1. The Enlightenment
Fill in the blanks on your worksheet by copying the underlined sentences.

2. Background Recall #1: When did the Renaissance occur?
And what was the key idea of the Renaissance?
#2: When did the Scientific Revolution occur?
And what was the key belief of the leaders of the Scientific Revolution (think about Bacon and Descartes)?

3. Intro to the Enlightenment
1600s and 1700s.
Inspired by the ideas of the Renaissance and Sci. Rev.
Humanism :
Celebrating worth of the individual.
Reason = key to progress.
Wanted to apply this idea to social and political life.
Believed there were “natural laws” that governed society.
Philosophical thought synonymous with action.
#3: When was the Enlightenment? How was it related to the ideas of the Scientific Revolution and Renaissance?

4. Thomas Hobbes
British – tried to establish a rational basis for absolute rule by monarchs.
In Leviathan he said that “In the state of nature” life is “nasty, brutish and short.”
He thought people were basically selfish and cruel, so they needed powerful rulers to take control.
Very different from most Enlightenment philosophers, but tried to apply reason to politics.
#4: Why did Hobbes believe that we should have absolute rule by monarchs?

5. John Locke #5: What is constitutional monarchy?
British—believed in constitutional monarchy.
His Two Treatises of Government argued that the basis of government was the social contract and that people have natural rights.
Natural Rights = People have the right to life, liberty, and property.
Social Contract = Government’s authority is based on the consent of the governed. They give the government this power to protect their rights.
#5: What is constitutional monarchy?
#6: What were Locke’s two big ideas? Explain each.

6. Baron de Montesquieu A French baron, lawyer, and satirist.
Concerned that putting too much power in one person’s hands would lead to tyranny.
Proposed separation of powers (like in England) to prevent this.
Three Branches of Government:
Legislative
Executive
Judicial
#7: Why did Baron de Montesquieu support the idea of separation of powers? What does that mean?

7. Voltaire
French satirical writer
Also supported English constitutional monarchy.
To be governed by law is “man’s most cherished right.”
Most concerned with freedom of thought and expression.
Championed religious tolerance and free speech.
Jailed twice and exiled for criticizing intolerance and oppression.
#8: For what ideas is Voltaire known that are widely held beliefs today?

8. Cesare Beccaria #9: What ideas did Cesare Beccaria support?
Italian lawyer – opposed to torture and other cruel punishments.
Believed punishments should not be cruel or unjust.
Advocated for fair trials and equality of punishments .
Opposed the death penalty.
#9: What ideas did Cesare Beccaria support?

9. Women in the Enlightenment
Olympe de Gouges—French woman. Wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen.
Said women should be equal to men in all ways: voting, in government, property ownership, and serving in military.
French Revolutionaries killed her for expressing her views.
Mary Wollstonecraft—British writer. Argued that women should have same rights as men. In order to use these rights wisely, women needed more educational opportunities.
Abigail Adams—wife of John Adams (American Revolutionary). Said women “will not [be] bound by any laws in which we have no voice.”
#10: Who were three female thinkers of the Enlightenment? What was their core belief?

10. Impacts of the Enlightenment
Enlightened Monarchs – supported Universities, religious tolerance, end to torture, etc., but still held absolute power.
Catherine the Great – Russia
Fredrick the Great – Prussia
Joseph II – Austria
American and French Revolutions (and others beyond) were directly inspired by enlightenment ideas.
(Recall: Locke “social contract”; Montesquieu “3 branches of gov’t; and Cesare “no cruel or unjust punishment” and Voltaire “freedom of religion and speech”) #11: What were two ways that the Enlightenment altered society in the 1700s?

11. U.S. Government and Laws
Our system of laws is a direct result of the ideas of the Enlightenment:
Preamble to the Declaration of Independence: Natural Rights
Constitution: Separation of Powers
First Amendment: Free Speech and Freedom of Religion
Fourth to Eighth Amendments: Protections for the accused…
No unreasonable search and seizure
Due Process and Trial by Jury
No Cruel and Unusual Punishments
Thomas Jefferson: Social Contract
“A little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical...It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government.”
#12: Give at least two examples to show how a particular Enlightenment thinker influenced the U.S. Government.

12. HOBBES
LOCKE
MONTESQUIEU