THE
ENLIGHTENMENT
AND
THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTION
1700-1800
WOMEN CHALLENGE
THE PHILOSOPHES
 The Enlightenment slogan “free
and equal” did not apply to
women
 Can people choose leaders for
themselves?
 “All people are created equal”
 New (and potentially dangerous)
concept – Dangerous to who?
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT
A VINDICATION OF THE
RIGHTS OF WOMAN
Called for equal education for
boys and girls
Argued that only education
could give women the tools
they needed to participate
equally with men in public life
DENIS DIDEROT
ENCYCLOPEDIA
28-volume work published
between 1751 and 1772
Although banned in many
places and censored in
others, proved to be a major
factor in future revolutions
Became a forum for
Enlightenment thinkers
such as Montesquieu,
Rousseau, and Voltaire
DENIS DIDEROT
“No man has received from
nature the right to give
orders to others. Freedom
is a gift from heaven, and
every individual of the
same species has the right
to enjoy it as soon as he is
in enjoyment of his reason.”
WHAT WERE THE EFFECTS OF
THE ENLIGHTENMENT?
F.A.S.T.
(USE AN ACRONYM)
F.
FUELED DEMOCRATIC
REVOLUTIONS AROUND WORLD
(AMERICAN, FRENCH)
Signing of the
Declaration of
Independence
July 4, 1776
Bastille: The French Revolution
begins July 14, 1789
WHAT WERE THE EFFECTS OF
THE ENLIGHTENMENT?
A.
F.A.S.T.
APPLIED REASON TO THE HUMAN
WORLD (GOVERNMENT, LAW)
Checks and Balances
WHAT WERE THE EFFECTS OF
THE ENLIGHTENMENT?
S.
F.A.S.T.
STIMULATED RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE
THE THIRTY YEARS’ WAR WAS
CAUSED BY DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND
PROTESTANTS IN THE GERMAN
STATES, ESCALATING INTO
LARGER CONFLICTS
WHAT WERE THE EFFECTS OF
THE ENLIGHTENMENT?
T.
F.A.S.T.
TAUGHT THAT
OUR RIGHTS
COME FROM
NATURAL LAW
NOT THE
GOVERNMENT
NATURAL RIGHTS
How did ideas of the
enlightenment lead to
the independence and
founding of the United
States of America?
THE ENLIGHTENMENT
(5-3) III. Birth of the American Republic
A) Britain becomes a global power
B) The 13 Colonies in the mid -1700s
C) Colonists express discontent
D) The American Revolution continues
E) A new constitution
Britain Becomes a Global Power
Because of where England was located, they are in a
position to control trade. In the past 100-200 years, 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 built a global empire.
 Favorable business and
commerce climate
 Compared to other
countries, few
restrictions on trade
 In the 1700s, Britain had
a winning streak in both
war and trade
In addition, England’s territory
expanded closer to home!
 England and Wales united
with Scotland in 1707 to
become the United
Kingdom of Great Britain
 Free trade with Scotland
created a larger market
for farmers and
manufacturers
 Ireland had come under
English control during the
1600s, formally united
with Great Britain in 1801
Changing of the Guard in England
King George II
(1683-1760)
George was the last British monarch born outside
Great Britain. Born in1683, he was brought up in
Northern Germany. George exercised little control
over British domestic policy, which was largely
controlled by Great Britain's parliament.
King George III
(1738-1820)
His life and reign were longer than those of any
previous British monarch. They were marked by a
series of military conflicts involving his kingdoms,
much of the rest of Europe, and places in Africa, the
Americas and Asia. Early in his reign, Great Britain
defeated France in the Seven Years' War, becoming
the dominant European power in North America and
India. He wanted it all!
Once King George III had the reigns…
 Began his 60-year reign in 1760
 100% English
 Wanted to recover the powers
the crown had lost
 Set out to reassert royal power
 Wanted to end Whig domination
 Choose his own ministers,
dissolving the cabinet system,
BUT HIS POLICIES
and ordered Parliament to
WOULD PROVED TO BE
follow his will
DISASTROUS
THE 13 COLONIES IN THE MID-1700S
 In 1750, we were part of a
growing empire
 Boston, New York, and
Philadelphia were busy
commercial centers
linking North America to
the West Indies, Africa
and Europe
 Colonial shipyards
produced many vessels
for this trade
 Britain wanted more
The 13 Colonies in the Mid-1700s
In Britain’s American colonies, economic life was
booming by 1750. Although Britain tried to regulate
trade and other aspects of life in the colonies, there
was a sense of semi-independence on the part of the
colonists, who tried to control their own affairs.
