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The Enlightenmentor
The Age of Reason
What Was the Enlightenment?
The Enlightenment: intellectual movement in Europe during the 1700s that led to new theories about society, gov’t, economics, and religion
“Dare to Know!”
To be enlightened: think independently
“Free thought”
The Scientific Revolution
The Enlightenment grew largely out of the new methods and discoveries achieved in the Scientific Revolution
The equatorial armillary, used for navigation on ships
Enlightenment Principles
• Religion, tradition, and superstition limited independent thought
• Accept knowledge based on observation, logic, and reason, not on faith
• Scientific and academic thought should be secular (not religious)
A meeting of French Enlightenment thinkers
Enlightenment Thinkers
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)
• English• Book “Leviathan”• studied
government/humans• Believed natural state of
humans was to be at war• Why believe this?
• Lives are “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”
Hobbes
• Believed that humans were driven by passions and needed to be kept in check by a powerful ruler
absolute monarchy is best
Ruler got power from consent
of people..not divine right
John Locke (1632–1704)
The “State of Nature”: all men equal
People born a Tabula rasa, or a blank slate
Everything is learned
Locke(continued)
Book: Two Treatises of Government
Gov’t exists to preserve natural rights (life, liberty, property)
If natural rights taken, right to rebel/change gov’t
Constitutional monarchy best
The French Salon and the Philosophes
Madame de Pompadour
• Salons: gatherings for aristocrats to discuss new theories and ideas
• Philosophes: French Enlightenment thinkers who attended the salons
Voltaire (1694–1778)
• Most famous philosophe
• Wrote plays, essays, poetry, philosophy, and books
• Attacked the “relics” of the medieval social order(church, nobles)
• Championed social, political, and religious tolerance
The Encyclopédie
• Major achievement of the philosophes
• Begun in 1745; completed in 1765
Frontspiece to the Encyclopédie
The Encyclopédie (continued)
• Denis Diderot Banned by the Catholic Church
Encyclopédie editor Denis Diderot
Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755)
• French noble and political philosopher
• Book: The Spirit of the Laws
• Compared different types of govt’s
Montesquieu (continued)
• Separation of powers• Executive• Judicial• Legislative
• Would prevent tyranny• Constitutional
monarchy best, not democracy
Frontspiece to The Spirit of the Laws
Jean-Jacques Rousseau(1712–1778)
• The Social Contract• “Man is born free and
everywhere he is in chains.”
• Civilization corrupts natural goodness
Rousseau
• Gov’t receives power from the people • People in society have agreement: give
up some freedoms in exchange for protection/common good
• Believed all men equal• Democracy is best form of gov’t
The Enlightenment and the American Revolution
• The Declaration of Independence
• Influence of Locke• Unalienable rights
of Life, Liberty, pursuit of Happiness
• Right to change gov’t
Thomas Jefferson
The U.S. Constitution• Influence of
Montesquieu• Separation of
powers• Checks and
balances• No branch
too powerful
Painting depicting the Constitutional Convention
Women and the Enlightenment
• Changing views
• Role of education
• Equality
Mary Wollstonecraft Olympe de Gouges
Wollstonecraft (continued)
• A Vindication of the Rights of Women• Women need
education to become virtuous and useful
Title page of Wollstonecraft’s Thoughts on the Education of Daughters
“Enlightened Absolute Monarchs”
Contradiction of terms??
Most of Europe ruled by absolute monarchs
Open to Enlightenment ideas
passed new laws and practices
Frederick the Great (ruled 1740–1786)
• Prussian ruler• Had a strong interest in
Enlightenment works and the arts
• Convinced Voltaire to come to Prussia
Frederick the Great (continued)
Wanted to make Prussia a modern stateReforms – Religious
freedom– Better ed– Efficient gov’t,
simplified laws– Banned torture
But kept serfs and supported nobles
Painting titled “Frederick the Great and Voltaire.”
Catherine the Great(ruled 1762–1796)
• Russian ruler• read Enlightenment
works• “Westernized” Russia
• Import art• Modernize industry and ag
• Wars to expand: Poland, Black Sea
Catherine the Great(continued)
• Domestic reforms• New legal codes• Improved ed• Restricted torture
• Peasant revolt led to• Control serfs• Stronger nobles
Maria Theresa (ruled 1740–1780) • Austrian ruler
• Government reforms
• Improved lives of serfs
• Son—Joseph II
Joseph II (ruled 1765–1790)
• Ruled with his mother until 1780
• Joseph’s reforms• Religious
toleration• Control over
the Catholic Church
• Abolished serfdom
Napoleon
• French ruler• Military career• Rise to power
Napoleon I (continued)
• Reforms• Education: public
schools• Written code of laws
• Men equal• Right to property
• But: restricted freedom of press and speech
The Enlightenment and the French Revolution
• The American Revolution
• The Estates General
The Marquis de Lafayette
The Declaration of theRights of Man
• Adopted by National Assembly in 1789
• “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité”
The Legacy of the Enlightenment
Government
Society
Education
The signing of the U.S. Constitution