Question

Five paragraph essay explaining how political philosophers and European doctrines of law influenced the U.S. Constitution.

Answer 1

Political philosophers and European doctrines of law influenced the United States Constitution in many different ways. The system of government in the United States combines Ancient Greek and Roman practices.

The Age of Enlightenment -1600’s and 1700’s- saw political philosophers discussing their ideas on government. The Enlightenment was a period in European history when many educated people stressed the importance of learning and reasoning.

One othe most influential philosophers were John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Montesquieu.

But it was Thomas Hobbes, who wrote the book “Leviathan”(1651), who considered people are incapable of ruling themselves because they are naturally self-centered and need a strong leader.

Years later Montesquieu and Rousseau supported the concept of democracy. questioning the power of kings.

Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote the book “The Social Contract” which referred about an ideal society, where people would form communities to interact with no rulers, giving up some freedom in favor of the needs of the majority. This text really influenced the American founding fathers.