THE ENLIGHTENMENTAND

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

1700-1800

THE ENLIGHTENMENT(5-1) I. Philosophy in the Age of Reason

A) Scientific Revolution Sparks the Enlightenment

B) Hobbs & Locke have confl icting views

C) Philosophes (fee loh ZOHFS)

D) New Economic Thinking

Adam Smith’s Law of Supply & Demand

THE ENLIGHTENMENT New ideas in government and

politics People began questioning the

need for all powerful Kings Can people choose leaders for

themselves? “All people are created equal” New (and potentially dangerous)

concept – Dangerous to who?

PRIOR TO THIS TIME

GOD

KING

PEOPLE

SUDDENLY IT BECAME

The shift from the idea of Divine Right of Kings to the Social Contract Theory was influenced by the Enlightened Philosophers.

GOD

KING

PEOPLE

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?

The Philosophes (fee loh ZOHFS) were a group of enlightened thinkers in France who applied the methods of science to understand and improve society. SEEKING & STUDYING WISDOM

They believed that the use of reason could lead to reforms of government, law, and society.

Philosophy is the love of, or the search for, wisdom or knowledge

ENLIGHTENMENT SALON – MADAME GEOFFRINSOCIAL CONVERSATION OVER COFFEE AND TEA

MADAME GEOFFRIN’S PARIS SALON

Today, where do people go to exchange ideas, debate, and chat?

ENLIGHTENMENT IDEAS – WHAT DID THEY MEAN?

It was all about government and the role in played in people’s lives.

SEEKING & STUDYING WISDOM

HOW DID PHILOSOPHES HELP TO CREATE NEW ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE USE OF POWER?

SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION SPARKS THE ENLIGHTENMENTIn the wake of the Scientific Revolution came the Enlightenment. This was an era in which people used reason to try to understand more about human behavior and solve the problems of society.

HOBBES AND LOCKE HAD CONFLICTING VIEWS

English philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both wrote about

society and the ideal form of governing it. Hobbes thought people needed

strict control to rein in their naturally brutish tendencies. Locke thought

people were moral at heart and were entitled to certain natural rights,

which governments were obliged to protect.

THE LEVIATHAN

THE MATTER, FORME, & POWER OF A

COMMONWEALTH

Observation: people are generally bad

Life without a strong government is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”

Hypothesis: Absolute government is needed to control evil behavior

THOMAS HOBBES

TWO TREATISES OF GOVERNMENT

Observation: government exists to: “preserve life, liberty, and property.”

People had certain “natural rights” or rights that belonged to all humans from birth

Hypothesis: People should be sovereign (rule)

Hypothesis: Monarch not chosen by God

JOHN LOCKE

WHAT WERE THEY

THINKING?They did not always

agree with one another!

NEW ECONOMIC THINKING

Economists also applied reason to their study of economics during the Enlightenment. Adam Smith and a group of French thinkers called physiocrats urged economies that operated with little government control.

ADAM SMITH AND THE INVISIBLE HAND

PHYSIOCRATS VS THE MERCANTILISTS

Mercantilists Favored government regulation Believed in building wealth through

trade

Physiocrats (Adam Smith & friends) Opposed government regulation Believed in building wealth through

land productivity

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IMMANUEL KANT“Enlightenment is man’s leaving his self-caused immaturity. Immaturity is the incapacity to use one’s intelligence without the guidance of another. Such immaturity is self-caused if it is not caused by lack of intelligence, but by lack of determination and courage to use one’s intelligence without being guided by another. Sapere Aude! [Dare to know!] Have the courage to use your own intelligence! is therefore the motto of the enlightenment.”

THE SPIRIT OF LAWSObservation: The best way to protect liberty was to divide the various functions and powers of the government among three branches

Each branch of government should be able to serve as a check on the other two

BARON DE MONTESQUIEU

(MAHN tus kyoo)

WHERE HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BEFORE?

MONTESQUIEU (MAHN tus kyoo)

MONTESQUIEU INFLUENCED THE U.S. CONSTITUTION

The Constitution sets up three branches of Government, just as

Montesquieu recommended.

