CH. 14-The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment

How did new ways of thinking about government and human rights lead to revolution?

Objective: Identify important Enlightenment philosophers & analyze the influence of their ideas on society and systems of government.

THE ENLIGHTENMENT

Scientists found new truths about nature by experimenting and using reason. So philosophers began using reason to seek truths about human nature. Because they wanted to enlighten, or shine a light on, this new way of finding out about the world came to be called the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment gained so much force in the mid-1700s that it destroyed old beliefs and led to lasting changes in society and government.

Multiple Choice

The Enlightenment is also known as the "Age of _______."

• Reason

• Logic

• Intellect

• Wisdom

^{WHY IT WAS CALLED THE "ENLIGHTENMENT"}

The name Enlightenment came from the philosophes’ belief that the “light” of human reason would shatter the “darkness” of ignorance, superstition, and unfair authority. Many claimed that rulers had too much power and that they kept their subjects uneducated and in poor conditions. By challenging established authority, the philosophes proved their courage as well as their independent thinking.

Enlightenment Roots

• can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans

• equality became a key feature

• influenced by the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and the Reformation

• reason-the power of the human mind to think and understand in a logical way

Multiple Choice

An Enlightenment thinker was also known as a(n)—

• despot

• salon

• philosophe

• citizen

John Locke

^{Locke believed that the power of government came from people, not from God or from a ruler. He believed that people gave their consent to be governed. In return, the government was bound to protect what he called the people’s natural rights. People were born, Locke said, with the rights to life, liberty, and property. He argued that people had a right to revolt if a ruler failed to protect these rights.}

Multiple Choice

Locke proposed the idea of a(n) ________, or agreement, between rulers and the ruled with clearly defined rights and responsibilities for each.

• sentiment

• salon

• declaration

• contract

Voltaire

• Francois-Marie Arouet

• wrote more than 70 books

• spoke out against religious intolerance & superstition in the Church

• was jailed at times for his writings

• called for freedom of speech

• insisted that each person had a right to liberty

Multiple Choice

Voltaire was from _____, and due to his controversial writings, was forced to live outside of his home country.

• Switzerland

• England

• Germany

• France

Montesquieu

• liberty was a natural right

• feared that a government could become too powerful

• government should be divided into three separate branches

• opposed absolute monarchs

• his ideas about the separation of powers became part of the U.S. Constitution

Multiple Choice

According to Montesquieu, one branch of government would make the laws. Another would enforce them. A third branch would _______ them.

• interpret

• modify

• translate

• print

^{Jean Jacques Rousseau}

• people should create governments that would both defend individual rights & protect the good of the whole

• people should vote for leaders

• opposed absolute monarchs

• all people were created equal

• his ideas stirred people to action—even to revolt

Multiple Choice

In his book The Social Contract, Rousseau argued that a(n) ______ was the best form of government.

• oligarchy

• monarchy

• theocracy

• democracy

WOMEN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT

The philosophes strongly supported the equality of men. But most held traditional views about women. In fact, Rousseau wrote that “woman was specifically made to please man.” Some women pursued Enlightenment ideas without challenging the men’s traditional views. But other women took up the cause of women’s rights.

Mary Wollstonecraft

• English writer & thinker

• published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

• well-educated women would help create enlightened families

• public life would be strengthened by having enlightened families

• women deserve equal rights to men in education & society

Multiple Choice

Mary Wollstonecraft had little formal education but taught herself at home by studying books.

• true

• false

Women and Salons

• wealthy & talented women in France hosted social gatherings called salons

• era’s best thinkers & artists participated in them

• discussed & exchanged ideas on an equal basis

• for the women, it provided an education that was not available to them anywhere else

Multiple Choice

Which is true of salons?

• leading painters, musicians, playwrights, and scientists attended them

• Marie Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin was one of the most admired salon hostesses

• most guests were of the nobility

• all answer choices are correct

EDUCATION FOR WOMEN

Most women who worked for women’s rights focused on social issues, especially education. In 1694, the English writer Mary Astell criticized the lack of educational opportunities for women. In America, Judith Sargent Murray wrote in 1784 that women who were deprived of education thought poorly of themselves. 

Multiple Choice

An enlightened Scottish economist named Adam Smith described a more free economy called laissez-faire, which is French for _________.

• "power to the people"

• "free-market economy"

• "leave it alone"

• "the way it is"

^{ENLIGHTENED MONARCHS ATTEMPT REFORMS}

A few European monarchs paid close attention to the political ideas of Enlightenment thinkers. They became enlightened despots. A despot is a ruler who has absolute power; enlightened despots wanted to use their power in a just and enlightened way. Frederick II of Prussia, Joseph II of Austria, and Catherine the Great of Russia were the boldest of these rulers. 

