Chapter 13, Lesson 2 The Enlightenment It Matters Because: The ideas of the Enlightenment have strongly influenced the government & society of the United States & many other nations.

I. Reason & Politics A. Humanist thinkers believed there were laws of human behavior that could improve society Age of Enlightenment B. Use of reason to understand human behavior led to period known as the Age of Enlightenment C. Enlightenment thinkers believed there are natural laws that rule human behavior 1. The key to proper functioning government & society is understanding & applying these natural laws

II. English Thinkers Thomas Hobbes A. Thomas Hobbes: people are naturally selfish & violent Leviathan 1. Wrote Leviathan (1651): absolute monarchy was best form of government a. only strong ruler could control people’s evil nature absolutism b. absolutism - ruler has absolute, or total, power John Locke B. John Locke: natural law gives people rights 1. Government’s purpose was to protect these rights Two Treatises on Government 2. Two Treatises on Government: rights to life, liberty, property 3. Government answers to the people

III. The Glorious Revolution constitutional monarchy A. When William & Mary became monarchs of England, England became a constitutional monarchy 1. Written laws limit the power of the monarch Glorious Revolution 2. Known as the Glorious Revolution

IV. French Thinkers Montesquieu A. Montesquieu: frustrated with French monarchy separation of powers 1. Government must have separation of powers a. executive, legislative, & judicial branches of government balance power of one another b. no branch of government could become too powerful & threaten people’s rights Rousseau The Social Contract B. Rousseau wrote The Social Contract 1. social contract 1. Government is based on a social contract a. people have the right to replace any government that does not protect Locke’s “natural rights” 2. Government only has power with approval of the people 3. The will of the people should dictate the law

Voltaire C. Voltaire: wrote essays, novels, plays 1. Government should not interfere with religion a. established idea of the separation of the state & church Deism 2. One of the first supporters of Deism a. God created the universe, does not interfere, but allows natural law to operate IV. French Thinkers YouTube

VIII. Women & the Enlightenment A. Pre-Enlightenment, women in Europe had few rights 1. Women in the 1700s began to demand equal rights to men Mary Wollstonecraft 2. English writer Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women, demanding the rights that Enlightenment thinkers argued were basic to all men: life, liberty, property

IX. Absolute Monarchies A. Monarchs of Europe claimed to rule by the Will of God 1. Demanded loyalty as God’s representative in their kingdoms Louis XIV B. Louis XIV became French King, called himself the “Sun King” 1. Was absolutely powerful; boasted “I am the State” & “The law comes from my mouth” 2. Fought expensive wars, expanded French territory, but ultimately weakened monarchy 3. Became hated symbol of absolute power during French Revolution