1. Age of Enlightenment  Rulers were influenced by democratic ideas that grew out of this age. These were not new ideas because the Greeks and Romans had Democratic governments.  The people who worked with these ideas were known as philosophes.

2. John Locke  Two Treaties on Government 1690-concept of natural rights (life, liberty, and the pursuit of property)  Rights you were born with simply because you were human  Born with a blank slate (tabula rasa) education would allow people to grow.

3. John Locke Arrangement of government is an agreement between the people and the government to protect rights, if they failed to protect rights the people could seek a new government. Arrangement of government is an agreement between the people and the government to protect rights, if they failed to protect rights the people could seek a new government.

4. John Locke  Ideas were used as a basis for the Declaration of Independence.  Ideas were influential in the second amendment- right to bear arms against any power that denied them their freedom and use force to defend themselves.

5. John Locke  Do you agree that all people are born with certain rights?  Is it realistic in our world?

6. Charles Montesquieu  Concept of separation of powers- must protect yourself from concentrating power in the hands of few because there will be abuses (tyranny = very cruel and unjust use of power)  Critic of absolute monarchy

7. Charles Montesquieu  His ideas were used as a basis for the constitution, which formed the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches checks & balances system.

8. Montesquieu  What is Montesquieu largely responsible for in Democratic government?

9. Voltaire  The John Stewart (The Daily Show) of the 1500’s See video on youtube

10. Voltaire  Writings based on a satirical approach to criticizing the government and church.  Argued for religious tolerance and free speech

11. Jean Jacques Rousseau  The Social Contract – “ Man is born free but is everywhere in chains”  Believed society was corrupt, human nature was good but society twisted human beings into bad beings.  Believed in reforming institutions so society could achieve a “utopia”

12. Jean Jacques Rousseau  General Will what was best for the community as a whole, but not necessarily what it wanted to do.  Believed in a further extension of the Social Contract theory whereby the people have the right to choose their own government and have the right to abolish that government if it does not fit their needs.

13. Jean Jacques Rousseau  Ideas were use as a basis for both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

14. Rousseau  Do you think that people are born free but are everywhere in chains and are corrupted by society?

15. Niccolo Machiavelli  The Prince -power corrupts people  -The ends justify the means.  -Do what it takes (lie, cheat,steal, murder)  His writings were observations while he served in in Florence government

16. Elizabeth  Sir Walsingham says to Elizabeth: “A prince should never flinch from being ruthless to preserve the state”  Is this true? Should rulers need to do this?

17. Mary Wollstonecraft  In 1792, she published Vindication of the Rights of Women, an important work which, advocating equality of the sexes.

18. Mary Wollstonecraft  Education held the key to achieving a sense of self- respect and anew self-image that would enable women.

19. Denis Diderot  As a philosopher Diderot speculated on free will and held a completely materialistic view of the universe; he suggested all human behavior is determined by heredity

20. Denis Diderot  Published under the direction of Diderot 17 volumes of text and 11 volumes of plates between 1751 and 1772. Containing 72,000 articles written by more than 140 contributors, the Encyclopédie was a massive reference work for the arts and sciences and served to breed the ideas of the French Enlightenment.