History of the Modern WorldClass Notes and Assignments
The Enlightenment
Mrs. McArthur
Walsingham Academy
Room 111
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Scientific Revolution Sparks the Enlightenment
In the wake of the Scientific Revolution came the Enlightenment. This was an era in which people
used reason to try to understand more about human behavior and solve the problems of
society
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Witness History Audio: Rousseau Stirs Things Up (not available outside of class)
Hobbes and Locke Have Conflicting ViewsEnglish philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke both wrote about society and the ideal
form of governing it. Hobbes thought people needed strict control to rein in their naturally brutish
tendencies. Locke thought people were moral at heart and were entitled to certain natural rights,
which governments were obliged to protect.
The Enlightenment and the American RevolutionSection 1: Philosophy in the Age of Reason, pp 544-549
Diderot: Pens to Inspire Revolution
New Economic Thinking
Economists also applied reason to their study of economics during the Enlightenment. Adam
Smith and a group of French thinkers called physiocrats urged economies that operated with
little government control.
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The Enlightenment and the American RevolutionSection 1: Philosophy in the Age of Reason, pp 544-549
Color Transparency 102: Law of Supply and Demand
QuickTake Section Quiz (not available outside of class)
Progress Monitoring Transparency
The Philosophes
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A group of French philosophers who wrote about government, law, and society were known as
the philosophes. Baron de Montesquieu believed in employing three branches of government
that could balance each other’s powers. Voltaire fought the slave trade and religious prejudice
with his witty writings. Denis Diderot collected Enlightenment articles in an Encyclopedia that
helped to spread ideas throughout Europe and the Americas. Jean-Jacques Rousseau thought
people were basically good and should be much freer from governmental controls. During the
Enlightenment, some women stood up for their inclusion in the new societies that were being
imagined.
Color Transparency 101: Enlightenment Ideas About Government
Note Taking Transparency 120
The Enlightenment and the American RevolutionSection 1: Philosophy in the Age of Reason, pp 544-549
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5 of 7Can you identify these men?
Law of Supply and Demand
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Practice Your Critical Thinking Skills
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New Ideas Challenge Society
While churches and monarchies tried to stop the flow of Enlightenment ideas through censorship,
Enlightenment thinkers found new ways of spreading their ideas, such as through novels and
salons.
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Witness History Audio: Mozart, the Musical Genius (not available outside of class)
Arts and Literature Reflect New Ideas
The Enlightenment saw the birth of new styles in art, music, and literature. Painters embraced the
lighter and more informal rococo style; composers, too, moved away from the baroque and into
rococo and classical music. This was evidenced in the works of Handel, Haydn, and Mozart. In
literature, the novel was king as audiences devoured long stories about their own times.
Witness History Audio: Rococo Reaction (not available outside of class)
Note Taking Transparency 121A
The Enlightenment and the American RevolutionSection 2: Enlightenment Ideas Spread, pp 550-556
Enlightened Despots Embrace New Ideas
Some absolute rulers of the time adopted limited reforms inspired by Enlightenment ideas. For
instance Frederick II of Prussia, Catherine the Great of Russia, and Joseph II of Austria all
showed religious tolerance. Still the monarchs were not willing to share their power.
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Note Taking Transparency 121B
Geography Interactive: Enlightened Rules of the Eighteenth Century (not available outside of class)
The Enlightenment and the American RevolutionSection 2: Enlightenment Ideas Spread, pp 550-556
Lives of the Majority Change Slowly
It wasn’t until the late 1700s that Enlightenment ideas spread through Europe’s peasant classes.
In time, these ideas, in combination with war and economic troubles, would bring the masses to
revolt.
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The Enlightenment and the American RevolutionSection 2: Enlightenment Ideas Spread, pp 550-556
Witness History Audio: Milan’s La Scala (not available outside of class)
QuickTake Section Quiz (not available outside of class)
Progress Monitoring Transparency
The Enlightenment and the American RevolutionSection 2: Enlightenment Ideas Spread, pp 550-556
The Enlightenment and the American Revolution: Section 2
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Practice Your Critical Thinking Skills
Assignment 11. Read Thumbnail Reviews (Renaissance/Absolutism)
2. Complete Modern Political Map of Europe (text, pp 1140)
• Number each country
• Create a numbered key on a separate sheet of paper
Reminders:•Unit 17 Exam: Tues. Sept. 14
•Optional Field Trip: Tour of Rare Book Dept. at Swem Library, W&M, Thurs. Sept 16 from 3:15-415.
You must sign up by Sept. 14. 25-person limit.
Assignment 21. Complete in-class activity as necessary: text, pp 549 and answer
Thinking Critically questions.
2. Read pp. 544-545, answer questions at end of 3 captions, 2 Checkpoint
questions and write identifications of blue-bold terms.
3. Answer briefly question, #3, pp 548
4. Study notes (3) provided on PP
Reminders:•Unit 17 Exam: Tues. Sept. 14
•Optional Field Trip: Tour of Rare Book Dept. at Swem Library, W&M, Thurs. Sept 16 from 3:15-415.
You must sign up by Sept. 14. 25-person limit.
Assignment 31. Read pp. 546-548, answer questions at end of 3 captions, 2 Checkpoint
questions and write identifications of blue-bold terms.
2. Study notes provided on PP
3. Take practice quiz
Reminders:•Unit 17 Exam: Tues. Sept. 14
•Optional Field Trip: Tour of Rare Book Dept. at Swem Library, W&M, Thurs. Sept 16 from 3:15-415.
You must sign up by Sept. 14. 25-person limit.
Assignment 41. Read pp. 550-top of 553, answer questions at end of 1 caption, 2
Checkpoint questions and write identifications of blue-bold terms.
2. Study Infographic and answer questions Thinking Critically, pp 553 as
well as question #4, pp. 555.
Reminders:•Unit 17 Exam: Tues. Sept. 14
•Optional Field Trip: Tour of Rare Book Dept. at Swem Library, W&M, Thurs. Sept 16 from 3:15-415.
You must sign up by Sept. 14. 25-person limit.
Assignment 51. Read pp. 553-556, answer 2 Checkpoint questions and write
identifications of blue-bold terms.
2. Complete Map Skills activity, pp 554 as well as Thinking Critically,
pp556.
3. Study notes (2) provided on PP
4. Take practice quiz
Reminders:•Unit 17 Exam: Tues. Sept. 14
•Optional Field Trip: Tour of Rare Book Dept. at Swem Library, W&M, Thurs. Sept 16 from 3:15-415.
You must sign up by Sept. 14. 25-person limit.