The French King Louis XVI sought to help the American colonies revolt against Great Britain to take advantage of weakening his chief rival. Many Frenchmen, however, appreciated the notions of liberties, rights, and democracy that were being fought for in America. As a result, many French intellectuals and commoners saw the American Revolution as an example when they grew more infuriated with their monarch's power in 1789.

The 1815 Congress of Vienna took place in the immediate aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. Its primary concern was establishing what has come to be called "The Concert of Europe." Essentially, this means balancing the territory of all the major European nations to discourage them from engaging in warfare with one another (restoring the balance of power). Its secondary concern was ensuring the continued rule of Europe's absolute and constitutional monarchs and preventing the transition towards Republicanism.

The French Revolution began in 1789. It is widely considered one of the most important events in European history, particularly in the history of European transition from absolutism to constituional monarchy to republicanism; however, like many revolutions, it ended up consuming itself and resulting in a dictatorship.

While its true that Thomas Jefferson did write in the Declaration of Independence that all men have a right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," he was taking his ideas from the earlier writings of John Locke. Locke argued against governmental absolutism and firmly believed in the rights of men to govern themselves. He argued that the only legitimate form of government came from the consent of the people and that all men have a right to life, liberty, and (private) property.

The Congress of Vienna was a meeting of various European heads of states in 1815 in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. The Congress was focused on two major issues: reordering Europe and protecting the "balance of power," and ensuring the continued legitimacy of the absolutist and constitutional monarchs of Europe.

The Leviathan was published in 1651 and was written by English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. In Leviathan, Hobbes argues that mankind is inherently selfish and inclined towards aggression and disorder. He purports that there exists a “state of nature” of mankind that is, primarily, the “war of all against all.” In order to prevent mankind from constantly warring with one another, Hobbes argues for an absolute monarch and a rigidly structured social order. Hobbes can be seen as the philosophical opposite of John Locke, who argued that mankind was inherently good and that absolute government corrupted those in power into serving solely their own interests. These two political philosophies have clashed ever since, particularly in Europe, and both remain deeply influential in contemporary political thought.