to follow the constitution

○Separation of powers: there should be three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial

○Popular sovereignty: the
government gets its power from the people

●The American Revolution inspired future
revolutions in France and Latin America.

Multiple Choice

What would happen if the president (part of the executive branch) started abusing their power according to the separation of powers? (hint: it happened to Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump).

• Nothing

• The legislative branch will vote to impeach the president (executive branch).

• The Supreme Court (judicial branch) will vote to impeach the president.

• The president will be removed from office

Which Enlightenment
thinkers came up with
the ideas that led to
the American
Revolution?

04

Enlightenment Thinkers

John Locke

●Governments have a social contract with the people; the government needs the people’s consent to rule them.

●Governments must protect their citizen’s life,
liberty and property, and should they fail to
do so, they can and should be replaced.

Voltaire
Advocacy of civil liberties including

●Tolerance: everyone makes mistakes, so we should forgive one another.

●Freedom of religion: people should be able to
choose the religion they want to believe in.

●Freedom of speech: people should be able to say what they want about their government.

Charles de Montesquieu

●Separation of powers: There should be three branches of government: legislative,
executive, and judicial

●Each branch should be able to limit the
power of the other branches, so none of
them gain too much power

William Blackstone

People have the right to own property.

Open Ended

What role did the Enlightenment play in the American Revolution?

A: The ___________ played a role in the American Revolution.

C: Choose an Enlightenment idea and define it. (Slide 4)

E: Explain why that Enlightenment idea made the colonists think they should revolt against the British.

CREDITS: This presentation template was created by
Slidesgo, and includes icons by Flaticon, and infographics
& images by Freepik

Thanks!

Do you have any questions?

[e-mail]
[phone]
yourwebsite.com

Please keep this slide for attribution