Final answer:
Enlightenment ideas on natural rights and self-government, as promulgated by thinkers like John Locke and Thomas Paine, provided moral justification for the American Revolution against the British government, which was seen as infringing upon these rights.
Step-by-step explanation:
Colonists were influenced by Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, who argued for the natural rights of life, liberty, and property that governments should not violate. The American Revolution was in part a response to the perceived abuse of these rights by the British government, such as the right to tax being limited to elected bodies in which the colonists were represented—an idea put forth by the colonists themselves as an inherent natural right.
This theory of revolt was also fueled by practical concerns over economic freedoms and restrictions placed on westward expansion and trade, which Enlightenment thinkers like Thomas Paine articulated in works like Common Sense, framing the British rule as an obstacle to the colonies' growth and the pursuit of natural rights.