section_path: Ideology and factions/Ideology behind the revolution
section_name: Ideology behind the revolution
paragraph_text: Ideology behind the revolution
  
  The American Enlightenment was a critical precursor of the American Revolution. Chief among the ideas of the American Enlightenment were the concepts of natural law, natural rights, consent of the governed, individualism, property rights, self-ownership, self-determination, liberalism, republicanism, and defense against corruption. A growing number of American colonists embraced these views and fostered an intellectual environment which led to a new sense of political and social identity.