Chapter 18
The Age of Enlightenment
Chapter 18
Section 1
The Enlightenment
Scientific progress convinced Europeans of
the power of human reason. In the 1700s,
other scientists expanded European
knowledge. Joseph Priestley and Antoine
Lavoisier for example, built the framework
for modern chemistry. Edward Jenner
developed a vaccine against smallpox, a
disease whose path of death spanned the
centuries.
The Enlightenment
If people used reason to find laws that governed
the physical world, why not use reason to
discover natural laws, or laws that governed
human nature?
Thus, the Scientific Revolution led to another
revolution in thinking, which came to be known
as the Enlightenment (Age of Reason)
Through the use of reason, people and
governments could solve social, political, and
economic problems.
Views of the Social Contract

Thomas Hobbes set out his ideas in
a work titled Leviathan.(1651) In it,
he argued that people were naturally
cruel, greedy, and selfish. If not
strictly controlled, they would fight,
rob, and oppress one another. Life in
the “state of nature”—without laws or
other control—would be “solitary,
poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
Views of the Social Contract

To escape that “brutish” life, said Hobbes,
people entered into a social contract, an
agreement by which they gave up the
state of nature for an organized society.
Hobbes believed that only a powerful
government could ensure an orderly
society. For him, such a government was
an absolute monarchy, which could
impose order and compel obedience.
Views of the Social Contract

John Locke had a more
optimistic view of human nature.
People were basically
reasonable and moral, he said.
Further, they had certain natural
rights, or rights that belonged to
all humans from birth. These
included the rights to life, liberty,
and property.
Views of the Social Contract


In Two Treatises of Government, Locke
argued his social contract that people formed
governments to protect their natural rights. The
best kind of government, he said, had limited
power and was accepted by all citizens
(constitutional monarchy). Thus, unlike Hobbes,
Locke rejected absolute monarchy.
Locke then set out a radical idea. A government,
he said, has an obligation to the people it
governs. If a government fails its obligations or
violates people's natural rights, the people have
the right to overthrow that government
Locke Continued
Another of Locke’s works is Essay
Concerning Human Understanding
 Advanced the theory of tabula rasa, by
which Locke believed that at birth, every
human being’s mind is a blank page and
all knowledge comes from experience

Views of the Social Contract


In 1748, Baron de Montesquieu published The
Spirit of the Laws. In it, he discussed
governments throughout history and wrote
admiringly about Britain's limited monarchy.
Montesquieu felt that the British had protected
themselves against tyranny by dividing the
various functions and powers of government
among three separate branches: the legislative,
executive, and judicial.
Montesquieu

Still, he felt that the separation of powers
was the best way to protect liberty.
Montesquieu also felt that each branch of
government should be able to serve as a
check on the other two, an idea that we
call checks and balances.
Views of the Social Contract
Thomas Hobbs
JOHN LOCKE
BARON de
MONTESQUIEU
People are naturally
cruel, greedy, and
selfish.
People are basically
reasonable and moral.
People entered into a
social contract, in order
to live in an organized
society.
Each branch of
government should
A government has a duty serve as a check on the
to the people it governs. others.
If a government fails, the
people have the right to
overthrow it
“In order to have liberty,
it is necessary that
government be set up so
that one man need not
be afraid of another.”
Only an absolute
monarchy can ensure an
orderly society.
People have certain
natural rights.
The separation of
powers is the best way
to protect liberty.
Philosophes
Thinkers called philosophes believed that the
use of reason could lead to reforms of
government, law, and society.
Advanced proposals for the improvement of the
human condition and the reform of society
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet, who
took the name Voltaire. “My
trade,” said Voltaire, “is to say
what I think,”
 He battled inequality, injustice,
and superstition. He detested the
slave trade and deplored
religious prejudice.

