The ideas used from the enlightenment, include one of the major prospects of the ideas of Thomas Jefferson, these include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which are obviously inspired by the British thinker, John Locke. Locke stated that a social contract between the government and its people relies on the idea that the government give its people life, liberty and pursuit of property. the enlightenment was also an era of extreme liberalization. As a result, Americans feared that giving the national government power would be very disastrous as it reminded them of a monarchy and a dark past. These fears led to the botched Articles Of Confederation which shows that the Enlightenment was a time of extreme rational change