1776 & 1789Reputable sourceWell documented
The Age of Revolutions
On the timeline · around 1776 & 1789 ·
What happened
Enlightenment ideas moved from the page to the barricade. In America, colonists invoked natural rights and government by consent to justify independence in 1776. In France, the Revolution of 1789 proclaimed the Rights of Man and toppled the old order. Reason, liberty, and popular sovereignty were now being written into the foundations of states.
Why it matters
The Enlightenment reached its climax in the revolutions it helped inspire, which swept away monarchies and aristocratic privilege and gave the world the modern ideals of human rights, citizenship, and self-government.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. The Enlightenment · Reputable source