D. Sponseller Early American History Parkersburg South High School The Enlightenment D. Sponseller Early American History Parkersburg South High School

What is the Enlightenment? a movement of thinkers who believed that science could explain everything in nature.

Before the Enlightenment… Until then, most people believed that god controlled the universe in a "metaphysical" manner Metaphysical means "beyond physical“ suggests that it is impossible for humans to comprehend things that happen in our environment 

Who was in the Enlightenment? Galileo = one of the first thinkers of the Enlightenment discovered that many moons surrounded Jupiter proved Copernicus' theory church was opposed imprisoned for heresy and printers were forbidden to print his writings His students continued to discuss his teachings and in time, the ideas of using observations and measurement were to become the root of modern science. 

What did the Enlightenment do? Encouraged people to use science to explore nature and to question what they had always accepted without questioning encouraged people to participate in govt. and to rethink old ideas like feudalism and primogeniture The A.R. was seen by many as a huge achievement for the Enlightenment. Constitution provided for a government where nobody was above the law. There were freedoms of speech and religion, and press would be allowed to print any true statement.

Negative Side of the Enlightenment Many of the thinkers were atheists, who did not believe in god They often attacked religion and the faithful Many were also bloodthirsty in attempting to reach their goals The French Revolution and the "Reign of Terror" were two episodes of history that ended the period known as the Enlightenment. 

How did the change begin? peasants moved from rural estates to towns for freedom and prosperity the ordinary town-dweller began to realize that things need not always go on as they had for centuries New charters, new governments, new laws, new businesses begun. a new class of merchants came into prominence, partially displacing the old aristocracy whose power had been rooted in the ownership of land had their own ideas about the sort of world they wanted to inhabit, and they became major agents of change, in the arts, in government, and in the economy.

Change was inevitable Europeans were changing, but Europe's institutions were not keeping up The Church insisted that it was the only source of truth all who lived outside its bounds were damned, while it was apparent to any reasonably sophisticated person that most human beings on earth were not and had never been Christians yet they had built great and inspiring civilizations Writers and speakers grew restive at the omnipresent censorship and sought whatever means they could to evade or even denounce it.

What’s next for us? Enlightenment thinkers Aristotle, Queen Elizabeth I, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, King Louis XIV, Baron de Montesquieu, Plato, Rousseau, Mar Wollstonecraft Forms of government and why they are ideal Democracy, Monarchy, Limited Monarchy, Absolute Monarchy, Limited Constitutional Monarchy, Direct Democracy Can people be trusted to govern? Yes or no. . .and why!