The Rights of Man: Enlightenment Philosophy and the
American Revolution
I. The Influence of the
Enlightenment on American thinking
·
Remember
John Locke: “Men being . . . by nature all free, equal, and independent, no one
can be put out of this state and subjected to political power of another
without his own consent” (922).
·
Immanuel
Kant: “That the public should enlighten itself is more possible [today];
indeed, if only freedom is granted, enlightenment is almost sure to follow. . .
. It is the freedom to make public use of one’s reason at every point” (998).
·
Ben
Franklin and the American Philosophical Society: “Let light into the nature of
things . . . new discovered plants [and farming methods], new cures, new
inventions, new arts, trades, manufactures . . . “ (999).
·
Tom
Paine: Common Sense (1776); The Rights of Man (1791).
·
The
model of
·
II. A Classic Case of Enlightenment Reasoning: Federalist
No. 10
1. Problem to be addressed: factionalism
2. Problem defined: “By a faction, I understand a
number of citizens . . . who are united and actuated by some common impulse of
passion or interest adversed to the rights of other
citizens and to . . . the aggregate interests of the community.”
3. Two possible solutions: by (a) controlling its
causes or by (b) controlling its effects
4. The causes of faction are inevitable differences
in the talents and properties of mankind, and the only way to brook these is to
remove individual liberty, NOT an option
5. It is better, then, to control the effects of
factions, so as not to disrupt the harmonious working of the state. The way to
do so is the establishment of a Republic: “the delegation of the government to
a small number of citizens elected by the rest” (79).
6. potential problem
addressed: if you follow the Athenian model of democracy and have too many
representatives, they will be too preoccupied with representing local interests
and ignore national issues; if you follow the more Roman model and consolidate
power into a smaller, more select body of representatives, they could lose
sight of those local interests.
7. The solution, class??????? Remember your
Aristotle and aim for the golden mean.
II. The Issue of Slavery
Abigail Adams: “It always seemed a most iniquitous
scheme to me—fight for ourselves what we are daily robbing and plundering from
those who have as good a right to freedom as we have” (1014).
·
The
African Diaspora: 14 million survive the middle
passage
·
Olaudah Equiano’s Narrative:
the horrors of slavery
·
The
Enlightenment and the Issue of Slavery: Pro and Con
Pro: Adam Smith and laissez-faire (let it happen as
it will);
Con: the Abolitionist movement (end of slavery on
British ships, 1807 but . . . Blake’s “The
Little Black Boy”
