Question

Which of the following elements did revolutionaries during French and American Revolutions have in common?

A) Both were motivated by John Locke's ideas about natural rights.

B) Both promoted Adam Smith's mercantilist economic theories.

C) Both supported Karl Marx's ideas about class struggle.

D) Both agreed with Thomas Hobbes views on human nature?

Answer 1

The correct answer is A) Both were motivated by John Locke's ideas about natural rights.

What French and American Revolutions have in common is that both were motivated by John Locke's ideas about natural rights.

Without a doubt, philosophers and thinkers of the Enlightenment were a big influence in both revolutions. Ideas of liberty and fraternity from renown philosophers such as Jean-Jaques Rosseau, Montesquieu, and John Locke, heavily influenced the revolutionary movements with ideals of equality between members of society and natural rights.

Answer 2

The correct answer is A) Both were motivated by John Locke's ideas about natural rights.

The British philosopher John Locke is considered the father of Classical Liberalism. During the 17th century, he developed a political theory that later would strongly influence the American Revolution, the American Constitution, the philosophers Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu, and the economic theory of Adam Smith. He posited that the authority of the state is based on the principle of sovereignty of the people and that the power is not absolute, but instead, it should respect the natural rights of every person. He also stated the importance of the division of powers, idea that later would be retaken and developed by Montesquieu. All these concepts were shared by French and American revolutionaries that shaped the modern Western democracies.