enlightenment.

Summary - The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement of the 18Th century characterized by belief in the power of human reason and questioning authority. Many enlightenment philosophers like John Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau published their ideas on government.

The philosophers of the enlightenment majorly influenced and changed government. They introduced ideas of new forms of government such as democracy. With that, came the idea of freedom of speech and having a say in government. I think that the most influential enlightenment philosopher was Baron de Montesqieu because he came up with the idea of separation of powers, which we still use in our government today. His ideas lasted making him a very important part of building government.