Thread by @AmRevResurrect

The Founders didn’t just rebel, they reasoned. They read Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, then fused their ideas with Scripture and virtue to craft a Republic built to last. This is the Enlightenment’s role in the American Mind.

Let’s dive in. 🧵🇺🇸 #AmRev

John Locke’s Two Treatises laid the groundwork. He said governments exist to protect natural rights; life, liberty, property. Jefferson echoed this in the Declaration, adding a distinctly American twist: the pursuit of happiness.

Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws was another cornerstone. He argued for checks and balances, dividing power to preserve liberty. The Founders made it reality: Congress, President, Courts.
A system built on reason and restraint.

Franklin was America’s Enlightenment man. He started as a printer, became a scientist, diplomat, and philosopher.
He believed liberty must be informed by virtue, and reason guided by humility.
He was our Voltaire, with moral depth.

Even Jefferson, often called a Deist, spoke of “Nature’s God” and divine justice. His Notes on Virginia shows a man torn between Enlightenment skepticism and biblical justice, especially on slavery.

The Enlightenment wasn’t just about ideas, it was about institutions. Public education, free press, civic debate, scientific discovery; these were the tools the Founders saw as essential to self-government.

Critics say Enlightenment reason failed.
But the Founders didn’t idolize reason, they disciplined it with moral truth. They blended faith and philosophy. That balance made America unique: bold in thought, humble before God.

The American Mind was not a carbon copy of Europe’s Enlightenment. It was something new. A republic forged from reason, virtue, and faith; designed not just for freedom, but for Excellence.

So yes, the Declaration lit the fire. But it was Enlightenment ideals, disciplined by faith and fortified by civic virtue, that shaped our system. That’s not failure. That’s America at its best. 🇺🇸 #AmRev