Final answer:
The American Revolution was spurred by Enlightenment ideals such as the rights of the people to self-govern and by practical considerations related to economic restrictions and lack of representation in the British Parliament. Influential thinkers like Thomas Paine articulated these principles, which resonated with colonists' experiences and contributed to the revolutionary cause.
Step-by-step explanation:
The American colonies of Great Britain revolted against British rule for a variety of reasons, including economic, political, and ideological disputes. The Enlightenment greatly influenced the revolutionary movement by promoting ideas of human rights and the proper relationship between citizens and governments. Key figures like Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson found inspiration in the Enlightenment, arguing that government has a duty to the people, and when it fails to uphold that duty, the people have the right to form a new government.
In his persuasive pamphlet Common Sense, Thomas Paine made the case that equality was a natural human condition and that a hereditary monarchy was unjustifiable when it failed to serve its subjects' interests. The economic restrictions imposed by Britain on colonial trade and the lack of representation in the British Parliament were seen by American colonists as violations of their natural rights. This, combined with a growing distrust of institutionalized authority, fostered by both the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening, led to increasing tensions and ultimately the decision to break free and form an independent nation.
The culmination of these ideals and practical economic concerns sparked not just a revolution but the creation of a new form of government, reflective of the Enlightenment principles of popular sovereignty and natural rights, yet one that the colonies' relationship with Britain had made impossible to realize under the Empire's rule.