Enlightenment Objective: How did the thinkers of the Enlightenment change or impact society? Warm-Up: Read the document in your notes handout and answer the comprehension questions. Be prepared to share with a partner and then with the class. Agenda Warm-Up: Document and Comprehension Question (8 minutes) Mini-Lesson: Enlightenment Thinkers and Guided Notes (15 minutes) Activity: Document Based Questions: Multiple Choice Practice (15 minutes) Closing: MS Answers and Graphic Organizer (4 minutes)
Two Treatises of Government (1689) By John Locke To understand political [government] power, we must consider the condition in which nature puts all men. It is a state of perfect freedom to do as they wish and to deal with themselves and their possessions as they think fit. They need not ask the permission of any other man If man in the state of nature is free, if he is absolute lord of his own person and possessions, why would he give up his freedom to live under the rules of a government? Why would he put himself under the control of any person or institution? The obvious answer is that our rights in the state of nature are constantly exposed to the attacks of others. Since most men do not concern themselves with justice, the enjoyment of rights in the state of nature is unsafe and insecure. As a result, each man joins in society with others to preserve his life, liberty, and property Since men hope to preserve [protect] their property by establishing a government, they will not want that government to destroy this goal. When lawmakers try to destroy or take away the property of the people, or try to reduce them to slavery, they put themselves into a state of war with the people who can then refuse to obey the laws. When lawmakers try to gain or give someone else absolute power over the lives, liberties, and property of the people, they abuse the power which the people had put into their hands. It is then the privilege of the people to establish a new government to provide for their safety and security. These principles also hold true for the ruler who helps to make laws and carry them out 1) According to John Locke, what is life like in the state of nature (e.g.- without government)? 2) According to John Locke, why do people agree to live under the rules of a government? 3) According to John Locke, what can people do if the government fails to carry out its duties? 4) CRITICAL THINKING- If you were an absolute monarch (a king with total control), how would you feel about the ideas of John Locke?
Another result of the Scientific Revolution was the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment changed the way people lived as political and social scholars began to question the workings of society and government, while rejecting traditional ideas. While the Scientific Revolution focused on the physical world, the Enlightenment attempted to explain the purpose of government, and describe the best form of it. The most influential Enlightenment thinkers were Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Voltaire, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean Jacques Rousseau.
Descartes: Rene Descartes was a French intellectual who challenged traditional ideas. He said that human reason was capable of discovering and explaining the laws of nature and man. The idea of human reason being superior to tradition led to the beginning of the Enlightenment, a time of political awakening that became revolution.
Hobbes: Thomas Hobbes based his theories on government on his belief that man was basically greedy, selfish, and cruel. In his book, Leviathan, Hobbes states that life would be a state of constant warfare without a strong government to control man's natural impulses. He believed people would enter into a Social Contract to escape from this. In the Social Contract, people would exchange most of their freedoms for the safety of organized society. Once people entered into this contract, there was no release. Hobbes did not believe in revolutions, and supported the idea of absolute monarchs.
Locke: John Locke also based his theories on his assessment of human nature. However, Locke believed that people could be reasonable and moral. In his book, Two Treatises of Government, Locke explained that all men have Natural Rights, which are Life, Liberty, and Property, and that the purpose of government was to protect these rights. Furthermore, Locke states that if government does not protect these rights, and becomes bad for the people, then they have a right to revolution. Locke supported a limited government that protected people's natural rights.
Montesquieu: Baron de Montesquieu was an Enlightenment thinker from France who wrote a book called, The Spirit of the Laws in 1748. In his book, Montesquieu describes what he considers to be the best government. He states that government should divide itself according to its powers, creating a Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branch. Montesquieu explained that under this system each branch would Check and Balance the others, which would help protect the people's liberty. The ideas of Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances can be seen in the government of the United States.
Voltaire: was a French intellectual who wrote and lectured about freedom of speech. Voltaire is best known for saying, "I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." He believed that freedom of speech was the best weapon against bad government. He also spoke out against the corruption of the French government, and the intolerance of the Catholic Church.
Rousseau: Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote a book called, The Social Contract, where he stated that people were basically good, and that society, and its unequal distribution of wealth, were the cause of most problems. Rousseau believed that government should be run according to the will of the majority, which he called the General Will. He claimed that the General Will would always act in the best interest of the people.
Enlightenment ideas helped to stimulate people's sense of individualism, and the basic belief in equal rights. This in turn led to the Glorious Revolution is Britain, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Latin American Revolutions. Some of these revolutions resulted in government based upon the ideas of the Enlightenment such as, Great Britain and the United States.
Elsewhere, a few monarchs retained absolute control of their countries while also enacting reform based on Enlightenment ideas. These monarchs are called Enlightened Despots. In Austria, Maria Teresa and her son Joseph II both introduced reforms based on Enlightenment ideas. They reduced the tax load on the peasants, provided free education, and ended censorship in their empire. In Russia, Catherine the Great introduced similar reforms. She enacted laws for religious toleration and free education, and also sought the advice of nobles and peasants in the running of government. However, these reforms seldom outlived the monarchs who had enacted them.
1. Speaker A: Good government stresses the importance of the nation and accepts the rights of the individual only if the interests of the individual are the same as those of the nation. Speaker B: The person of the king is sacred and to attack him in any way is to attack religion itself. The respect given to a king is religious in nature. Speaker C: All human beings are born free and equal with a right to life and liberty. It is the duty of government to protect these natural rights of its citizens. Speaker D: Our goal will not be achieved by democracy or liberal reforms, but by blood and iron. Only then will we be successful. No nation achieves greatness or unity without the traumatic experiences of war. Which speaker s statement best reflects the ideas of the Enlightenment? 1. A 2. B 3. C 4. D 2. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The ideas expressed in the quotation are based primarily on the writings of 1. Niccolo Machiavelli 2. Charles Darwin 3. Charlemagne 4. John Locke 3. Writers of the Enlightenment were primarily interested in 1. changing the relationship between people and their government 2. supporting the divine right theory 3. debating the role of the church in society 4. promoting increased power for European monarchs
4. The writings of the Enlightenment philosophers in Europe encouraged later political revolution with their support of 1. socialism 2. imperialism 3. the natural rights of man 4. the divine right monarchies 5. The writers and philosophers of the Enlightenment believed the government decisions should be based on 1. fundamental religious beliefs 2. the concept of divine right of kings 3. laws of nature and reason 4. traditional values 6. John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau would be most likely to support 1. a return to feudalism in Europe 2. a government ruled by a divine right monarchy 3. a society ruled by the Catholic Church 4. a society in which the people chose the ruler 7. --Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains. --Everyone has the natural right to life, liberty, and property. --Slavery, torture, and religious persecution are wrong. During which period in European history would the ideas in these statements have been expressed? 1. Pax Romana 2. Age of Exploration 3. Enlightenment 4. Age of Imperialism 8. Which statement best describes a change that occurred during both the Renaissance and the Enlightenment? 1. feudalism became the dominant political system 2. the use of reason and logic were discouraged 3. technology and science were considered unimportant 4. a new questioning spirit and attitude emerged 9. A major concept promoted by philosophers of the Enlightenment was the need for 1. a return to traditional medieval ideas 2. the use of reason for rational and logical thinking 3. overseas expansion by western European nations 4. strengthening the power of the organized religions
Share Out Causes of Enlightenment Effects of Enlightenment Homework: DBQ Handout