Voltaire



Candide – satirical work- critical of religious
persecution, war & superstition
Best type of government was an enlightened despot
– an absolute monarch who was willing to use his
authority to promote reform
Strong believer in freedom of speech
 “I do not agree with a word you say but I will
defend to the death your right to say it”
Voltaire
An advocate of Deism – the religious belief
that God had created the universe and set it in
motion to operate according to natural laws but
no longer intervened in His creation
 Deist believed in life after death
 God would reward and punish according to
their moral conduct during their life
 Rejected fundamental doctrines of Christianity

Denis Diderot
Created a 28 volume Encyclopedia –
emphasis on how to improve the lives of
humans through practical technology
 Diderot's Encyclopedia included articles by
leading thinkers of the day, including
Montesquieu and Voltaire.
 Banned by the Roman Catholic Church and
criticized by most states

Jean-Jacques Rousseau


The most controversial philosophe,
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau believed that people in
their natural state (noble savage)
were basically good. This natural
innocence, he felt, was corrupted by
the evils of society, especially the
unequal distribution of property.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau




The Social Contract - “Man is born free and
everywhere he is in chains”
He believed that some controls were necessary, but
that they should be minimal. Additionally, these
controls should be imposed only by governments that
had been freely elected. – the concept of the will of
the majority (general will)
Believed that an aristocracy would be best type of
government to rule people (ideal would be direct
democracy)
Also wrote work called Emile, study on natural
education—learn by direct experience
Women and the Philosophes


Women did have “natural rights,” said the
philosophes. But unlike the natural rights of men,
these rights were limited to the areas of home and
family.
By the mid-1700s, a small but growing number of
women protested this view. They questioned the
notion that women were by nature inferior to men and
that men's domination of women was therefore part of
“nature's plan.”
Mary Wollstonecraft



Mary Wollstonecraft in Britain
argued that women were being
excluded from the social contract
itself. Their arguments, however,
were ridiculed and often sharply
condemned.
A Vindication of the Rights of
Women – educate girls just like
boys then can they get equality
Right to vote and hold office
The Philosophes and Society
Voltaire
Rousseau
Defended the principle of Believed that people
freedom of speech.
were basically good.
Opposed the slave trade
and religious prejudice.
Argued that government
controls should be
minimal and should only
be imposed by a freely
elected government.
“If God did not exist, it
would be necessary to
invent Him.”
Felt the good of the
community should be
placed above individual
interests.
Used wit to expose
abuses and corruption.
Mary
Wollstonecraft
Argued that a woman
should be able to decide
what is in her own
interest and should not
be completely dependent
on her husband.
Called for equal
education for girls and
boys.
Enlightenment and Law
Cesare Beccaria wrote On Crimes and
Punishment
 Called for complete overhaul in area of
jurisprudence (law)—accused should
have certain basic rights
 No torture to gain admissions of guilt
 No capital punishment—rehabilitation of
criminals
 Punishment should be swift—punishment
should focus on rehabilitation of the
criminal

New Economic theory
Thinkers called physiocrats focused on
economic reforms. Like the philosophes,
physiocrats looked for natural laws to define a
rational economic system.
 Physiocrats rejected mercantilism in favor of a
policy called laissez faire
Laissez faire means allowing businesses to run
with little or no government interference.

Economics

Support the idea of free trade (free
market)—flow of commerce without
government interference (no tariffs)
Adam Smith– Leading Physiocrat


In The Wealth of Nations, Adam
Smith argued that the free market
should be allowed to regulate
business activity. Smith supported
laissez faire, but also believed that
a government had a duty to protect
society, administer justice, and
provide public works.
Law of supply and demand, law
of self-interest and law of
competition
Adam Smith

A nations wealth was based on its
production of goods by its farmers,
artisans, and factory workers
Chapter 18
Section 2
Spread of the Enlightenment

Ideas spread quickly through the many levels
of society
The educated and upper- class quickly gobbled up
the pamphlets & other literature printed
 The middle-class men discussed the new ideas in
coffee-houses in major cities

