American Political System

The Reformation was a revolution that had a direct impact on the authors of the American Constitution. During the early 1500's, activists such as Martin Luther protested the Church and its abuses. At the time, the Church disregarded religion and gradually became corrupt, constantly fighting for political power. The Church was also interested in wealth and charged citizens a fee for indulgences, a service in which the Pope would guarantee the individual a position in heaven. Luther and his followers, the Protestants, disagreed with the Church and protested with the 95 Theses, a document created by Luther that specified the errors of the Church. The Church lost much control as a result of the 95 Theses and excommunicated Luther after he refused to recant. The religious chaos eventually spread throughout Europe. For example, after feuding with the Church on personal matters, King Henry VIII annulled the Church and set up the Anglican Church. People in opposition with the Anglican Church, such as Catholics and Jews, were persecuted for their faith. The religious mayhem that occurred during the Reformation was examined by the framers, allowing them to form an appropriate set of amendments such as freedom of religion. The framers also separated Church from State to prevent religious wars and chaos. Another impact of the Renaissance on the framers of the Constitution was the Age of Absolutism. This movement was a direct result of the Renaissance. During the seventeenth century, European rulers established a monarchy, a form of government in which all power is vested in one ruler, within their nations. Monarchs were interested in increasing their power and extending their reign over more land. Many monarchs interested in expanding supported exploration and funded ships and crew members. Explorers such as Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus returned from their expeditions with abundant wealth and inspired many lower class citizens to become explorers. The result of exploration allowed the European countries to colonize North and South America. Exploration, however, costs the nations large sums of money and forced monarchs to impose a heavy tax among the lower class citizens. The framers observed the unequal distribution of authority within a monarchy and chose to grant the citizens more rights. The framers also set term limits on government positions to prevent an official from acquiring excessive power. In your research paper, you may conclude that the Age of Absolutism clearly relates to the framers and the American government.

Our professional writers are prepared to compose a custom essay on any aspect of American Political System. The last movement influenced by the Renaissance that dramatically affected the framers of the Constitution was the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a philosophical shift towards logic-based reason as opposed to faith based reason. The shift was caused by a decline of the Church during the Reformation and the rise of the Scientific Revolution in which people became more interested in science and its applications to life. During the Enlightenment, many philosophers introduced many political ideas supporting a restricted government. John Locke, an English philosopher, supported the idea that people should have the right to overthrow the government if necessary. Baron de Montesquieu, a French philosopher, suggested the idea of dividing the government into three equal branches that would use checks and balances to prevent any branch from gaining excessive power. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a French philosopher, argued that the government should be limited and that the leaders should be elected by the people. The ideas of the philosophers during the Enlightenment had a significant impact upon the framers of the Constitution. The framers took the ideas of the three philosophers into deep consideration and, agreeing with their perspectives on government, used their suggestions to form the Constitution. For example, the American government is divided into the executive, legislative, and judicial branch to ensure the balance of power. American citizens also have the right to elect or impeach the leaders their nation. Thus, there is a clear link between the Enlightenment and the foundation of the Constitution.