The Enlightenment

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Chapter 18

• The Enlightenment American Revolution 1707-1800
• By Katya Joseph

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Philosophy in the Age of Reason

• The Scientific Revolution of the 15 and 1600s
  had transformed the way people in Europe looked
  at the world. It led to another revolution in
  thinking the Enlightenment.
• Through the use of reason, Enlightenment
  thinkers, people and governments could solve
  every social, political, and economic problem.
• Natural Law- rule or law that governs human
  nature
• In the 1600s, two men set forth ideas that would
  become key to the enlightenment Thomas Hobbes,
  and John Locke.
• Thomas Hobbes wrote Leviathan. He believed that
  all people are naturally selfish, greedy, and
  immoral. If not strictly controlled, they would
  do anything to satisfy their desires. To escape
  that barbaric lifestyle, he said people entered
  a
• Social Contract- an agreement by which they gave
  up the state of the nature for an organized
  society. Hobbes supported the absolute monarchy.
• John Locke wrote Two Treaties of Government.
  He felt that people are naturally good inside. He
  felt that humans also had
• Natural Rights- rights that belonged to all
  humans from birth. (The right to life, liberty
  and property). He felt that the government has an
  obligation to the people it governs. He supported
  parliament.

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• Denis Diderot produced a 28-volume Encyclopedia.
• The Enlightenment slogan, free and equal did
  not apply to women. Mid 1700s, a small but
  growing number of women protested this view.
• Their arguments, however, were ridiculed and
  sharply condemned. Mary Wollonscraft agreed that
  women had a first duty, but also felt that women
  should decide what is in her own interests.
• Physiocrats- thinkers who searched for natural
  rights to explain economics. This group of people
  urged the policy of
• Laissez Faire- allowing businesses to run with
  little or no government interference.
• Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations. He
  believed that the government should not get
  involved in personal business. He also believed
  that that prices should be regulated by free
  market

• In France, an influential thinker, Baron
  Montesquieu wrote The Spirit of the Law. He
  believed that there should be three branches of
  government legislative, executive, and judicial.
  He thinks of checks and balances, and wanted to
  build a world where no one man had all the power.
  
• Philosophes- lovers of wisdom- group of
  Enlightenment thinkers (in France) who applied to
  the methods of science to better understand and
  improve society.
• Francois-Marie Arouet, a.k.a Voltaire, targeted
  corrupt officials and idle aristocrats. He wrote
  about inequality, injustice and superstition.
• Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote The Social
  Contract. He felt that in order for a society to
  function, individuals had to give up certain
  rights. He also believed that people are
  naturally good but society corrupts them. He
  supported a limited government/ democracy.

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Enlightenment Ideas Spread

• Enlightenment ideas spread across Europe and
  prompted some rulers to make reforms.
• The Church felt they had a duty to defend the old
  order set up by God. They waged a war of
• Censorship- restricting ideas and information.
  They banned and burned books, and imprisoned
  writers.
• Philosophes sometimes disguised their ideas in
  works of fiction.
• New literature, the arts, science, and philosophy
  were regular topics of discussion at
• Salons- informal social gatherings at which
  writers, artists, philosophes, and other
  exchanged ideas.

• As ideas spread, some monarchs did accept
  Enlightenment teachings. They became
• Enlightened Despots- absolute rulers who used
  their power to bring about political and social
  change.
• Frederick II, Catherine II, and Joseph II admired
  Enlightenment thinkers and directed many reforms
  over their empires.
• But unlike the two other despots, Joseph II
  didnt rationalize or contribute in order for
  personal gain. He went great lengths to improve
  the lives of his people.

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New styles or art also came out during the
Enlightenment

• Baroque- ornate style of art and architecture
• Rococo- personal elegant style of art. Featured
  fancy designs in shapes of leaves, shells, and
  scrolls.
• New kinds of musical entertainment evolved
  ballets and operas plays to music
• Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frederick Handel
  became towering musical figures. In 1762.
  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart burst onto the European
  scene.

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Britain at Mid-Century

• Britains island location, colonial possessions,
  and powerful navy contributed to its rise to
  world power.
• In the century following the Glorious Revolution,
  there were three new political parties, the
  cabinet, and the office prime minister. The
  appearance of these institutions was part of the
  evolution of Britains new
• Constitutional Government- a government whose
  power is defined and limited by law.
• Two political parties emerged during the 1600s
  the Whigs and the Tories. The Tories were
  generally landed aristocrats who sought to
  preserve all traditions. The Whigs backed of the
  Glorious Revolution. They reflected urban
  business interests, supported religious
  toleration, and favored Parliament over the
  crown.
• When George I, German Protestant prince,
  inherited the thrown, he didnt speak any
  English. He expected the Parliament to help rule.
  George I and George II had a handful of help who
  set up policies. They were called
• Cabinet- parliamentary advisors to the king who
  originally met in a small room or cabinet. Head
  of the cabinet was the prime minister.