Spread of the Enlightenment

Government and church officials tried to
protect the old order. To defend against the
attacks of the Enlightenment, they used
censorship, the restricting of access to ideas
and information. They banned and burned
books and imprisoned writers.
Spread of the Enlightenment
Salons were informal social gatherings
where writers, artists, philosophes, and
others exchanged ideas.
 Originated in Paris under the direction of
wealthy noblewomen

 Became
important in spreading the ideas of
the Enlightenment
Enlightened Despots

Frederick the Great - he saw himself as the “first
servant of the state,” with a duty to work for the
common good.



he had swamps drained and forced peasants to grow new
crops such as the potato.
He had seed and tools distributed to peasants who had
suffered in Prussia's wars.
Frederick also tolerated religious differences,
welcoming victims of religious persecution. “In my
kingdom,” he said, “everyone can go to heaven in his
own fashion.”
Enlightened Despots
Catherine the Great - read the works of the
philosophes and exchanged letters with
Voltaire and Diderot .
 She granted nobles a charter of rights and
criticized the institution of serfdom.

Enlightened Despots




Joseph II of Austria - Joseph traveled in disguise
among his subjects to learn of their problems.
he granted toleration to Protestants and Jews in his
Catholic empire.
He ended censorship and attempted to bring the
Catholic Church under royal control.
 sold the property of many monasteries and
convents and used the proceeds to build hospitals
Joseph even abolished serfdom.
Arts & Literature

Art – Baroque - Baroque paintings were huge,
colorful, and full of excitement. They glorified
historic battles or the lives of saints. Such works
matched the grandeur of European courts.


Portrait painters showed noble subjects in charming rural
settings, surrounded by happy servants and pets
Rococo - Unlike the heavy splendor of the baroque,
rococo art was personal, elegant, and charming.
Furniture and tapestries featured delicate shells and
flowers.
Music

Johann Sebastian Bach - wrote
complex and beautiful religious works
for organ and choirs.
Music


George Fredrick Handel – noted for
his operas
most celebrated work, the Messiah,
combines instruments and voices.
Today, it is a standard at Christmas and
Easter concerts.
Music



Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart –
Child prodigy
Works include operas, symphonies,
and moving religious music
Famous works include The Magic
Flute & The Marriage of Figaro
Literature
Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe, an
exciting tale about a sailor shipwrecked on a
tropical island.
 In Pamela, Samuel Richardson used a series
of letters to tell a story about a servant girl.
This technique was adopted by other authors
of the period
 Jonathan Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travels – a
political & social satire

Chapter 18
Section 3
England As A World Power

Location placed England in a position to
control trade during the Renaissance. English
merchants sent ships across the world's oceans
and planted outposts in the West Indies, North
America, and India. From these tiny
settlements, England would build a global
empire.
England As A World Power

In the 1700s, Britain was usually on the
winning side in European conflicts. Treaty of
Utrecht, France gave Britain Nova Scotia and
Newfoundland in North America. In 1763, the
Treaty of Paris ending the French and Indian
War and the Seven Years' War brought Britain
all of French Canada. The British East India
Company also pushed the French out of India
England As A World Power
England had developed a powerful navy,
which could protect its growing empire and
trade.
 England offered a more favorable climate to
business and commerce than did its European
rivals.
 The union of England and Scotland brought
economic advantages to both lands.

Growth of Constitutional Government In
England

In the century following the Glorious Revolution,
three new political institutions arose in Britain:


Political parties emerged in England in the late 1600s. The
first political parties, the Tories and the Whigs,
represented small exclusive groups of wealthy men.
The cabinet system was a group of advisers to the prime
minister. They were called the cabinet because they met in
a small room. Under George I (1st Hanover king) and his
German-born son George II, a handful of parliamentary
advisers set policy.
Growth of Constitutional Government In
England

The Prime Minister was the leader of the majority
party in Parliament and in time the chief official of
the British government. Heading the cabinet was the
prime minister


