The Enlightenment

How did the Enlightenment impact the American Revolution?

- John Locke believed a ruler who violates the rights of the people breaks the social contract, giving the people the power to overthrow the government and create a new one. -Montesquieu believed the power of the government should be separated into three branches AND use a system of checks and balances so no one branch has too much power. -> These ideas influenced the colonies to break away from England and declare independence, which started the war.

How did the Enlightenment impact the Declaration of Independence?

- John Locke believed a ruler who violates the rights of the people breaks the social contract, giving the people the power to overthrow the government and create a new one. -Montesquieu believed the power of the government should be separated into three branches AND use a system of checks and balances so no one branch has too much power. -> These ideas were used to create this document, which served as a basis for the new United States of America.

How did the Enlightenment impact the French Revolution?

-Rousseau's idea about ordinary people having a say in government caused the French to overthrow and behead their king and queen. -An Assembly was created shortly after, and a constitution was written to organize everyone. -However, things got out of control and "The Reign of Terror" was a dreadful time period that followed this disconnection.

How did the Enlightenment impact the U.S. Constitution?

-The Founding Fathers used many of the ideas from the philosophers of the Enlightenment. -One very important idea they included in this document was the separation of powers. Montesquieu believed the government should be divided into three branches and each branch could "check" the other branches to "balance" the power. -> This idea was directly included in this document, which set up the legislative, executive, and judicial branches for the U.S.

Mary Wollstonecraft

-believed everyone is equal and possess the same natural rights, despite one's gender -tyranny led to the inequality between men and women -activist for women's rights and power -wanted to end monarchy

Cesare Beccaria

-believed individuals have freewill and make choices based on that freewill -believed that to live in a peaceful society, one must give up some freedoms to the government -believed laws should be enlightened, rational, logical, and the best for the society

Immanuel Kant

-considered one of the greatest philosophers of all time -believed true knowledge was based on a combination of senses, experiences, and reason, which was considered a new idea -discussed ideas on many topics, including knowledge, thought, ethics, education, and religion

King George III

-defeated France in the Seven Years' War (French and Indian War) - expanded Britain's ownership of land in Canada and the U.S. -considered unfair ruler to the colonists because of taxes in the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson -refused to give independence to colonists, despite Declaration, but gathered up more soldiers and sent them to America to collect more taxes and keep order in colonies, which led to American Revolution, which resulted in independence for the colonies

Thomas Hobbes

-from England -believed that people were naturally aggressive and inclined to conflict and war -believed the purpose of the government was to protect the citizens from each other and from outside threats -wrote "Leviathan," explaining people could only escape war and violence by giving up their natural rights and submitting to the rule of a strong ruler, which forms a "social contract"

John Locke

-from England -believed that people were not born good or evil, but that their characters were determined by the events in their lives -believed people were born free with three natural rights: life, liberty, and property -believed governments were formed through a social contract, but the purpose of a government was to protect the natural rights of citizens; if the government failed to do so, the citizens had a right to overthrow their leaders

Voltaire

-from France -real name was Francois Marie Arouet -wrote plays, poems, and historical and philosophical essays about politics and satire -believed in individualism, freedom of speech, and religious tolerance -once ended up in jail for writing that made fun of government leaders -supported the separation of church and state -believed a monarchy with no serfs or kings was the key to progress and change

Baron de Montesquieu

-from France -wrote about politics, including "The Spirit of the Laws," listing the factors that would create a fair, uncorrupted government that protected people's rights -supported idea of separating power in the government so no one person had too much influence -> wanted governments divided into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial **each branch would have its own responsibilities

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

-from France -wrote book about politics in "The Social Contract" -believed in freedom of an individual -believed in direct democracy, not representative democracy, so people can be ruled and free if they rule by themselves -impacted French Revolution

Frederick II (Frederick the Great)

-king of Prussia, a large German state -known as an "enlightened despot" because he embraced some social and political changes from the Enlightenment ideas, but would not give up any of his own power -supported religious tolerance, worked to improve legal system, and abolished torture

What are the three branches of government?

1. legislative 2. judicial 3. executive

What were the three natural rights of people?

1. life 2. liberty 3. property

What was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen?

After France overthrew their king, they created a new government called the Assembly, and the Assembly wrote this document ->Assembly and Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen are the same as the U.S. Parliament and Declaration of Independence

social contract

exists between the ruler and the people they rule with each side having certain responsibilities and rights towards the other

What are diests?

people who believe in a spiritual being, but do not have a certain set of beliefs / not part of a specific religion -> many philosophers were diests

individualism

the idea that individuals and their rights are important

rationalism

the idea that people can use reason, or logical thought, to understand and improve the world

What does "enlightenment" mean?

to gain knowledge and wisdom; to be freed from prejudice, ignorance, or superstition

check and balances

used to limit the powers of the branches of government so no one branch is too powerful -> one branch can veto a law when another agrees to pass it, etc.