Multiple Choice

______ monarchs had unlimited authority and almost no legal limits.

• Democratic

• Philosophical

• Absolute

• Enlightened

Frederick II

• "Frederick the Great"

• ruled Prussia-what is today Poland and northern Germany

• absolute power from 1740-1786

• broadened religious toleration

• made the legal system more just

• greater freedom of the press

• improved education & outlawed torture

Sansoucci Palace, completed in 1747 and located in Potsdam, Germany, was Frederick’s summer home.

Multiple Choice

A right to rule believed to be given by God to a king or queen.

• divine right

• absolute right

• natural right

• constitutional right

Catherine II

• "Catherine the Great"

• ruled Russia from 1762 to 1796

• encouraged scientific farming methods 

• developed Russia’s natural resources

• opened hospitals and schools

• including one for girls

• supported the arts

Multiple Choice

An agricultural laborer bound under the feudal system to work on his/her lord's estate is known as a(n) ___________.

• lord

• despot

• vassal

• serf

Joseph II of Austria

• ruled from 1780-1790

• abolished serfdom

• allowed freedom of the press, worship, even for Jews

• outlawed torture

• reformed the justice system

• abolished the death penalty

• made widespread reforms

Multiple Choice

No other enlightened despot made more sweeping and widespread changes than Joseph II.

• true

• false

Louis XIV

• ruled France for 72 years

• ignored all of France’s traditional institutions

• enforced his will through government officials

• excluded the nobles from government 

• his reign was the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in history

Multiple Choice

Louis XIV was known as the ______ king" because he felt as though all of France revolved around him.

• sun

• holy

• spirit

• almighty

Versailles

In modern numbers, Louis XIV’s Versailles cost more than two billion dollars to build and involved more than 36,000 workers. It was the largest and most luxurious palace in Europe, with 700 rooms and 2,000 windows. Its rich decorations included 6,000 paintings, 2,000 sculptures, and the famous Hall of Mirrors, which was lit by 20,000 candles. 

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is true of Versailles?

• everything used to construct and decorate the palace was created in France

• The Hall of Mirrors within the palace has a total of 357 mirrors

• it is the second most visited monument in France

• it opened to the public as a museum in 1833

• all answer choices are correct

AMERICAN THINKERS

Many Americans studied the ideas of the Enlightenment. Some, including Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, visited Europe. They even exchanged letters with the philosophes. Franklin and Jefferson believed reason was the key to understanding both the natural and the social orders of the world. 

Multiple Choice

Colonial leaders, including Jefferson and Franklin, used Enlightenment ideas about political rights and unjust rule to defend their growing opposition to British rule.

• true

• false

SPREAD OF DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES

In 1783, the Americans were the victors in the war that followed their declaration of independence. Soon, they would again draw upon Enlightenment ideas. This time, they would create a lasting government that would guarantee the rights and liberties for which the American Revolution was fought.

Enlightenment & the U.S. Constitution

• separation of powers

• legislative, executive, judicial

• no single person/gov't branch could achieve absolute control

• Bill of Rights-listed individual rights the gov't couldn't violate

• freedom of speech and worship

Multiple Choice

Enlightenment ideas were the basis of many of the U.S. Constitution’s principles.

• true

• false

^{from the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE}

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.

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was mainly the work of one person—Thomas Jefferson. He was familiar with Enlightenment ideas and used them in the document. It was adopted on July 4, 1776.

This painting shows the signing on July 4, 1776. Jefferson is second from the right in the group standing at center.

Which of these Enlightenment ideas refers to individual rights?

a. direct democracy

b. free speech & religious expression

c. separation of powers

d. consent of the people

The Enlightenment

• people apply the scientific approach to all aspects of society

• philosophes propose the use of reason to discover truths

• thinkers suggest new ideas about individual rights and the role of government

Spread of Enlightenment Ideas

• Enlightenment ideas sweep across Europe

• salons help spread Enlightenment thinking

• Enlightenment thought inspires women to call for reforms

• Democratic ideas spread to colonial America

Democratic Ideas in Action

• enlightened despots attempt reform

• Americans declare independence and create a democracy based on Enlightenment ideas

• Democratic ideas in the English Bill of Rights become a model for the U.S. Bill of Rights

WHY IT MATTERS NOW

Even today, Enlightenment ideals influence people around the world who are trying to gain and to protect individual rights and freedoms.