The Enlightenment The Enlightenment An intellectual movement Enlightenment

The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment • An intellectual movement • Enlightenment thinkers tried to apply reason and scientific methods to laws that shaped human actions. – Wanted to build a society around the ideas of the Scientific Revolution

Impact • Stimulated religious tolerance • Fueled democratic revolutions around the world • Rise of individualism—thinking for yourself • Rise of a more secular or worldly outlook

Main Men

Thomas Hobbes Wrote Leviathan English philosopher Believes all humans are naturally wicked Absolute monarchy is the best form of government • Governments are created to protect people from their own selfishness • •

John Locke • Wrote Two Treatises on Government • English philosopher • People have the ability to reason to make good decisions if given the proper information • Governments should be formed with the approval of the people • Governments should exist to protect individual freedoms and liberties • People, not god, should choose leaders.

Montesquieu • Wrote The Spirit of Laws • French political thinker • A monarchy with limited power makes a country stable and secure • Developed the idea of “separation of powers” – Government should be divided or spread out among different branches of government so no one individual or group has too much power and as a result threatens liberty.

Rousseau • Wrote The Social Contract • Swiss philosopher who believed that society had corrupted the natual goodness in people • Direct Democracy—where people vote in person to make all laws—was the way to protect individual freedom • Government should be a contract between rulers and the people

Voltaire • French writer • Believed in: – Tolerance – Reason – Freedom of religion – Freedom of speech • Supported the idea of separation of church and state

How did the Enlightenment Spread? • Salons—wealthy women would gather to discuss ideas • Encyclopedia—published many Enlightenment ideas • Pamphlets and newspapers helped circulate ideas

Enlightened Monarchs • The church and French government were angered by Enlightenment ideas and tried to censor people’s work • Enlightenment thinkers tried to change the way the governments were run and tried to convince rulers to rule justly. – Inspired revolutions in the United States and France

• Some rulers became “enlightened monarchs” • Believed in many enlightenment ideas – Old Way: Monarch says “I am the state” – New Way: “I am only a servant of the state” • If you’re an absolute monarch---are you enlightened?

American Revolution • Colonies grew from 250, 000 to 2, 150, 000 by the 1700 s • People had been living there for 150 years • “Americans” wanted their own identity , Britain wanted more control • Stamp Act- Boston Tea Party • 1776 - Thomas Jefferson writes Declaration of Independence • Constitution- written by members from all colonies • Bill of Rights- first 10 amendments

Ways the Enlightenment Influenced American and French Government Ideas Natural Rights- life, liberty, and property Separation of powers Freedom of thought and expression Thinker Locke Fundamental to the U. S. Declaration of Independence Montesquieu France, U. S. , Latin American nations use separation of power in new constitutions Voltaire Guaranteed in the U. S. Bill of Rights and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man European monarchs reduce censorship Beccaria Guaranteed in the U. S. Bill of Rights; torture outlawed or reduced in Europe and the Americas Abolishment of Torture Religious Freedom Impact Voltaire Guaranteed in the U. S. Bill of Rights and French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen; European monarchs reduce persecution

Who Said It? (or would have said it) Working with a partner, you’re going to see several quotes. Several of them are actual quotes - several of them are things that could have been quotes. Your job is to figure out who would have said them.

1. Life without government (laws) is: “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” Hint: from Leviathan

HOBBES

2. Government exists to preserve “life, liberty, and property, ” and if it does not do this, then the people have a right to rebel and “provide for their safety…[by forming] a new legislature. ” Hint: From Two Treatises of Government

Locke

3. “When the legislature and the executive power are united in the same person…there is no liberty. ” Hint: from The Spirit of Laws

Montesquieu

4. “man is born free, ” but is “everywhere in chains. ” “government is a contract between people and the rulers” Hint: from The Social Contract

Rousseau

5. “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. ”

6. “Again, there is no liberty if the power of judging [is] not separated from the legislative and the executive. ” Hint: from The Spirit of Laws

7. People should be sovereign (rule) because they are generally good. Hint: From Two Treatises of Government

Locke

8. “L’etat c’est moi” (I am the state. )

Louis XIV

9. “I agree with the last guy’s quote. The best form of government is an absolute monarch - but I don’t like divine right that’s not reasonable. ”

Hobbes

10. “From now on our country will be westernized. No nobles will wear beards. ”

Peter the Great

11. “I’m sure that the earth goes around the sun, but I guess I better keep it to myself so the Church won’t get mad. ”

Copernicus

12. “Ouch! That apple hurt! Hey - that makes me wonder…. ”

13. “The church and the state should be separate so that people can have freedom of religion. ”

Voltaire

14. “The best form of government is one where power is shared by different branches. ”

15. “OK, Pope, whatever you say. I take it all back. My telescope must have lied to me. ”

Galileo

16. “Stop it, you fool! If you try to drain out his bad leg blood he’ll end up losing all his blood!”

17. “Whoa! I’m getting dizzy! I can’t believe some folks don’t believe me that the planets are in motion. ”

Kepler

18. “The 30 Years War messed up my country. We need a strong military to protect us now. ”

Frederick I