Which ideas from the Enlightenment influenced the American Revolution and the formation of the U.S. Constitution?

Which ideas from the Enlightenment influenced the American Revolution and the formation of the U.S. Constitution?

• A. Natural rights, social contract, consent of the governed, checks and balances, separation of powers
• B. Divine right of kings
• C. Feudal obligations
• D. Mercantilist policy

Answer: (A)

The big idea being tested is how Enlightenment political philosophy about natural rights, the social contract, and limiting government through division of power shaped both the drive for independence and the framework of the U.S. Constitution. Think of natural rights as universal rights—life, liberty, and property (or the pursuit of happiness in later phrasing)—that governments exist to protect. If a government fails to protect those rights or rules without the consent of the governed, the people have the legitimacy to change or replace it. This belief underpins the push for independence, where colonists argued that Britain had violated certain rights and broken the social contract. From there, the concept of consent of the governed emphasizes that political authority comes from the people, not from a divine or hereditary mandate. That idea leads to popular sovereignty in the Constitution, where the people authorize the government and its powers through elections and a system of representation. To prevent the abuse of power, Enlightenment thinkers like Montesquieu proposed dividing government into separate branches and implementing checks and balances so no single entity could control all authority. This structuring of government—distinct legislative, executive, and judicial powers with ways to constrain each other—directly informed the design of the Constitution and the special mechanisms that keep government accountable. These threads—rights protected by a contract with the governed, consent as the basis of authority, and careful distribution and control of power—are the reasons this set of ideas best explains both the American Revolution and the Constitution. The other options point to beliefs unrelated to these political principles: divine right of kings upholds monarchical authority rather than limiting it; feudal obligations belong to medieval social orders; mercantilist policy concerns economic regulation rather than foundational political philosophy.

The big idea being tested is how Enlightenment political philosophy about natural rights, the social contract, and limiting government through division of power shaped both the drive for independence and the framework of the U.S. Constitution. Think of natural rights as universal rights—life, liberty, and property (or the pursuit of happiness in later phrasing)—that governments exist to protect. If a government fails to protect those rights or rules without the consent of the governed, the people have the legitimacy to change or replace it. This belief underpins the push for independence, where colonists argued that Britain had violated certain rights and broken the social contract.

From there, the concept of consent of the governed emphasizes that political authority comes from the people, not from a divine or hereditary mandate. That idea leads to popular sovereignty in the Constitution, where the people authorize the government and its powers through elections and a system of representation.

To prevent the abuse of power, Enlightenment thinkers like Montesquieu proposed dividing government into separate branches and implementing checks and balances so no single entity could control all authority. This structuring of government—distinct legislative, executive, and judicial powers with ways to constrain each other—directly informed the design of the Constitution and the special mechanisms that keep government accountable.

These threads—rights protected by a contract with the governed, consent as the basis of authority, and careful distribution and control of power—are the reasons this set of ideas best explains both the American Revolution and the Constitution. The other options point to beliefs unrelated to these political principles: divine right of kings upholds monarchical authority rather than limiting it; feudal obligations belong to medieval social orders; mercantilist policy concerns economic regulation rather than foundational political philosophy.