1. Warm-Up
Sort the papers in your Ziploc into categories – limited and unlimited government
With each scenario, discuss the type of government that it is (representative democracy, dictatorship, etc.).

2. Warm-Up
Discuss with your group – Are people mostly good or mostly bad?

3. SWBAT evaluate the political contributions of individuals from the Enlightenment era
Objective

4. Age of Enlightenment

5. Video
As we’re watching, re-create the drawing on your paper. Write any additional notes to help you make sense of the information.

6. Introduction Movement – 17-18th century Reasoning and human ability
Natural Laws and Rights
Vaccines were invented which stopped diseases
Edward Jenner – Small pox vaccine
New methods of science
Scientific Revolution led to the Enlightenment.

7. The Philosophes (Philosophers)
Enlightenment thinkers of the 18th century
Used rational thought to figure out and understand human condition
Impacted science, government, philosophy, and etc.

9. Thomas Hobbes – 1588 – 1679 Beliefs Purpose of Government Wrote
Humans are naturally greedy and selfish
People need government to impose order
Purpose of Government
Give up some freedoms to our leader in exchange for peace and safety
Absolute monarch; he believed that was the best way to rule
Wrote
Leviathan (1651)

11. John Locke – 1632 – 1704 Beliefs Purpose of Government Wrote
Natural rights – (unalienable) born with rights
People consent to government; power is limited by law
Purpose of Government
Protect people’s natural rights
People have the right to overthrow government
Wrote
Two treaties of Government

13. Baron de Montesquieu – 1689 – 1755
Beliefs
Wanted to prevent any individual or group from gaining too much power
Best form if government has separation
Purpose of Government
Legislative – makes laws
Executive - carries out laws
Judicial – interprets laws
Checks and balances should be part of modern government

14. Wrote
The Spirit of Laws (1748)

16. Jean Jacques Rousseau – 1712 – 1788
Beliefs
People born good and that society corrupts us
Everyone should be equal (excluded women)
People enter into a social contract with the government – can be broken.
Purpose of Government
Government should work for the benefit of the common good (people), not for the wealthy
Individuals give up some freedoms for benefit of community as a whole (submitting to the general will)
Sovereignty should be in the hands of the people
Wrote
The Social Contract (1762)

18. Francois Marie Aroute (Voltaire) 1694 – 1778
Beliefs
Believed everyone was equal (excluding women)
Freedom of speech was vital
Believed in a strict separation of church and state
Purpose of Government
Government should protect justice and equality
Wrote
Wrote under the name Voltaire because people disliked him
His books were burned and banned
“I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”

20. Mary Wollstonecraft – 1759 - 1797
Beliefs
Questioned why natural rights didn’t apply to women
Purpose of Government
Demanded equal rights for women, especially for education
Saw lack of education as a factor which limited women’s future
Wrote
A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)

22. Thomas Paine (1737-1809) British colonist, read Enlightenment works
Became a writer/philosopher of the Enlightenment
1770s – wrote “Common Sense”
Britain allowed only some “self govern”
Colonist felt entitled to equality and rights

24. Discussion Questions With whom do you agree: Hobbes or Locke? Why?
Where do we see evidence of these ideas in the structure of our own government?

25. Activity As a group, read through the Declaration of Independence.
As you’re reading through, have one person take note of where you see evidence of one of the Enlightenment thinkers’ ideas.
Highlight evidence of each thinker in the following colors:
Voltaire: Pink
Locke: Yellow
Montesquieu: Orange
Rousseau: Blue