Enlightenment Thinkers

the son and successor of Maria Theresa who was an eager student of the Enlightenment who traveled in disguise among his subjects to learn of their problems.

• Joseph II

• George III

• Frederick the Great

• Diderot

Scottish economist who wrote The Wealth of Nations in which he argued that the free market should be allowed to regulate business activity. He said that the economy would be guided by an “invisible hand”

• Adam Smith

• George Washington

• Thomas Hobbes

• John Locke

an impassioned poet, historian, essayist, and philosopher who wrote with cutting sarcasm and sharp wit.  Sent to the Bastille prison twice for his criticism of French authorities. Known best for Candide

• Voltaire

• Diderot

• Montesquieu

• George III

from Virginia, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, 3^rd president of the United States, founded the University of Virginia

• James Madison

• George Washington

• Thomas Jefferson

• Thomas Paine

chosen to lead the American army and became the nation’s first President.  

• Thomas Jefferson

• James Madison

• Benjamin Franklin

• George Washington

In his Treatises of Government, he argued that people formed governments to protect their natural rights. He said the best kind of government had limited power and was accepted by all citizens.

• Thomas Hobbes

• John Locke

• Adam Smith

• Thomas Paine

wrote Common Sense which was a pamphlet that called on the colonists to declare their independence from Britain and echoed the themes of the Enlightenment.

• Thomas Paine

• Thomas Jefferson

• Thomas Hobbes

• George Washington

also known as the Father of the Constitution.  He kept detailed notes about the debates at the Constitutional Convention; 4^th President of the United States

• Benjamin Franklin

• Thomas Jefferson

• George Washington

• James Madison

wrote Leviathan argued that people were naturally cruel, greedy, and selfish.  Life in the “state of nature”--- without laws or other control--- would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”  To escape this, people entered into a social contract in which they gave up freedom for an organized society.

• Adam Smith

• Voltaire

• Montesquieu

• Thomas Hobbes

worked for years to produce a 28-volume set of books called the Encyclopedia. Explained ideas on topics such as government, philosophy, and religion.  Included articles by leading thinkers of the day, including Montesquieu and Voltaire

• Washington

• Franklin

• Diderot

• Rousseau