Influence Of Rousseau And The Constitution

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Rousseau and the Constitution Rousseau, at the time, greatly affected the way some thought, especially thinkers of the Constitution. The reason for this is due to his writings issued in The Social Contract. In it, he expresses his feelings on man being free. The major quote Rousseau uses in it was “man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains.” Rousseau thought that every man should be able to be free but under laws. This meaning that you can have an opinion and do certain things as long as they were within the guide lines of the law enforcers and or government. This gave a great effect on the government because they had followed some things he expressed in The Social Contract. We as Americans felt it was greatly important to be a democracy and for every person’s vote to count. Back then and sometimes now, the way your future was planned out was based and dependent on your class and what you’re born into. (Rousseau, 1) This 18th century philosopher wrote three books but the most important of the three was the Social Contract. This greatly influenced the constitution and also many other things as well. He encouraged the minds of citizens who believe that they should deserve more freedom and more say in what the government decides. Now, every vote counts for every person no matter age, class, how intelligent they are, or their looks. In his book, he stresses constantly the different types of freedom there are, natural, civil, and moral. Natural freedom is being able to do whatever one wants. Civil freedom is in agreement with The Social Contract in which has to obey the laws the Rousseau helped make in the Constitution. Moral freedom is doing the right thing and not whatever you want. Rousseau thought that civil freedom was th... ... middle of paper ... ... general will” (Bertram, 12). Rousseau also states citizens are “forced to be free” in The Social Contract (Bertram, 12). This is basically saying that we are free as long as we act within the guidelines as enforced and interpreted by local and regional government. The irony in this can differ greatly within our own social contract (i.e. the Constitution of the USA). Everybody should have freedom no matter your differences toward one another. Works Cited Bertram, Christopher, "Jean Jacques Rousseau", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.) Jean¬Jacques Rousseau, Contrat social ou Principes du droit politique (Paris: Garnier Frères 1800), pp. 240¬332, passim. Translated by Henry A. Myers. SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778).” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 26 Nov. 2013

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