 Intellectuals dedicated to changing and reforming society
 Often disagreed with each other: ex. Hobbes & Locke but
all championed people’s rights for input into the actions of
their government… BIG NEW IDEA at time.
 All mention a “social
government
contract” between people and
 Thomas Hobbes – Leviathan (1651)
 argued for strong central government to maintain order;
believed absolute
power of government was
important to maintain order
 Worried by revolutionary upheavals
 Felt that people were motivated by ruthless struggle for
self-preservation
 thought that people made a social contract with the state
in order to preserve order in society
 Wrote Two Treatises on Government (1690) and An Essay Concerning
Human Understanding (1690)
 argued for a separation of church and state, argued for natural
human rights of freedom and independence, felt that people had
a right to life, health, liberty, and possessions (property)…
 Felt that a representative civil society was the best way to ensure
that, and that government was a social contract between
representatives and people
 human mind is a
“tabula rasa” blank slate, human identity is
“subjective” rather than fixed and objective. … meaning that all
could learn and grow!
 Voltaire (Francios-Marie Arouet) 1694 - 1778, worked in
France, the center of Enlightenment thought
 Championed individual freedom, critical of monarchies,
 Worried about religious tyranny, wrote Treatise on
Toleration (1763), “all men are brothers under God”
 In challenging the French monarchy, he wrote “it would be
more effective to get rid of the asses who rode horses”
 Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws (1748),
 Three different kinds of government (republic, despots,
monarchies)
 Best kind of monarchal government (constitutional) and
advocated separation of powers in government, “balance of
powers” ideal (between judicial, legislative, and
executive)… heavily influential to our own constitution
Jean Jacques Rousseau – the best exploration of the social contract idea
 Suggested that people had become enslaved by government
 Suggested that the best way for everyone to regain freedom meant
that governments must be restored according to a social contract
between it and the “general will of the people”, The Social Contract
(1762)
 People had a right to assert general will by force if necessary -
REVOLT
 For the
public good, all people’s best interests, all people
must submit to the general will … so some had to give up certain
independent freedoms
 Thomas Jefferson - Declaration of Independence, 1776,
big supporter of States rights in his interpretation of the
Constitution,
 Thomas Paine, pamphlet, Common Sense,
 Adam Smith – 1776, economics, Wealth of Nations -
best government approach to economics was a laissez
faire, capitalist “hands off” approach to the market
 Seven General beliefs of Enlightenment Philosophers
1. Equality before the law
2. Freedom of religious worship
** Directly
3. Freedom of speech
influenced our
4. Freedom on the press
Bill of Rights
5. Right to assemble
6. Hold property
7. Pursue Happiness (Jefferson)

American Revolution, begins 1775, (begins due to heavy taxation
and unfair representation after the Brits and Colonialists fight the 7
year’s war, French Indian War)  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that 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” - American Declaration of Independence,
1776
 First government was under the “Articles of Confederation”
ratified by 1781
 The US Constitution (ratified, 1787)
 Separation of powers (Legislative, Judicial, Executive
… Montesquieu)
 Separation of Church and State
 Concern over the power of central authority
 Our constitution limits the power of the federal
government with many rights and authority granted
to states and localities to make laws
 Ex. No real federal education policy - Local school districts
and states decide most of education policy (i.e., the Virginia
SOLs) and course offerings
 States have the right to set state tax laws, make marriage
laws, etc., etc.
1. How are Jefferson and Locke’s ideas related?
2. Who gave us the idea to separate powers in the
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
constitution?
What was the name of document that established our
first government?
Which enlightenment thinker suggested that we should
revolt if our governments are unfair or do not represent
us?
What war preceded our war for independence from
Britain?
Which philosopher wrote about religious toleration?
List 2 general beliefs of enlightenment philosophers.
Argue a point: Do you think the Enlightenment’s ideals
have been realized in modern America? Explain.