Political and Social Changes in the Late Eighteenth Century

WHO

October 8, 2012

Political and Social changes in the Late Eighteenth Century

Life in the eighteenth century was ruled by monarchies, peasant society and lack of human rights. The economic condition was adverse, with no technology advancements, lack of freedom and large division of classes. Due to the bad conditions, the eighteenth century was looking for a social order, free, reasonable, and an equal society. In addition, slavery was taking place in that time, taking away people's freedom. Therefore, actions were needed to promote people's welfare that led to social and political changes. Many significant events happened in that time such as the French Revolution, American Revolution, and the Industrial revolution. Society started to change, bringing technology and bringing the notion of democracy. As all started to change, countries started to expand, colonizing other countries in the look of new markets. The social contract, declaration of the rights of men, the message to the country of Angostura, the French colonial expansion and the control of Britain over Egypt were event contextualizing what was happening in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century.

The social contract, the Declaration of the Rights of Men, and the Message to the Congress of Angostura have in common the granting of people's freedom. One of the major political changes in the eighteenth century was the notion of democracy. The social contract's principal goal is to determine how freedom can be possible in a society. However, in order to live in a community, that freedom must be controlled and ruled by a government. Rousseau suggested that people have to give up some natural freedom for the good of society. By entering to the social contract, people will learn to think rationally and morally. Rousseau talks about the sovereign, which refers to all individual that makes possible and give life to society, which therefore makes the people more important that each individual. Rousseau gives the idea that that in that time, everyone was by nature equal and free and that everyone needs to have rights. Therefore, Rousseau does permit individuals to do whatever they want as free people as long as it does not interfere with public interests. The social contract aimed to organized society in order to secure mutual protection and welfare between its members and government and to regulate its member's relationship. Thus, the social contract gives the opportunity to each individual to enjoy some free natural right, but with restrictions as well as with obligation.

Likewise, the Declaration of the Rights of Men was a document that provided the basis of the French constitution, which states the laws of the nation. The right's major theme was liberty, equality, and fraternity. Like the social contract, the Declaration of the Rights of Men focused on freedom, which includes religious and speech freedom. However, like he social contract, as people get rights, they also need obligations in order to give life to a society. For example, article four state "Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law." Therefore, like the theme in the social contract, individuals have to give up some natural right to favor the society and knowing, by thinking rationally and intellectually, what is right to do and what is not in order to live in a community.

Likewise, the Message to the Congress of Angostura was a document from Simon Bolivar addresses

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