1. WARM-UP:
Historians believe that the Scientific Revolution can go hand in hand with the Enlightenment… With that being said, what do you think the Enlightenment was in terms of political thinking?

2. THE ENLIGHTENMENT:
The intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries that caused dramatic changes in political, religious, and educational doctrines
Applied reason to the human world, not just the natural
Helped to stimulate religious tolerance
Fueled democratic revolutions around the world

3. THE PHILOSOPHERS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT:
Applied scientific knowledge and reasoning to law and government:
Thomas Hobbes
John Locke
Charles-Louis de Motesquieu
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Voltaire
Thomas Jefferson

4. The Philosophers of the Enlightenment – Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
Country:
England
Important Work(s):
Leviathan
Type of Government:
Absolute
Beliefs:
People are naturally wicked and need a strong government to control them
Power of the government comes from the need to manage people’s behavior, not divine sources

5. The Philosophers of the Enlightenment – John Locke (1632-1704)
Country:
England
Important Work(s):
Two Trestises of
Government
Type of Government:
Democratic
Beliefs:
Life, liberty, and property are natural rights
The government exists to protect those rights
Monarchs are not chosen by God
When a government fails to do so, the people, who are sovereign, have the right to change it

6. Country: France Important Work(s): The Spirit of the Laws
The Philosophers of the Enlightenment – Charles-Louis de Motesquie ( )
Country:
France
Important Work(s):
The Spirit of the
Laws
Type of Government:
Democratic
Beliefs:
The government should be separated into different branches to prevent any one branch from gaining too much power (separation of powers)
These branches should be the executive, the legislative, and the judicial

7. People are naturally good, but society corrupts them
The Philosophers of the Enlightenment – Charles-Jean-Jacques Rousseau ( )
Country:
France
Important Work(s):
The Social Contract
Type of Government:
Democratic
Beliefs:
People are naturally good, but society corrupts them
Government is a contract between rulers and citizens
Government comes from the consent of the governed

8. The Philosophers of the Enlightenment – Voltaire (1694-1778)
Country:
France
Important Work(s):
Numerous works of
satire (humor)
focusing on history
and politics
Type of Government:
Enlightened Absolutism
Beliefs:
Religious toleration should triumph over religious fanaticism
Seperation of church and state

9. The Philosophers of the Enlightenment – Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
Country:
United States
Important Work(s):
The Declaration of
Independence
Type of Government:
Democratic
Beliefs:
All men have certain inalienable rights and when the government abuses these rights, the people have the right to overthrow the government

10. INFLUENCES OF ENLIGHTENMENT ON THE UNITED STATES
Political philosophies of the Enlightenment fueled revolution in the Americas and France
How did the
Enlightenment
Impact the
United States?
Declaration of
Independence
U.S. Bill of Rights
U.S. Constitution

11. EXIT TICKET
How is the Enlightenment similar and different than the Scientific Revolution? How did Locke and Rousseau impact the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution?