1. Today in History 1956: The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously strikes down two Alabama laws requiring racial segregation on public buses. This ends the Montgomery bus boycott.

2. Montesquieu Separation of Powers: Executive, Legislative, Judicial Checks and Balances: Prevent one branch from becoming too powerful. The Spirit of The Laws, 1748

3. Voltaire Prolific Writer. Religious Toleration: Treatise on Toleration, 1763 Deist: God as a Clockmaker. The universe runs on natural laws.

4. Diderot Wrote the Encyclopedia, 1751-1772. Knowledge as a weapon against old French society. Sold to doctors, clergy, lawyers, and teachers.

5. Rousseau Gave weight to both reason and emotion. He sought to balance them. Social Contract: Society agrees to be governed by its general will. The Social Contract, 1762 Women naturally different from men.

6. Mary Wollstonecraft Reason exists in women also, and so they should have equal rights A Vindication of the Rights of Women

7. Cesare Beccaria Against cruel and unusual punishments, such as the death penalty On Crimes and Punishments, 1764 Did not believe the death penalty was an effective deterrent

8. Adam Smith Laissez-faire Economics: Government should keep its hands off the economy, and the people should do what they want. The Wealth of Nations, 1776 The state should not interfere with economic affairs.

9. Whose Ideas Are Most Important to YOU?