THE ENLIGHTENMENT

PHILOSOPHY IN THE AGE OF REASON

• Enlightenment sparked by scientific revolution of 1500s and 1600s• Scientific discoveries of 1500s and 1600s changed the

way people looked at the world• Natural law- laws that govern human nature• People started to believe that reason could solve social

problems as well as scientific problems= The Enlightenment

Left: Rene Descartes, French scientist of the late Renaissance, stressed human reasoning in understanding the world

Right: Immanuel Kant, German philosopher of late Renaissance/early Enlightenment era, first to speak of an “enlightenment”

OPPOSING VIEWS OF SOCIETY

• Thomas Hobbes• supported strong government (absolute monarchy), thinks

people are basically terrible• developed idea of a social contract – an agreement by which

people give up the state of nature for an organized society

OPPOSING VIEWS OF SOCIETY

• John Locke• Best government had limited power and was accepted by all

citizens• Thinks people are basically reasonable and moral• People have natural rights – rights that belonged to them at

birth – life, liberty, and property

John Locke, whose ideas inspired revolution around the world!

Of Hobbes and Locke,which do you think hadmore of an impact on the American Revolution?

THE PHILOSOPHES

• Lovers of wisdom

• Montesquieu and the Separation of Powers• Freedom of Thought: Voltaire• Denis Diderot’s works• The Social Contract: Jean-Jacques Rousseau• What the women thought

Left: Voltaire, French author of Candide

Right: Rousseau, author of The Social Contract

MONTESQUIEU

• Published The Spirit of the Laws in 1748• Discussed British government and how Britain

had separated the powers of the monarchy into three branches of government• Believed that separation of powers was the best

way to protect liberty• Believed in checks and balances

VOLTAIRE

• Spent his life defending the freedoms of thought and speech through his writing• Forced into exile by the Catholic church for his

writing

DENIS DIDEROT

• Spend 25 years writing the Encyclopedia• Purpose: to change the general way of thinking

by explaining the new thinking on government, philosophy, and religion• Wasn’t just information; contained articles

denouncing slaver, praising freedom of expression, and urging education for all• Translated into other languages

and helped to spread Enlightenment ideas across Europe and into the Americas

JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU

• Most controversial philosophe• Believed people in their natural state were

basically good = natural innocence• Over time, corrupted by the evils of society (esp.

unequal distribution of property)• The Social Contract (1762): people are born

good, corrupted by society, and (ideally) people would make laws and would obey them willingly• felt that the individual should

be subordinate to the community

WHAT WOMEN THOUGHT

• “free and equal” did not apply to women• had natural rights – limited to home and family• Woman’s first duty = to be a good mother

• Mary Wollstonecraft• Published A Vindication of the Rights

of Woman (1792) – called for the same education as men; only then could women function equally alongside men in society

NEW ECONOMIC THINKING

• Physiocrats – thinkers who looked for natural laws to define a rational economic system• Mercantilism- government regulates prices and

tariffs to gain favorable balance of trade• Laissez-faire economics= government should stay

out of the economy, free trade• Adam Smith- argued for free market (the natural

forces of supply and demand)• Smith also believed government should stay out

of economy, but did have a responsibility to protect society

REVIEW QUESTIONS:

• Define:• Natural laws• Social contract• Natural rights• Philosophe• Physiocrat• Laissez faire• Free market

REVIEW QUESTIONS:

• How did the Scientific Revolution that took place during the Renaissance affect the Enlightenment?• How were the opinions of Hobbes and

Locke different, as they relate to government’s role?• How did Rousseau’s and Voltaire’s beliefs

differ?

