Name:______Unit #1
The Enlightenment Where:
When:
Causes (historical circumstances):
Effect:
People:
The Enlightenment refers to an important movement in Europe during the 18th century. Enlightenment thinkers were influenced by the Scientific Revolution. They believed that by applying reason and scientific laws, people could better understand both nature and society. Thus, they used natural laws to try and improve society – the relationship between the people and rulers. Many Enlightenment thinkers questioned the divine right of kings and the power of the Roman Catholic Church.
Enlightenment thinkers like the French philosopher, Voltaire, advocated religious toleration and intellectual freedom. His ideas influenced the leaders of the American and French Revolutions. Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed a government should express the “general will” of the people. His book, The Social Contract, helped to inspire the democratic ideals of the French Revolution. Another French philosopher, Montesquieu, argued for the separation of powers in government as a check against tyranny. His ideas encouraged the development of a system of checks and balances in the U.S. Constitution. John Locke, maintained that everyone has a natural right to life, liberty, and property. This had a profound impact on the ideals advocated by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence.
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Even some absolute rulers, like Catherine the Great, were influenced by Enlightenment thinkers. These rulers attempted to reform societies from above. They attempted to use some of the ideas of the Enlightenment, such as encouraging education and trade, while at the same time maintaining their traditional royal powers. Such rulers were called Enlightened Despots. Moreover, these ideas were used by women to advocate for women’s rights as well as the abolition of slavery.
1. How is the Enlightenment similar to the Scientific Revolution? How is it different?
Enlightenment Thinkers
Name Place Wrote Major Ideas John Locke
Baron de Montesquieu
Voltaire
Jean-Jacque Rousseau
Mary Wollstonecraft
William Wilberforce
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Enlightened Despots
Name Place Major Ideas / Actions Catherine the Great
Maria Theresa
Joseph II
Effects of the Enlightenment
Excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, 1776
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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness
Excerpt from the Declaration on the Rights of Man, 1789
The representatives of the French people, organized as a National Assembly, believing that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, being constantly before all the members of the Social body, shall remind them continually of their rights and duties; in order that the acts of the legislative power, as well as those of the executive power…may thus be more respected, and, lastly, in order that the grievances of the citizens, based hereafter upon simple and incontestable principles, shall tend to the maintenance of the constitution and redound to the happiness of all.
1. Provide an example from each document that demonstrates ideas of the Enlightenment.
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