Robert Walpole Prime Minister from 1721 to 1742 was
the first
The appearance of these institutions was part of the
evolution of Britain’s constitutional government,
that is a government whose power is defined and
limited by law.
George III

George III came to power anxious to
reassert royal power. He wanted to end
Whig domination, choose his own
ministers, dissolve the cabinet system,
and make Parliament follow his will.
George III

Toward these ends, he:
Gave parliamentary seats to his friends and
supporters.
 Tried to force English colonists in North America
to pay the costs of their own defense

George III

In 1775, George’s policies in North America
triggered the American Revolution, which
ended in a loss for Britain. Britain's loss of its
American colonies discredited the king.
Increasingly, too, he suffered from bouts of
mental illness. In the crisis of leadership that
followed, cabinet rule was restored in 1788.
Chapter 18
Section 4
The American Colonies
By the mid 1700s, the colonies were home to
diverse religious and ethnic groups. The
colonists felt entitled to the rights of English
citizens, and their colonial assemblies
exercised much control over local affairs.
the colonists shared common values, respect for
individual enterprise, and an increasing sense
of their own identity separate from that of
Britain.
Colonies served as trade links between Britain
and North America, the West Indies, and
Africa
The American Revolution
After 1763, relations between Britain and the
13 colonies grew strained.
 George III wanted the colonists to help pay
for the Seven Years’ War and troops still
stationed along the frontier.
 “No taxation without representation.”
 The colonists protested that since they had no
representation in Parliament, the British had no
right to tax them.

The American Revolution



March 1770, British soldiers in Boston opened fire
on a crowd that was pelting them with stones and
snowballs. Colonists called the death of five
protesters the “Boston Massacre.”
In December 1773, a handful of colonists hurled a
cargo of recently arrived British tea into the harbor to
protest the Tea Act - a tax on tea. The incident
became known as the Boston Tea Party.
Stamp Act caused boycotts of British goods by
colonists
The American Revolution



September 1774 – the First Continental Congress
met to protest the treatment of Boston after the tea
party
April 1775 Battle of Lexington and Concord – the
opening battle of the American Revolution
May 1775 the Second Continental Congress meet

Made George Washington commander of the Continental
Army
The American Revolution



July 1776 – Thomas Jefferson writes the
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration claimed that people had the right “to
alter or to abolish” unjust governments—a right to
revolt.
Because the king had trampled colonists' natural
rights, he argued, the colonists had the right to rebel
and set up a new government that would protect
them.

Clearly reflecting the ideas of Locke & the Enlightenment
The American Revolution

British had certain advantages




Professional military
Not all Americans supported
independence (Loyalists)
Control of major cities
Americans had a few advantages





Fighting for home & family
Used Indian fighting tactics
British military leadership mediocre
Americans received help from France
British supply lines were long
The American Revolution


October 1777 – Battle of
Saratoga – American army
defeats a large well trained
British army (turning point)
French signed an alliance to aid
the Americans
The American Revolution

October 1781 – the American
army under George Washington
defeats a British army under
Cornwallis at Yorktown

Last major battle of the revolution
The American Revolution

The Treaty of Paris – 1783


America independent
Gets all the land to the Mississippi
River
Early U.S. Government
The national government set up by a
document that Americans called the Articles
of Confederation was too weak to rule the
new United States effectively. (Inability to
collect taxes)
 To address this problem, the nation's leaders
gathered once more in Philadelphia. During
1787, they met in secret to hammer out the
Constitution of the United States.

The Constitution of the United States

The new constitution reflected the
Enlightenment ideas of Locke,
Montesquieu, and Rousseau.
The Constitution of the United States

The framers of the Constitution saw government in
terms of a social contract. They provided for an
elective legislature and an elected president.

The Constitution created a federal republic (federal
system), with power divided between the federal
government and the states.

The federal government was separated among the
legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Each
branch was provided with checks and balances on
the other branches.
The Constitution of the United States

The Bill of Rights, the first
10 amendments to the
Constitution, recognized that
people had basic rights that
the government must protect.