Why did the practice of slavery call into question the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers who supported the American and French Revolutions? How did these thinkers seek to resolve the contradiction?

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Individual& Society

We & They

Case Study

Choosing to Participate

Judgment, Memory & Legacy

In the mid-1700s, many European philosophers and scientists began to use the ideas and methods of science to examine humans and human societies. These thinkers were part of a movement known as the Enlightenment. Most Enlightenment scientists believed that all humans everywhere have the ability to reason for themselves and form their own societies. They also believed that all humans are entitled to certain basic rights that they called natural rights. In time, these ideas spread and shaped the way ordinary people viewed the world. Some began to say that if societies are human inventions, rather than ordained by God, then people have the right to alter or even replace an oppressive government with one more to their liking.

In 1776, this theory was made concrete: 13 British colonies along the eastern coast of North America broke their ties to Britain and formed their own government. Thomas Jefferson of Virginia wrote their Declaration of Independence. It states:

We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that

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