Enlightenment Philosophers: EQ: How did Enlightenment Philosophers address the problems of government and how did their ideas lead to future Revolutions.

What was the Enlightenment? A period of history in the 18th and 19th centuries People began to question the power of Monarchy They began to demand government reform At the heart of this movement were the new ideas that were being formatted by political philosophers called philosophes.

Thomas Hobbes: A 17th century philosophe from England He questioned the role of monarchs Agreed with Plato that there needed to be a strong, but just monarch The purpose of laws is to keep people from destroying each other

John Locke: Another 17th century philosophe from England He believed that people and government should enter into a “Social Contract” where both sides worked together for the common good Believed In Natural Rights.

Natural Rights: According to Locke, Natural Rights were given to all people at birth These included life, liberty, and property If your government did not protect you natural rights, then change the government.

The Baron of Montesquieu: 18th Century French Philosophe Separation of Powers: Believed that the government should be separated into 3 branches with equal power Checks and Balances: Believed that each branch of government should have “checks” on the others.

Separation of Powers:

Checks and Balances:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Jean Jacques Rousseau was most concerned with inequality within society His Discourse on Inequality was a condemnation of the poverty he saw in Europe and beyond He called on the people of Europe to rise up against oppression In The Social Contract, he emphasized the need to have an agreement in place between the people and their government.

Denis Diderot: He was a writer and a philosophe. While his writing is considered less important than some other philosophes, he did put together The Encylopedia This landmark work was an anthology of many of the main ideas of the enlightenment and contained articles from many different philosophes

Thomas Paine: Paine is most important for his manuscript “Common Sense” In this document, Paine questioned how a small island could possibly control a vast country like the 13 Colonies He also argued that it made sense for those colonies to govern themselves This document was vastly influential in convincing “Americans” to declare independence.