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2-2: Impact of the
Enlightenment
Many American colonists accepted the Enlightenment ideas that people
have natural rights.
Anticipatory Set
Recall how the Great Awakening influenced the
American colonists’ ideas about government.
California StandardsSocial Studies Standard 7.11.4:
Explain how the main ideas of the Enlightenment can be traced back to such movements as the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution and to the Scientific Revolution and the Greeks, Romans, and Christianity.
Social Studies Standard 7.11.5: Describe how democratic thought and institutions were influenced by Enlightenment thinkers.
Inputenlightened: free from the
superstitions and ignorance of the Middle Ages.
absolute monarch: a ruler with complete authority over the government and people.
divine right: the belief that a ruler’s authority comes directly from God.
Inputnatural rights: rights that belong to
every human being from birth.separation of powers: division of
the power of government into separate branches.
Input & ModelingRoots of the Enlightenment
Enlightenment thinkers believed that scientists should use reason, observation, and experiments in their studies.During the Renaissance, Europeans gained a
new interest in the ideas of Greece and Rome.
The ideal “Renaissance person” was someone with a broad knowledge of many subjects.
New emphasis was placed on the individual.
Input & ModelingRoots of the Enlightenment
The Scientific RevolutionDuring the 1500s, European scientists
used reason, observation, and experiments to find out about the natural world.
Astronomers challenged the teachings of the Church that the Earth was the center of the universe.
Input & ModelingRoots of the Enlightenment
The Scientific Revolution Scientists backed up their ideas by mathematical
calculations and observations. By the 1600s, scientists were making discoveries in
many areas, from chemistry to medicine. The English scientist Isaac Newton discovered the
laws of gravity, explaining why objects fell to Earth when dropped.
Newton also developed the theory that gravity held the universe together.
Input & ModelingApplying Reason to Politics
John Locke concluded that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. At the time of the Enlightenment, most
European countries were ruled by absolute monarchs that claimed to have divine right.
The rights of the people came to them from the monarch.
In 1690, the English philosopher John Locke proposed that people have certain natural rights that belong to them from birth (life, liberty, and property).
Input & ModelingApplying Reason to Politics
John Locke concluded that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. Locke argued that people formed
governments in order to protect their rights. If government is to protect the rights of the
people, a monarch who violates these rights can be overthrown.
Input & ModelingApplying Reason to Politics
Baron de Montesquieu suggested that government should be divided into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. In 1748, he argued that the powers of
government should be clearly defined and limited.
Montesquieu favored the separation of powers to prevent any individual or group from becoming too powerful.
Input & ModelingApplying Reason to Politics
Baron de Montesquieu suggested that government should be divided into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. His division of power became the basis of the
government of the United States.1. A legislative branch to make laws2. An executive branch to enforce
laws3. A judicial branch to make
judgments based on the laws
Input & ModelingEnlightenment Ideas Spread
By the 1770s, most educated colonists believed that they were born with natural rights. Educated people gathered to discuss the latest
developments in science, politics, and the arts. Printing presses churned out books and pamphlets
that were read by many levels of society. Government and church officials tried to restrict the
spread of ideas that threatened their power. Colonists like Benjamin Franklin supported
Enlightenment ideas on human liberty by founding one of the first antislavery societies.
By the 1770s, what did most educated colonists believe there were born with?natural rights
What did John Locke say people had the rights to?life, liberty,
property
Check forUnderstanding