Bell Ringer 3/15/16a. Idea that men must forfeit some

personal freedoms for the benefit of having a strong ruler who maintains a peaceful and orderly society.

b. Blank slate theory, natural rights and the idea that man has the right to overthrow a ruler who does not protect those rights.

c. tolerance; freedom of speech and religion.

d. separation of government, checks and balances.

e. Noble Savage, ideas on education, social contract, the General Will.

f. capitalism, the invisible hand

g. women’s rights

1. Voltaire

2. Thomas Hobbes

3. Mary Wollstonecraft

4. Adam Smith

5. Rousseau

6. Montesquieu

7. John Locke

OBJECTIVE• I can explain the effect the new Enlightenment

ideas had on society and government.

• 7.62 Describe the accomplishments of major Enlightenment thinkers, including Locke and Charles-Louis Montesquieu.

Influence on the Monarchies • In the 1600s and 1700s kings, queens, and

emperors ruled Europe. • Look at the map on page 617- Which

European monarch ruled the largest country?• Many of these believed they ruled through

divine right. What do you think this means?

Louis XIV• King Louis XIV held the most power and he

believed he was the entire government. He declared ‘”L’etat, c’est, moi!” or “I am the state”.

• Although he had a ton of power other groups in society had privileges..nobles paid few taxes and held the highest positions in the army.

• The French clergy paid no taxes at all. However, most of the French people (the commoners) were poor, paid high taxes and had no role in the government.

Who Deserves Power• People began to question do these kings have

the right to rule??

Enlightenment Despots • Outside of France, some monarchs began to

change their ideas about their government.• They began to apply Enlightenment ideas to

their government. These rulers became known as the enlightened despots.

Despot – rule with absolute power

Enlightenment Despots• A despot is a ruler with absolute power. The

enlightenment despots tried to make life better for the commoners. They also believed they could make the country stronger if the commoners were happier. What are your thoughts on this- think about it and create a response in your composition book.

• Emperor Catherine the Great and Fredrick II of Prussia felt government and education should be reformed- they began to consider the need for democracy– What is democracy?

What’s He Talkin’ About??“As to the having and possessing of things, teach them to part with what they have, easily and freely to their friends, and let them find by experience, that the most liberal has always the most plenty…This I imagine, will makes brothers and sisters kinder and civiller to one another, and consequently to others, than twenty rules about good manners…” - John Locke

Which Enlightenment Thinker??

“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.”

JOHN LOCKE

Which Enlightenment Thinker??

CHARLES-LOUIS MONTESQUIEU

Which Enlightenment Thinker??

“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU

Thinking on the Government…

• Of the Enlightenment thinkers we’ve discussed, three had the greatest influence on government!

– John Locke – gov. power limited; people have natural

rights– Charles Montesquieu – gov. powers should be

separated into branches– Jean-Jacques Rousseau – gov. should express will of

people; social contract

Defending Locke!!• John Locke spent years, from 1683 to 1689, in

Holland to avoid arrest by the British government.– He believed the right of common people to think and

worship as they pleased and to own property• Based on what we’ve discussed about John

Locke’s ideas, write a letter to the editor of a newspaper defending Locke and his views and state logical reasons why the government should let him live in peace.