Describe the Enlightenment and how the ideas of the Enlightenment influenced the United States and its Founding Fathers.

Thursday Warm-Up

Describe the Enlightenment and how the ideas of the Enlightenment influenced the United States and its Founding Fathers.

Enlightenment Guided Notes

Glue in your Enlightenment Guided Notes into page #37 in your notebook

Fill in the blanks as we go through the next few slides covering the Enlightenment philosophers

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE ENLIGHTENMENT

IS?Discuss with your table partner for about 30

seconds. Be ready to share and discuss.

The Enlightenment• The Enlightenment is a time

period in Europe that starts in the 18th century.• Also known as the Age of Reason

• To enlighten- the idea of shedding light on something, illuminating it, making it clear.

• Ideas from past movements are now applied to the political aspects of society.

Key Concepts of the Enlightenment• Rationalism

• The idea that people can use reason, or logical thought, to understand and improve the world.

• Rationalists believed they could analyze and understand patterns in the behaviors of people and governments.

• Individualism• Idea that individuals and their rights are

important.• Enlightenment thinkers believed that

individuals did not always need to sacrifice what they wanted or believed for the good of society or for the good of the government.

Beginnings of Revolution???• Enlightenment thinkers apply both

rationalism and individualism to government.• These concepts eventually led to conflict

because it threatened important social traditions, including religious beliefs.

John Locke• British Philosopher during the

Enlightenment• 1690-wrote Two Treatises of

Government• People are born with natural rights

given to them by God and cannot be taken away

• Life, liberty and property• Believed there was a social contract

between people and their rulers. • Government protects natural

rights while people obey laws of government.

• If government breaks that contract then people have the right to overthrow said government.

Thomas Hobbes• British political scientist during

Enlightenment• Believed people were driven by

their own self interests • People are greedy, cruel and

selfish • Too much freedom was not

necessarily a good thing• 1651-publishes Leviathan

• Discusses the need for a social contract.• People give up their natural

rights in exchange for law and order

• Law and order enforced by strong monarchs

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Prominent French Philosopher

during the Enlightenment. helps form the Philosophes Believed that humans were good

by nature, but society corrupts them

Writes The Social Contract Proposes that people are born

free and government and society restricts them too much

Writes that the only form of government that should be allow to restrict people is one elected by the people

Baron de Montesquieu French political philosopher during

the Enlightenment 1748-writes The Spirit of the Laws

Tried to identify factors of a good and uncorrupt government

Three branches of government(executive, legislative and judicial) Believed this separation of

powers would keep any one person or group from gaining too much power

Believed this separation was only way to protect people’s right

Each branch should have a check on the other

Voltaire Philosopher and writer

during the Enlightenment

Believed that humans needed freedom from government control in order to succeed and progress

Believed in freedom of speech, religion and press.

“I do not agree with a word that you said but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

First to advocate for Women’s Equality

Education leads to virtue and usefulness

Women have right to participate in society

Mary Wollstonecraft

BeccariaHelped form the “Academy of Fists”

Devoted to economic, political and administrative reformStressed the main beliefs of the Enlightenment

1764- published On Crimes and Punishment

He focused on the rights of the accused as well as the rights of victimsIn fear of government backlash Beccaria publishes anonymously until it was received positively

Beccaria’s ideas where quoted by American Founding Fathers such as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams

Immanuel Kant German philosopher Considered to be one of the

greatest philosophers of all time

Tries to combine the two main schools of thought in philosophy: rationalism and empiricism

Believed that true knowledge was a combination of senses, experiences and reason

At that time, Kant’s beliefs were completely new

Corner’s Activity There are four signs posted in the room that

read: Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Statements will be projected onto the screen and you will go stand by the sign that reflects your opinion about the statement

Be ready to support your opinion because we will be having a discussion on these topics

Be sure to participate because you will be graded on your participation during this activity

Statement #1Humans are

naturally selfish.

Statement #2

Giving up some rights in exchange for law

and order sounds like a good idea.

Statement #3

All people should be free and

equal, without social classes.

Statement #4

Every person should be given an education.

Statement #5People know how best to govern

their own affairs, not the

government.

Exit Ticket1. The idea that people can use reason, or logical thought, to understand and improve the world is called ________________.

A. IndividualismB. RationalismC. SalonD. Social Contract

Exit Ticket 2. The idea that individuals and their rights are

important is called _____________.

A. IndividualismB. RationalismC. SalonD. Social Contract