The period of the Enlightenment in Europe marked a change in how society understood power and freedom. The ideals of this period helped inspire the revolutions of the 18th century. The American colonies desired freedom from foreign rule, the French wanted to increase the power of the people in their class structure, and the Haitians fought for representation of the millions of slaves on their island. Although the ideas of the Enlightenment were not fully employed in each of these revolutions, they brought nations closer to fully representative government, rather than one of absolute power. The American Revolution was a reaction to the unfavorable fiscal policies of the King of England. When the king of England began to violate the liberties of the colonists, leaders inspired by the Enlightenment banded together to defend the rights of the American colonies. As Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations. French citizens, inspired by the Enlightenment, wanted a government run by the people. The Marquis de Lafayette wrote: “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights; social distinctions can only be based on general utility” (de Lafayette 783). The French wanted to bring equality to all classes. The French Revolution brought about many more social changes than the American Revolution. Inspired by Lafayette's declaration that “no group, no individual can exercise any authority which does not expressly emanate from it” (de Lafayette 783), the class system was destroyed. The revolutionaries were open to ending slavery, yet women remained marginalized within the social structure of France. Similar to the American Revolution, the Enlightenment ideas that guided the French Revolution were not applied to society as such