1. WORLD HISTORY: CHAPTER 5
THE ENLIGHTENMENT & AMERICAN REVOLUTION

2. SECT. 1: PHILOSOPHY IN THE AGE OF REASON
The Scientific Revolution of the 1500 and 1600s changed the way people in Europe looked at the world. They began applying science to:
Decision-making
Their quest for worldly answers
Many also began to ponder the use of reason and its impact on the physical world. This led to the investigation to what was called natural law- laws that govern human nature.
Coupling the Scientific Revolution with reason led to the Enlightenment- revolution in thinking that stressed the use of reason to solve social, political, and economic problems.

3. The Enlightenment era produced many “thinkers”
The Enlightenment era produced many “thinkers”. They were referred to as philosophes- “lovers of wisdom”. Some of them were:
Thomas Hobbes
Wrote Leviathan in which he believed people were naturally cruel, greedy, and selfish
Believed people escaped this through a social contract in which people gave up a state of nature for organized society

4. John Locke Believed people were basically reasonable and moral
Believed people had certain natural rights- rights that belonged to people from birth (life, liberty, property)
Believed government had obligations to the people it governed

5. Baron de Montesquieu
Believed government should be divided into three separate branches (legislative, judicial, executive)
Believed each branch should have powers that allow them to check the others so no one branch is stronger

6. Voltaire Was often imprisoned and even exiled for his
Hard-nosed believer in freedom of speech
Was often imprisoned and even exiled for his
outspoken criticism of the French government and Catholic Church

7. Denis Diderot
Produced an 18 volume Encyclopedia in which leading philosophes contributed articles
The Encyclopedia attacked such things as slavery, divine rights, and traditional religions. It praised freedom of expression, and encouraged education for all.
It was obviously hated by both the French government and Catholic Church.

8. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Most controversial philosophe
Felt people were born good and were corrupted by the evils of society
Wrote The Social Contract
Believed society needed controls established only by a freely elected government
Believed the good of the community should be above the individual
Believed the individual should be subordinate to the community

9. The great economic thinkers of this time were called physiocrats
The great economic thinkers of this time were called physiocrats. They pushed for:
Laissez-faire economics- business was allowed to operate without government interference
Free trade
Opposed tariffs- taxes on trade
One great physiocrat was Adam Smith
Argued for a free market economy
Firm supporter of laissez-faire ideas

10. SECT. 2: ENLIGHTENMENT IDEAS SPREAD
Some monarchs (kings and/or queens) fought Enlightenment ideas, but some accepted them. Monarchs that accepted Enlightenment ideas were called enlightened despots. They used their power to help bring about political and social change.
Some enlightened despots:
Frederick the Great
King of Prussia (today, Germany) from
Drained swamps and introduced new crops to peasants
Distributed seed and tools to peasant farmers
Tolerated religious differences
Made Prussian government more efficient

11. Catherine the Great Joseph II Became empress of Russia in 1762
Made limited reforms to both Russian law and government
Joseph II
Ruled Austria from 1765 to 1790 and was the most radical enlightened despot
Earned the nickname “peasant emperor” for travelling in disguise among his people to learn of their problems
Practiced religious tolerance
Built hospitals
Abolished serfdom
**Many of his reforms were canceled after his death

12. ENLIGHTENED DESPOTS
Frederick the Great
Catherine the Great
Joseph II

13. In spite of all the advances during the Enlightenment, the vast majority of Europeans remained untouched by the movement. Most people were peasants, and it will be the 1800s before significant changes are made for peasants.

14. Section 3: Britain at Mid-Century

15. Great Britain will also move toward a Constitutional Gov’t – government whose power is defined and limited by law.

16. The appearance of three institutions led to the evolution of the constitutional government.
-House of Lords/House of Commons
-Cabinet - Made up of the majority party leaders in the House of Commons; stayed in power as long as the House agreed with their decisions
- Prime Minister - head of the Cabinet

17. In spite of these governmental changes, G. B
In spite of these governmental changes, G.B. was still an oligarchy - government in which ruling powers belong to a few people.
Aristocrats continued to be seen as the natural ruling class with the highest nobles holding seats in the House of Lords. The right to vote remained limited to a small number of male property owners.

18. Section 4: Birth of the American Republic
By 1750, Great Britain’s North American colonies numbered thirteen and stretched along the eastern coast. The colonies were also beginning to feel independent with a growing sense of identity.
The British/colonial relationship will become strained by the mid 1760s. Due in large part to G.B. raising taxes on the colonies.

19. These taxes had been in place but never enforced
These taxes had been in place but never enforced. The new enforcement angered colonists and led to the saying, “No taxation without representation.”
G.B. did repeal some taxes, but the colonists remained bitter. In the early 1770s, two clashes intensified the situation:
Boston Massacre British soldiers opened fire on colonists throwing snowballs and rocks at them; five colonists were killed
Boston Tea Party to protest a tax on tea, colonists dressed as Native Americans threw tea from British ships into the harbor

20. The colonists soon formed the Continental Army with George Washington in command. In 1776, the Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence.
The Declaration’s primary author, Thomas Jefferson, emphasized two things:
People had the right to alter or abolish unjust governments
Popular sovereignty - all government power comes from the people
The War for Independence or the Revolutionary War dragged on until 1783 when the Treaty of Paris was signed. The colonies had won independence.

21. The first governing document of the United States was the Articles of Confederation. It proved too weak and was soon replaced by our current Constitution.