The American Revolution

The ideals that inspired the American Revolution had their roots in European Enlightenment philosophy. The economic ideas of the physiocrats also played a part in the American Revolution, providing a defense of free market ideas in opposition to English mercantilism. Additionally, the American colonists had become increasingly independent politically. Colonial legislatures were making decisions usually made by Parliament. Moreover, great distances separated the colonists from Parliament and the king in London. With economic and political desires for independence grew a new social spirit.

Declaration of Independence On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence expressed the philosophy behind the colonists’ fight against British rule. In the document, Thomas Jefferson picked up the phrase “unalienable rights” from John Locke. For Jefferson, these rights were to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In the war that followed, the colonists triumphed in 1783 with crucial help from Britain’s long-time enemy, France.