In America in the mid 18th Century the consciousness of the colonists were triggered. They realized their distance from the King in Great Britain and rethought their loyalties. They felt that the king did not have a right to profit off the land they worked on. Money was a central factor in rebellion. Because the British protected the colonists in the French Indian War and the crown spent manpower and money to protect the colonies they felt that the colonists must repay the debt. Therefore, they enforced the Stamp Act, which taxed documents and newspapers. The colonists felt that taxation should be the job of a local government and not of one overseas. Later the British enforced the Declaratory Act, which emphasized the British right to tax the colonies, and further taxed import and exports. This infuriated the colonists who boycotted goods coming to America. This is the beginning of the American Revolution. Soon after the

Smith also believed that free trade and a self-regulating economy would result in social progress. He criticized high tariffs and limits on individual freedom in trade. He felt that government only needed to preserve law, order, enforce justice and defend the nation not intervene in trade. Smith also felt that we should exploit nature in order to use it for man's advancement.

In 18th Century France the system of aristocratic privilege and serfdom dominated politics and society. The Church received tithes and paid no taxes. The nobility was exempt from most taxes, collected dues from the peasantry, and held virtually every government office, simply because they were born into the right families. The rapidly growing middle class, or bourgeois, and peasantry paid all the taxes and had no political power and little social influence. These inequalities were based on tradition and more significantly by the force of law. Since the Old Regime no longer corresponded to the realities of the 18th Century France, the forces and will of the people presented a time ready for dramatic change. Thus, the beginning of the French Revolution.

Smith also believed that labor, not land or money, were both the source and the final measure of value. He said that wages depended on the basic needs of workers, and rent on the productivity of the land. Profits, he said were the difference between selling prices and the cost of labor and rent. Smith said profits would be used to expand production. The expansion would in turn create more jobs, and the national income would grow.

First Continental Congress was formed and on July 4th 1776 the 2nd Continental Congress signed the Declaration of independence. Finally in 1783 with the Treaty of Paris the United States was legally given independence.

Rousseau also believed that property was created by God. We own property through labor. Social inequality exists for the purpose of power and there are negative aspects of human nature, such as taking property. In regards to power, Rousseau believes that the rich appeal to the idea of unity in relation to the poor because the rich want a unified state in order to stay in power. They would create laws, which would secure the riches position.

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Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)