Final answer:
The American Revolution was the most successful in embodying Enlightenment ideals by forming a stable constitutional republic influenced by John Locke. It proved more consistent in application of these ideals compared to the French Revolution, which suffered from subsequent autocracy and instability.
Step-by-step explanation:
Among the Atlantic Revolutions, the American Revolution arguably embodied Enlightenment ideals of equality and liberty most successfully. Though not without flaws, it established a system of government grounded in Enlightenment principles directly influenced by John Locke’s ideas of life, liberty, and property. Unlike the French Revolution, which initially pursued similar ideals but soon descended into the Reign of Terror and the rise of Napoleon’s autocracy, the American Revolution resulted in a relatively stable constitutional republic.
Enlightenment philosophers championed self-governance and rights that the colonists felt were being infringed upon by British rule. The ratification of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights reflect an attempt to protect those rights and prevent the kind of tyranny that Enlightenment thinkers opposed. While the Haitian Revolution was significant in its challenge to slavery and colonialism, the extent of change in terms of long-term political structures and stability did not match the transformative constitutional governance established in the United States.
Contrarily, the French Revolution began with aspiration expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen but was undermined by internal strife and external pressures, leading to outcomes that did not consistently uphold the Enlightenment's respect for rights. The aftermath of these revolutions showed that the ideals could be interpreted and applied in varying degrees, and while the American Revolution was not perfect in achieving these Enlightenment ideals — notably continuing to struggle with the issues of slavery and inequality — in terms of institutional transformation and longevity, it wielded a more consistent Enlightenment influence than its contemporaries.