John Adams Enlightenment

John Adams, a Man of The Enlightenment John Adams was a man of the Enlightenment. John Adams was an American founding father. He was also a lawyer, statesman, diplomat, and political theorist. He was a leading champion of independence in 1776. Adams later became the second president of the United States of America. The Enlightenment political ideas were reason over dogma, rule of law, and natural rights.
Rule of Law means that everyone is protected and equal under the law. He believes this because he said in his defense of the British soldiers “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence” meaning that no matter what your beliefs are they should not come into play when deciding fate of a man, and that no matter what you believe you should go off of facts and evidence. Natural Rights is when every man has natural rights given by God. John Adams believed in Natural Rights. He said in John Adams, On Natural Rights, Essay on the Canon and Feudal Law “Let us see delineated before us, the true map of man — let us hear the dignity of his nature, and the noble rank he holds among the works of God! that consenting to slavery is a sacrilegious breach of trust, as offensive in the sight of God, as it is derogatory from our own honour, or interest, of happiness; and that God Almighty has promulgated from heaven, liberty, peace, and good will to man.”. In other words he is saying follow the natural rank given by God, slavery is offensive in God’s eyes; God made it clear from heaven that people should have liberty and peace. Facts over religion is reason over dogma. John Adams, an American founding father, a lawyer, statesman, diplomat, political theorist and a leading champion of independence in 1776, was a man of the Enlightenment. He believed in natural rights, reason over dogma, and Rule of Law.