Enlightenment Thinkers and Historical Figures

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John Locke

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People are naturally good. All human beings are born with natural rights (life, liberty, property).

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Thomas Hobbes

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People are naturally selfish and cruel. They need a strong government to maintain order.

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Baron de Montesquieu

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Governments should be divided into branches. There should be a separation of powers so no branch becomes too strong.

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Voltaire

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He believed in freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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Believed in a social contract. Supported a popularly elected government.

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Denis Diderot

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Created the Encyclopedia.

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Adam Smith

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Believed that a free market should regulate businesses, not the government. This is the foundation of capitalism.

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Mary Wollstonecraft

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Women are not inferior to men, they are just less educated. They also have natural rights (life, liberty, property).

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Louis XIV

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Known as the 'Sun King,' he turned Versailles into a palace and he brought the nobility under control.

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Philip II

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Catholic monarch of Spain who increased Spanish power by getting silver from the Spanish colonies.