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• Whig leader, Robert Warpole molded the cabinet
  into a unified body, requiring all members to
  agree on major issues.
• British government was a
• Oligarchy- a government in which the ruling power
  belongs to a few people.
• Landowning aristocrats were seen as the natural
  ruling class. The highest nobles held seats in
  the House of Lords. Other wealthy landowners and
  rich business leaders in the cities controlled
  elections in the House of Commons. The right to
  vote was limited to a relatively few male
  property owners.
• In 1760, George III began a 60-year reign. He
  felt the need reassert royal power.After the
  Seven Years War, George decided that English
  colonists in North America must pay the costs of
  their own defense. In 1775, these and other
  conflicts started the American Revolution which
  ended in a loss for Britain.
• Cabinet ruled was restored in 1788

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Birth of the American Republic

• Colonial opposition to British trade and tax
  policies led to independence and the founding of
  the United States of America.
• By 1750, Britain owned a string of 13 colonies
  stretched along the eastern coast of North
  America.
• In 1763, relations between Britain and the 13
  colonies grew strained. Past wars had drained the
  British treasury.
• Parliament began to enforce long neglected laws,
  and raised taxes paid by colonists.
• No taxation without Representation! Colonists
  felt that this was unfair because they felt they
  had no one representing them in Parliament.
• In 1770, British soldiers in Boston opened fire
  on a crowd that was pelting them with stones.
  Colonists called the death of 5 citizens the
  Boston Massacre.

• December 1773, a handful of colonists hurled a
  cargo of recently arrived British tea into the
  harbor. It became known as the Boston Tea
  Party.
• As tensions increased, fighting spread,
  representatives from each colony gathered in
  Philadelphia. George Washington was among the
  members of the gatherings.

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• The Congress set up a Continental Army.
• April 1775, the crises exploded into war.
• In 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to
  declare independence from Britain.
• Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the
  Declaration of Independence. The Declaration
  emphasized the principle of
• Popular Sovereignty- states that all government
  power comes from the people.
• July 4th, 1776, American leaders adopted the
  Declaration.
• At first, the American cause looked bleak. The
  British has professional soldiers, a huge fleet,
  and plentiful money. Also one-third of the
  colonists were
• Loyalists- supporters of the Britain Government.
• Colonists did have some advantages they were
  fighting on their own soil, for their farms and
  towns.

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• 1777, Americans triumphed over the British at the
  Battle of Saratoga. This victory persuaded France
  to join Americans against its old rival.
• In 1781, with the help of France, the British
  army surrendered in Virginia. Diplomats of
  France, America, and Britain signed the Treaty of
  Paris.
• At the meetings in Philadelphia, the Constitution
  of the U.S was hammered out. It created a
• Federal republic-government in which power
  divided between the national, or federal,
  government and the states.

• A central feature of the federal government was
  the separation of powers legislative, executive,
  and judicial government borrowed directly from
  Montesquieu.
• The first ten amendments of the Constitution, the
  Bill of Rights, recognized the idea that people
  had basic rights.
• Though the Constitution had many limitations, it
  created the most progressive government of its
  day.

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Game Time

• Take out a pen and paper. Lets put what youve
  learned to test!

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Question 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 speakers statement best reflects the ideas
  of the Enlightenment?
•  1. A
•  2. B
•  3. C
•  4. D

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Question1

• The correct answer is C. The natural rights
  retained by citizens was a major theme of the
  Enlightenment and was endorsed by Thomas Locke in
  his Two Treatises of Government (1690), and
  Jean-Jaques Rousseau in his Social Contract.

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Question 2

• 1. changing the relationship between people and
  their government
•  
• 2. supporting the divine right theory
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• 3. debating the role of the church in society
•  4. promoting increased power for European
  monarchs

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Question 2

• The correct answer is 1. In direct opposition to
  the theory of divine right, Enlightenment
  philosophers often wrote of the social contract,
  in which rulers must protect the rights of their
  citizens, and citizens have the right to replace
  rulers who do not protect their rights.

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Question 3

• 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

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Question 3

• The correct answer is 2. Enlightenment
  philosophers rejected traditional church
  teachings and promoted the idea that man should
  use logic and reason to define the world around
  him. This led to changes in government and
  society.

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Question 4

• 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

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Question 4

• The Correct Answer is 4. Locke and Rousseaus
  ideas from the Enlightenment formed the basis of
  modern democracy.

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Question 5

• According to the Declaration of Independence, the
  people have the right to alter or abolish a
  government if that government
• is a limited monarchy
• violates natural rights
• becomes involved in entangling alliances
• favors one religion over another

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Question 5

• The Correct Answer is 2.The writings of John
  Locke and other authors of the Enlightenment
  expressed the idea of The Consent of the
  Governed. Rousseau also maintained that a
  Social Contract existed between government and
  the governed and when government failed to
  protect rights, a revolution was in order.

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So Lets See How You Did!

• 5/5 Seems like you know your History!
• 4/5 Not bad at all, Nice job!
• 3/4 Well, not horrible but looking over a few
  things wouldnt be so bad
• 2/5 Did you really even read the presentation?
• 1/5 NEXT TIME START AT PAGE 1!

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Chapter 18

• Mr. Hernandez
• Period A/1
• Katya Joseph
• Ch. 18
• 4th Quarter Project
• Due May 7th