1. Philosophies and ideas of the enlightenment thinkers
U.S. Government

2. Thomas Hobbes English Political Philosopher (1588-1679)
Thought that man kind was greedy, cruel, and selfish.
Viewed government as a way to ensure a collective security.
Need a strong government to control the impulses of men.
Believed the best government was in the form of a monarchy.
People would join a social contract. This basically means they give up some of their rights for security in an organized society.
“The people and their rulers are parties to a social contract that defines rights and powers of each.”
Wrote Leviathan
We may think this idea sounds absurd but when have we implemented his ideas? 9/11. In a time where many ideas were apparent, he took a mathmatical approach and had many claims in the scientific field as well.

3. John Locke English political theorist (1632-1704).
Formed his ideas from Thomas Hobbes.
However, he believed that man kind were moral and could be reasoned with.
All human beings have natural rights:
Life, Liberty, and Property.
The purpose of government was to protect our natural rights and if these rights were abused a revolution was necessary.
Government should be limited.
Wrote Two Treaties of Government
Nearly opposite of Thomas Hobbes.

4. Baron de Montesquieu
French Lawyer and Political Philosopher ( ).
Believed that governments should have a separation of powers in order to protect the peoples liberty.
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
Different branches of government balance and check each other out.
Checks and balances
Wrote The Spirit of Laws.
Montesquieu's early life occurred at a time of significant governmental change. England had declared itself aconstitutional monarchy in the wake of its Glorious Revolution (1688–89), and had joined with Scotland in the Union of 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. In France the long-reigning Louis XIV died in 1715 and was succeeded by the five-year-old Louis XV. These national transformations had a great impact on Montesquieu; he would refer to them repeatedly in his work. Montesquieu's work remained a powerful influence on many of the American founders, most notably James Madison of Virginia, the "Father of the Constitution". Montesquieu's philosophy that "government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another"[10] reminded Madison and others that a free and stable foundation for their new national government required a clearly defined and balanced separation of powers. Completely blind when he died from fever.

5. Machiavelli A diplomat for 14 years in Italy's Florentine Republic
Machiavelli's time away from politics gave him the opportunity to read Roman history and to write political treatises, most notably The Prince
The political philosophy that one may resort to any means in order to establish and preserve total authority
The work has been regarded as a handbook for politicians on the use of ruthless, self-serving, cunning, and inspired the term "Machiavellian.”
 One excerpt from the book reads: "Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved."

6. François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire)
French writer and philosopher ( ).
Advocated reason, freedom of religion, the importance of scientific observation, and the idea of human progress.
Believed fully in the freedom of speech.
Best weapon against a bad government.
"I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

7. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
French writer and philosopher ( ).
Believed that people are genuinely good and society was the cause of all problems.
Unequal distribution of wealth.
Government should be run by the will of the majority.
General will
Wrote The Social Contract

8. Mary Wollstonecraft
English writer, philosopher, and advocate of women’s rights ( ).
A feminist
Believed that the education system for women at the time was making women frivolous and incapable.
Wanted an equal education system for both women and men.
Claimed it would make women better wives, mothers, and professionals.
Wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.
In 1792, she published her Vindication on the Rights of Woman, an important work which, advocating equality of the sexes, and the main doctrines of the later women's movement, made her both famous and infamous in her own time. She ridiculed prevailing notions about women as helpless, charming adornments in the household. Society had bred "gentle domestic brutes." "Educated in slavish dependence and enervated by luxury and sloth," women were too often nauseatingly sentimental and foolish. A confined existence also produced the sheer frustration that transformed these angels of the household into tyrants over child and servant. Education held the key to achieving a sense of self-respect and anew self-image that would enable women to put their capacities to good use. Why are we talking about her now?