1. Powerful Ideologies Influencing America’s
Political Attitudes

2. Powerful Ideologies Influencing America’s Political Attitudes
Enlightened Philosophies
Two Treaties of Government (1690 CE)
Published anonymously in 1689 by John Locke.
The Second Treaties is the section of the document that outlines Locke’s theory of a civil society.
Within the theory, he outlines the following:
It is the law of nature that all men are born free and equal.
Due to this equality, no man should harm another’s life, liberty, or property.
That when an absolute power abuses these rights it is the right of men to dissolve the government.

3. Powerful Ideologies Influencing America’s Political Attitudes
Enlightened Philosophies
The Spirit of Laws (1748 CE)
Published anonymously by Baron de Montesquieu.
It was a treaties on political theory that discussed the preservation of civil liberties, the law, and the establishment of constitutional governments.
The document emphasizes several key points:
That the supreme power of any government and its laws resides with the people.
That the people should have the sole power to establish democratic governments and laws.

4. Powerful Ideologies Influencing America’s Political Attitudes
Enlightened Philosophies
The Social Contract (1763 CE)
Published by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1763.
It was a treaties on the nature of man and the establishment of a democratic political community.
Within the document he emphasized:
The common liberty of man results from nature.
That the only good government is formed by the general will and consent of the people.
That the sovereignty of the people is inalienable and indivisible.

5. Powerful Ideologies Influencing America’s Political Attitudes
Colonial American Influences
Personal Letters & Dictionnaire Philosophique (1764 CE)
First published by Francois-Marie Arouet (Voltaire).
It was an Encyclopedic Dictionary covering a multitude of subjects dealing with the church, religious and social tolerance, and morality.
It expressed concerns about the injustices and intolerance of the Catholic Church.
It expressed views on the issue of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
It was censored by Religious Leaders, but well accepted by the general public.

6. Powerful Ideologies Influencing America’s Political Attitudes
Colonial American Influences
Of Crimes and Punishments (1764 CE)
First published in Milan by Cesare Beccaria.
It was a celebrated treaties that marked the high point of the Italian Enlightenment in Milan.
It was the first full work to tackle Criminal Reform.
It condemned torture and the death penalty.
It promoted the idea that punishment must be swift, justified, and fair.
It recommended a criminal justice system that would effectively deter criminal activities.

7. Key Influences on America’s Declaration of Independence
Analyzing the Influences of the Enlightenment on the
Declaration of Independence
“We hold these truths to be Self Evident, That All Men are Created Equal”
“That they are Endowed by their Creator with Certain Unalienable Rights”
“That among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the Consent of the Governed”
“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it”
“And to institute new Government, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness”

8. Key Influences on America’s Declaration of Independence
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Analyzing the Opening of the Declaration of Independence (1776 CE)
Use the BOLDED Excerpt of the Declaration of Independence
Use the BOLDED passages from each of the Enlightened Philosophers
PASSAGE MATCHING
Match the most effective passage from each Enlightened Philosopher with each part of the opening to the Declaration of Independence
Be prepared to discuss your choices in class
DOCUMENT DISCUSSION

9. Key Influences on America’s Declaration of Independence
Analyzing the Influences of the Enlightenment on the
Declaration of Independence
“We hold these truths to be Self Evident, That All Men are Created Equal”
John Locke
Two Treatises of Government
Chapter II; Section 5
“This equality of men by nature, is so evident in itself,
and beyond all question”
“This proves that equality of rights and the idea of justice, which such equality creates, originate in the very nature of man”
Jean Jacques Rousseau
The Social Contract
Book II; Part 4
Voltaire
Dictionnaire Philosophique
(Equality)
“It is clear that men, enjoying all the faculties of nature,
are equal”

10. Key Influences on America’s Declaration of Independence
Analyzing the Influences of the Enlightenment on the
Declaration of Independence
“That they are Endowed by their Creator with Certain Unalienable Rights”
Jean Jacques Rousseau
The Social Contract
Book II; Part 1
“I hold then that Sovereignty, being nothing less than the exercise of the General Will, can never be alienated”
Jean Jacques Rousseau
The Social Contract
Book II; Part 2
“Sovereignty, for the same reason as makes it inalienable, is indivisible”

11. Key Influences on America’s Declaration of Independence
Analyzing the Influences of the Enlightenment on the
Declaration of Independence
“That among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”
John Locke
Two Treatises of Government
Chapter II; Section 6
“That being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his Life, Health, Liberty, or Possessions”
“That being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his Life, Health, Liberty, or Possessions”
John Locke
Two Treatises of Government
Chapter VII; Section 87

12. Key Influences on America’s Declaration of Independence
Analyzing the Influences of the Enlightenment on the
Declaration of Independence
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the Consent of the Governed”
“The liberty of man, in society, is to be under no other power, but that established by consent in the commonwealth”
John Locke
Two Treatises of Government
Chapter IV; Section 21
“Each of us puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the General Will”
Jean Jacques Rousseau
The Social Contract
Book I; Part 6
Baron von Montesquieu
The Spirit of Laws
Book II
“The people, in whom the supreme power resides, ought to have management of everything”

13. Key Influences on America’s Declaration of Independence
Analyzing the Influences of the Enlightenment on the
Declaration of Independence
“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it”
John Locke
Two Treatises of Government
Chapter III; Section 17
“He that, in the state of Society, would take away the freedom belonging to those of that Society or Commonwealth, must be supposed to design to take away from them everything else, and so be looked on as in a State of War”
“And to institute new Government, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness”

14. Powerful Ideologies Influencing America’s Political Attitudes
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Analyzing Excerpts from the United States Constitution (1776 CE)
Use the BOLDED Excerpts of the United States Constitution
Use the BOLDED passages from each of the Enlightened Philosophers
PASSAGE MATCHING
Match the most effective passage from each Enlightened Philosopher with each BOLDED part of the United States Constitution
Be prepared to discuss your choices in class
DOCUMENT DISCUSSION

15. Creating a New Form of Government
Analyzing the Influences of the Enlightenment on the U.S. Constitution
Baron von Montesquieu
The Spirit of Laws (1748)
Book XI
“To Prevent their abuse, it is necessary from the very nature of things that Power should be Checked to Power”
“When the Legislative and Executive powers are united in the Same Person, or in the same Body of Magistrates, there can be No Liberty”
“Again, there can be No Liberty, if the Judiciary power be not separated from the Legislative or Executive”
“These three powers should naturally form a State of Constant Repose Forced to move in Concert with one another.”
INFLUENCED WHICH
CONSTITUTIONAL ARTICLES /AMENDMENTS?
ARTICLE 1 – LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
ARTICLE 2 – EXECUTIVE BRANCH
ARTICLE 3 – JUDICIAL BRANCH

16. Creating a New Form of Government
Analyzing the Influences of the Enlightenment on the U.S. Constitution
Voltaire (1763)
Dictionnaire Philosophique
“It does not require great art, or magnificently trained eloquence, to prove that Christians Should Tolerate Each Other”
“It is clear that the Individual who Persecutes a Man, his brother,
Because he is not of the Same Opinion, is a Monster”
“We have a Natural Right to make use of our Pens as of our Tongue, at our Peril, Risk, and Hazard”
“I Detest what you Write,
but I would Give My Life to make it possible for you to Continue to Write”
INFLUENCED WHICH
CONSTITUTIONAL ARTICLES /AMENDMENTS?
Amendment 1
FREEDOM OF SPEECH, RELIGION & EXPRESSION

17. Creating a New Form of Government
Analyzing the Influences of the Enlightenment on the U.S. Constitution
Cesare Beccaria
Of Crimes and Punishments (1764)
“That a Punishment may not be an Act of Violence, of one or of many, against a private member of society, it should be Public, Immediate, and Necessary, the Least Possible in the case given, Proportioned to the Crime, and Determined by the Laws”
“It is an essential point, that there should be a certain Proportion in Punishments, because it is essential that a Great Crime should be avoided rather than a smaller one”
Montesquieu
The Spirit of Laws
(1748) Book VI
INFLUENCED WHICH
CONSTITUTIONAL ARTICLES /AMENDMENTS?
Amendment 8
NO CRUEL OR UNUSUAL
PUNISHMENT

18. Creating a New Form of Government
Analyzing the Influences of the Enlightenment on the U.S. Constitution
Cesare Beccaria
Of Crimes and Punishments (1764)
“The more immediately after the commission of a crime a punishment is inflicted, the more just and useful it will be. ”
“An immediate punishment is more useful; because the smaller the interval of time between the punishment and the crime, the stronger and more lasting will be the association of the two ideas of crime and punishment ”
INFLUENCED WHICH
CONSTITUTIONAL ARTICLES /AMENDMENTS?
Amendment 6
THE RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL

19. Creating a New Form of Government
Analyzing the Influences of the Enlightenment on the U.S. Constitution
Jean J. Rousseau
The Social Contract
(1763) Book I, Part 6
“Each of us puts his person and all his will in Common under the Supreme Direction of the General Will, and, in our Corporate Capacity, we receive each member as an Indivisible Part of the Whole ”
“The People, in whom the Supreme Power resides, ought to have the management of everything within their reach It is likewise a Fundamental Law in Democracies, that the People should have the Sole Power to Enact Laws”
Montesquieu
The Spirit of Laws
(1748) Book VI
INFLUENCED WHICH
CONSTITUTIONAL ARTICLES /AMENDMENTS?
Amendment 10
POWER of the STATE
of the PEOPLE