ENLIGHTENMENT IDEAS SPREAD

• New ideas challenge society• People began to question “divine right” & class system• Church & government censored writers, banned books• Writers sometimes wrote fiction to expose corruption without

getting in trouble (Jonathan Swift, Voltaire, Montesquieu)

Re-creation of a French Salon from the Museum of Decorative Arts in Lyon, France

ENLIGHTENMENT IDEAS SPREAD

• Salons in women’s homes, Philosophes’ ideas spread• Started with noblewomen hosting poetry readings in

homes in the 1600s• By the 1700s, middle class women began to do it as

well• Many women held salons to learn from the discussions

of men

ENLIGHTENED DESPOTS

• Absolute rulers who used their power to bring about political and social change

• Frederick the Great• Catherine the Great• Joseph II

FREDERICK THE GREAT

• King of Prussia 1740-1786• Saw himself as a “servant of the state” – duty to

work for the common good• Admired Voltaire• Forced peasants to grow new crops like potatoes• Religious tolerance• More efficient government:

simplified laws and reorganized the civil service

CATHERINE THE GREAT

• Catherine II of Russia; empress in 1762• Granted nobles a charter of rights• Spoke out against serfdom• Expanded Russian empire

JOSEPH II

• Austrian emperor• Travelled in disguise among his subjects to learn of their

problems• Nicknamed “the peasant emperor”• Continued the modernization Austria’s government• Chose middle-class officials to run offices• Imposed a range of political and legal reforms• Granted religious tolerance• Ended censorship• Attempted to bring Catholic

Church under royal control• Sold unproductive property of

Church and used money to build hospitals

• Abolished serfdom

ENLIGHTENED DESPOTS LIKE THE NEW IDEAS

• Reform attempts by Frederick II• Prussian king from 1740 to 1786, absolute monarch• Allowed free press, religious toleration, reduced torture use

• Catherine the Great’s response• She studied works of Philosophes & admired them • Religious toleration, reduction of torture, criticism of serfdom

• More reforms by Joseph II• Traveled in disguise to get a feel for regular people• Like his mom(Maria Theresa), wanted to improve peasants’ lives• Religious equality for Protestants and Jews, abolition of serfdom• Many of his reforms were canceled after his death

NEW IDEAS REFLECTED IN LITERATURE AND THE ARTS

• Movement of Baroque to Rococo• Baroque = grand, complex style of art

• Heavy, bright, grandiose to light, charming, and elegant• Religious and military themed art to lighter topics• Popular in spite of Philosophes dislike

Portrait of Carl Gustaf Wrangel by David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl

Jean-Frédéric Schall - Gardener in Straw Hat

Which of these paintings is

baroque, and which is rococo?

• Introduction of what we call classical music• Opera (a play set to music) and ballet become popular all over

Western Europe• Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart

• Drawing of Mozart painting of • By Doris Stock, 1789 J.S. Bach

• New literary form: the Novel• Growing middle class wanted stories in prose form• Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

Composers inspired by Enlightenment

LIVES OF THE MAJORITY

• Slow to change• Early 1700’s• Most people lived in country, didn’t hear new ideas

• Late 1700’s• Enlightenment ideas started to spread to even the lower

classes• Some people didn’t want change, just wanted stable lives• Others started revolutions to try to bring about social change

Three PeasantsEngraving by Albrecht Dürer

PEASANT LIFE

• Western Europe• More prosperous• Serfdom had largely disappeared• Laborers worked their own land, paid yearly rent, or hired

out to help others work their land

• Eastern Europe• Serfdom was firmly rooted• Peasants bound to the land, owed labor services to their

lords, could be bought and sold with the land or sent to work in mines or the imperial army

REVIEW QUESTIONS

• Define• Salon• Enlightened despot• Baroque

• Describe three ways in which Enlightenment ideas spread.• Why did those ideas threaten the old ways of

thinking?• What were the goals of enlightened despots?• How did peasant life vary across Europe?

BIRTH OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC

• Britain as a global power• Location- island, large navy= good position to control trade• Few restrictions on trade= good for business• Won wars against France• gained control of Spanish slave trade (later abolished slavery in

their territories)• 1707= union of England, Scotland, & Wales (Ireland added

later)• King George III• 60 year reign started 1760• Placed his friends in important positions to strengthen his power

• Got them to Parliament to gain support for his policies

• Many of his policies did not work out well for him

CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

• A government whose power is defined and limited by law

• British constitution made up of acts of Parliament over centuries; unlike US Constitution• Includes Magna Carta and Bill of Rights and unwritten

traditions

• 2 Political Parties• Tories = aristocrats who wanted to preserve traditions;

supported broad royal powers and dominant Anglican church

• Whigs = backed liberal policies of Glorious Revolution; reflected urban business interests; supported religious tolerance; favored Parliament over the crown

