Do Now (Silent Work)
1. Turn your DBQ response into the box
2. Pick up a sheet of construction paper and
one marker from the back table
3. Fold your paper into thirds so you have 3
columns
4. Then, fold your paper in half hotdog style
5. Your paper should look like the example
on the board
***The first 5 people to finish will receive 3
extra points on their midterm***
The Enlightenment in
Europe
The Age of Reason
 1600’s a new generation
of philosophers
 Reason could solve
human problems
 Enlightenment- age of
reason, time of optimism
and possibility
The Age of Reason
 People gathered in public
and coffee houses to
debate ideas
 Writers published ideas
in books and magazines
 1700’s Paris was the
center for intellectual
activity
 Salons-Parisian women
hosted gatherings of
philosophers, artists, and
scientists
Thomas Hobbes
 Thomas Hobbes-wrote
Leviathan said people
were selfish and greedy
 In a natural state people
were “solitary, poor,
nasty, brutish, and short”
 People needed a
powerful government
New Views on Government
 People would agree to
give up some freedoms
in exchange for peace
and safety
 Social contract-exchange
between society and the
government
 Absolute monarchy first
form of government
John Locke
 People are naturally
happy, tolerant, and
reasonable
 He argued all people are
born equal
 Natural rights of life,
liberty and property
 Purpose of government is
to protect peoples rights
John Locke
 Said monarchs were not
chosen by God
 People consented to be
governed
 Governments power to
be limited by laws
 If government failed to
protect their rights, then
people should overthrow
it
 Inspired revolutionaries
in Europe and the
Americas
 Philosophes- period in
France
 1. Reason- enlightened
thinkers believed truth
could be discovered
thrugh reason and logical
thinking
 2. Nature- The
philosophes believed that
what was natural was
also good and reasonable
 3. Happiness- rejected
the medieval notion that
people should find joy in
the hereafter and urges
people not to seek wellbeing on earthe
 Progress- stressed that
society and humankind
could improve
 Liberty- for the liberties
that the English people
had won in their Glorious
Revolution and Bill of
Rights
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
 French philosopher
 Believed people
were born good
 Society corrupted
people
 Social Contract
wrote “man is
born free but
everywhere is in
chains”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
 Believed government
should work for the
common good
 Not for the wealthy few
 Individuals should give
up some freedoms to
benefit the country as a
whole
 Despised inequality in
society
 Also inspired
revolutionaries
Baron de Montesquieu
 Best form of
government included a
separation of powers
 Prevent one group
from abusing its power
 The Spirit of Laws –
admiration for British
government and its
separation of powers
Baron de Montesquieu
 Separation of
powers led to a
checks and
balance system
 Became an
important
structure in later
democratic
governments
(USA)
Voltaire Combats Intolerance
 Voltaire- outspoken
French Philosopher
 Attacked injustice
 Nobility
 Church
 government
 Struggled for religious
toleration and justice
Voltaire Combats Intolerance
 Francis Marie Arouethis pen name was
Voltaire
 Imprisoned for making
fun of an official
 “I do not agree with a
word you say but will
defend to the death
your right to say it.”
Beccaria promotes Criminal
Justice
 Laws existed to promtoe
social order
 Criticized abuses of
justice
 Torturing witnesses
 Irregular procedures at
trials
 Punishments that were
arbitrary and cruel
Beccaria Promotes Criminal
Justice
 Person has a right to a
speedy trial
 Torture should never be
used
 Punishment based on the
crime
 Capital punishment
should be abolished
 Influenced laws in
Europe and North
America
Mary Wollstonecraft
 Rejected that women are
just wives and mothers
 1792 wrote A
Vindication of the Rights
of Woman
 If men and women had
equal education, then
they would be equal in
society
Legacy of Enlightenment
 Theories inspired
revolutions
 France, United States
 Long term effects shaped
Western Civilization
 Growth of scientific
knowledge
 Success of Scientific
Revolution gave people
the confidence that
reason could solve social
problems
Adam Smith
 Used reason to
analyze economic
systems
 1776 The Wealth of
Nations
 Business activities
should take place in a
free market
 Laissez-faire
economics-economic
system without
government regulation
Later, Times and Places
 Challenged beliefs in
absolute monarchy
 Relationship between the
church and state
 Roles and rights of
people
 Human reason could
solve any problem
Later, Times and Places
 Ideas of power and
authority would inspire
ideas and revolution
 American colonies would
break away
 Strongly influenced by
Locke and Rousseau