“MY TRADE IS TO SAY WHAT I THINK”Criticized powerful institutions for being unjust

Targeted corrupt officials and idle aristocrats

Supported freedom of speech

Imprisoned and forced into exile, books outlawed and burned

FRANCOIS-MARIE AROUET(VOLTAIRE)

“I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it”

THERE SHOULD BE “SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE”

WHAT WAS VOLTAIRE’S OPINION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGION

AND THE GOVERNMENT?

THE SOCIAL CONTRACT

Despised political and economic oppression

People in their natural state were basically good

Their natural innocence was corrupted by the evils of society, making it restrictive

Advocated the will of the majority and the common good

JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU

ROUSSEAU’S ‘SOCIAL CONTRACT’

WHAT DOES ROUSSEAU SAY SHOULD HAPPEN IF THIS CONTRACT IS BROKEN BY

THE RULERS?

ROUSSEAU AND

VOLTAIRE ARGUE

ROUSSEAU Distrusted aristocrats because he believed they were betraying decent traditional values

Opposed the theater

Shunned the aristocracy

Argued for democratic revolution

Argued that inequality was unnatural, and when taken too far, made decent government impossible

Insisted on his correctness, even while contradicting himself

Free with original thoughts in all directions: ideas about education, the family, government, the arts, and whatever else attracted his attention

VOLTAIRE Trusted aristocrats

Loved the theater

Courted the aristocrats

Wary of revolution

Equality was impossible

Charmed with his wit

Insisted on the supremacy of the intellect

Endlessly repeated the same handful of core Enlightenment notions

WHAT WERE THE EFFECTS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT?

(USE AN ACRONYM)

FUELED DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTIONS AROUND WORLD (AMERICAN, FRENCH)F

.Bastille: The French Revolution

begins July 14, 1789

Signing of the Declaration of Independence

July 4, 1776

F.A.S.T.

THE ENLIGHTENMENT(5-2) II. Enlightenment Ideas Spread

A) New ideas challenge society

B) Arts and literature reflect new meanings

C) Enlightened despots embrace new ideas

D) Lives of the majority change slowly

New Ideas Challenge Society

While churches and monarchies tried to stop the flow of Enlightenment ideas through censorship, Enlightenment thinkers found new ways of spreading their ideas, such as through novels and salons.

Arts and Literature Reflect New Ideas

The Enlightenment saw the birth of new styles in art, music, and literature. Painters embraced the lighter and more informal rococo style; composers, too, moved away from the baroque and into rococo and classical music. This was evidenced in the works of Handel, Haydn, and Mozart. In literature, the novel was king as audiences devoured long stories about their own times.

THE SPREAD OF ENLIGHTENMENT IDEALS

"READING FROM MOLIERE," ARTIST JEAN FRANCOIS DE TROY DEPICTS A SALON OF THE FRENCH ENLIGHTENMENT.

"A PHILOSOPHER LECTURING WITH A MECHANICAL PLANETARY" BY JOSEPH WRIGHT, 1766

GEORGE FRIDERICHANDEL

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDEN

NEW IDEAS REFLECTED IN MUSIC

WHAT NEW FORM OF LITERATURE EVOLVED DURING THE AGE OF

ENLIGHTENMENT?

THE NOVELThis is how philosophes and writers

avoided censorship…disguising ideas in works of fiction

WHAT WAS SIGNIFICANT ABOUT DON QUIXOTE?

IT WAS THE FIRST NOVEL

(FICTION-- NOT A TRUE STORY)

CERVANTES WAS FROM SPAIN

IT WAS A STORY ABOUT AN IDIOTIC KNIGHT--THE BOOK MADE

FUN OF KNIGHTS AND THE MIDDLE AGES

Enlightened Despots Embrace New Ideas

Some absolute rulers of the time adopted limited reforms inspired by Enlightenment ideas. For instance Frederick II of Prussia, Catherine the Great of Russia, and Joseph II of Austria all showed religious tolerance. Still the monarchs were not willing to share their power.

Lives of the Majority Change Slowly

It wasn’t until the late 1700s that Enlightenment ideas spread through Europe’s peasant classes. In time, these ideas, in combination with war and economic troubles, would bring the masses to revolt.

THE WINDS OF CHANGE ARE IN THE AIR

FRANCE, AUSTRIA, PRUSSIA, RUSSIA

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