• Not like the ones we know today; powerful people linked by family or personal agreements

CABINET SYSTEM

• Began in 1714 with George I• From Germany• Spoke no English• Relied on Parliament to help him rule

• Handful of Parliament advisers set policy• Called the cabinet because they met in a small room

• Gained official status• Made up of leaders of the majority party of House of

Commons• If Commons voted against Cabinet decision, Cabinet

resigned. Otherwise, Cabinet had support of Commons

• Headed by Prime minister • leader of the majority party in parliament and chief official

of the British government

MID-1700S IN AMERICAN COLONIES

• String of 13 colonies on east coast of what would become US, not united or connected

• Britain applied mercantilist policies to force colonists to buy from them and sell to them

• Navigation Acts were supposed to regulate trade and production, (were not enforced)

• Smuggling was so common that the colonists didn’t see anything wrong with it

• Colonists were more diverse than in Great Britain, social lines were blurred

• Colonists set up their own assemblies and practiced open and free discussion

COLONISTS UNHAPPY WITH THE SITUATION

• Various actions by Parliament and King George III were making colonists mad (taxes)• No taxation without representation

• Colonists rebel• March 1770= Boston Massacre• 1773- Boston Tea Party• First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to discuss options

• Colonists declare their independence• April 1775= Revolutionary War started in Massachusetts • 1776= 2nd Continental Congress set up the Continental Army with

George Washington in charge• Thomas Jefferson wrote Declaration of Independence, full of Enlightenment ideas• Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness Popular sovereignty=

government by consent of the governedAdopted by Continental Congress on July 4, 1776

AMERICAN REVOLUTION

• Advantages:• Britain: better trained soldiers, huge navy, natural resources,

support of about 1/3 of colonists and some Native tribes• Colonists: home court advantage, strong leadership, dedicated

to winning their independence

• France supports the colonies• 1777- Colonists won the Battle of Saratoga, France decided to

join (so did other nations)• Washington held his troops together in dire circumstances

• Treaty of Paris ends the war• 1781- French blockade of Chesapeake Bay forced British to

surrender (Yorktown)• 1783- Treaty of Paris ended the war, forced Britain to recognize

the United States of America

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

• Written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776• Claimed colonists had “certain unalienable rights:

life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…”• Basically told the King that colonists were

revolting against his unjust rule by declaring independence from Britain• Outlined colonists’ grievances against the King

• Enlightenment Influences• Reflected the ideas of John Locke (life, liberty, property)

A NEW CONSTITUTION

• Articles of Confederation• Too weak, focused on states’ rights, not central gov’t• 1787- framers met to write new constitution (Washington,

Madison, Franklin, etc.)

• Huge impact of Enlightenment ideas• Took Montesquieu’s idea of separation of powers & checks and

balances• Federal Republic- states within a nation, each with rights• Government as social contract (Locke, Rousseau)• elected president and legislature (could be replaced)

• Bill of Rights – first 10 amendments to the Constitution- guaranteeing certain freedoms

• Became supreme law of the land in 1789 (over 220 years old!)• Set up representative government with an elected legislature

SYMBOL OF FREEDOM

• Our struggle for independence inspired revolutions in Latin America and France • Many other nations have constitutions that are

based on ours!

REVIEW QUESTIONS

• Identify:• Tories • Whigs• Declaration of Independence• Bill of Rights

• Define:• Constitutional government• Prime minister

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT:

• What Enlightenment ideas are found in the Declaration of Independence?

• What advantages did the colonists have in the American Revolution?

• What Enlightenment ideas are found in the Constitution?

• How did the ideals of the American Revolution influence other nations?

WORKS CITED:

• Ellis, E. G., & Esler, A. (2007).Prentice Hall world history. Boston, Mass.: Pearson Prentice Hall.• All photographs are from Wikimedia Commons

and are in public domain due to one of the following reasons:• Copyright expired due to age of the work• Reproduction of a work already in public domain• No copyright exists