Benjamin Franklin Essay

Submitted By tarmir10
Words: 831
Pages: 4

Benjamin Franklin was not the Leonardo Da Vinci of the Enlightenment movement. Benjamin Franklin may have brought about Enlightenment ideas through the U.S. constitution however he doesn’t symbolize the Leonardo Da Vinci of the Enlightenment because Thomas Hobbes clearly represents that in a more influential way. Thomas Hobbes was a philosopher who began the Enlightenment because of his Leviathan, which states his theories and highlights the ideas of the Enlightenment. He not only started the Enlightenment and expressed the ideas but also incorporated his own thoughts especially on individual rights. Hobbes’s theories were vital to the making of political democracy in the Western World. The U.S. constitution is not the most significant political document ever written, however, the Declaration of Independence is. This document states that “all men and women are equal”, which is extremely important in the aspect of sexism and the superiority that men used to uphold. This is vital because this document gives a major standpoint that grants everyone as equals. It is also known as the best-written piece of work that represents the rights of people. The importance and significance of this document is also because it states the official separation of the colonies from Britain, which grants them freedom and individualism. Its also the building blocks to the making of the federal government and the United States. The French people did have a greater cause for rebellion than the English colonists in America. The French had far worse living conditions than the English colonist and to begin with, the French were very oppressed and they had less rights and freedom than the colonists. The French were also drowning in huge taxation, whether it be paying the king, the church, or the manor, taxes were overpowering the poor French. They were going though terrible conditions for the family because many children were given up. Also, many peasants were unable to produce food, which then in return were left to starve because of inflation. Napoleon Bonaparte was more of a tyrant than Louis because to begin, he was an efficient and effective dictator of France who conquered much of Western Europe. One cruel invasion was when Napoleon attacked Egypt because he wanted to demoralize Britain’s admission to India. He not only attacked Egypt but also Austria as well as Spain because he wanted to administrate a boycott of Britain known as the Continental system. Napoleon was being hated so constantly that a huge alliance was made between Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Great Britain against him. His cruel and tyrant ruling led to Napoleon Bonaparte’s own downfall, however, was his most highly known characteristic as a tyrant dictator. The Declaration of the Rights of Man was more influential on political rights rather than the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of the Rights of Man is a document in which human rights, individual rights, and political rights were all defined and influenced because of the natural rights doctrine. As you can see listed below are a few articles of the document that show what influence and impact that this document had on political rights because of the focus on the