Colonists Express Discontent
When King George III imposed taxes on the colonies
to help pay for wars, the colonists rebelled. Tensions
escalated and finally broke out into war. Inspired by
Enlightenment ideas about the natural rights of man
and the right to revolt against an unjust government,
the Second Continental Congress declared
independence from Britain.
The American Revolution Continues
With their passion, with their knowledge of the countryside,
and with help from France, the Netherlands, and Spain,
the colonists defeated the British. The Treaty of Paris
ended the war and recognized the independent United
States of America.
A New Constitution
When the Articles of Confederation proved too weak to
establish effective government, some of the nation’s
leaders drafted the Constitution based on Enlightenment
ideas of Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. The new
government would recognize some basic rights of the
people and establish three branches of government to
create checks and balances. This document served as a
model for constitutions created by other countries.
– 4X5 NOTE CARD –
NO NAME, BUT GIVE ME YOUR
“BEST STUFF”
WHAT ENLIGHTENMENT
IDEAS ARE REFLECTED IN
THE DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE?
ENLIGHTENMENT THINKERS BELIEVED…
All the world runs by natural laws,
such as the law of supply and
demand in economics.
The scientific method is used to
find these natural laws.
All people can be educated.
ENLIGHTENMENT THINKERS BELIEVED…
Sovereignty rests with the people.
Government should ensure
separation of church and state.
Government is whatever the people
want; then a contract is made
whereby government protects
natural rights of life, liberty, and
property.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO
BE “ENLIGHTENED”?
A. JENNY CRAIG’S NEW DIET PLAN
WILL WORK IN EUROPEAN MEAL
SETTINGS
B. ONE IS FREE FROM IGNORANCE,
PREJUDICE, OR SUPERSTITION
C. YOU HAVE MOMENTS WHEN YOUR
BRAIN SUDDENLY PLUGS YOU INTO
ANOTHER PART OF THE UNIVERSE.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO
BE “ENLIGHTENED”?
A. JENNY CRAIG’S NEW DIET PLAN
WILL WORK IN EUROPEAN MEAL
SETTINGS
B. ONE IS FREE FROM IGNORANCE,
PREJUDICE, OR SUPERSTITION
C. YOU HAVE MOMENTS WHEN YOUR
BRAIN SUDDENLY PLUGS YOU INTO
ANOTHER PART OF THE UNIVERSE.
WHAT DOES LOCKE BELIEVE
IS THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF
GOVERNMENT?
A. TO PROTECT PEOPLE’S
NATURAL RIGHTS OF LIFE,
LIBERTY, AND PROPERTY
B. TO RULE WITH ABSOLUTE
AUTHORITY OVER BEAR FANS
C. TO GUARANTEE THE CREATION
OF WEALTH FOR ALL CITIZENS
WHAT DOES LOCKE BELIEVE
IS THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF
GOVERNMENT?
A. TO PROTECT PEOPLE’S
NATURAL RIGHTS OF LIFE,
LIBERTY, AND PROPERTY
B. TO RULE WITH ABSOLUTE
AUTHORITY OVER BEAR FANS
C. TO GUARANTEE THE CREATION
OF WEALTH FOR ALL CITIZENS
THIS ECONOMIST ARGUED FOR A
FREE MARKET IN WHICH
BUSINESSES COULD OPERATE WITH
FEW GOVERNMENT RULES.
A. THOMAS JEFFERSON
B. GEORGE III
C. BEN BERNANKE
D. ADAM SMITH
THIS ECONOMIST ARGUED FOR A
FREE MARKET IN WHICH
BUSINESSES COULD OPERATE WITH
FEW GOVERNMENT RULES.
A. THOMAS JEFFERSON
B. GEORGE III
C. BEN BERNANKE
D. ADAM SMITH
THIS WAS AN INFORMAL SOCIAL
GATHERING IN WHICH THINKERS OF
THE ENLIGHTENMENT COULD TALK
ABOUT THEIR IDEAS.
A. TEXAS HOLD-EM TOURNEY
B. SALON
C. LE BOUTÓN
D. RED ROOSTER REGADE
THIS WAS AN INFORMAL SOCIAL
GATHERING IN WHICH THINKERS OF
THE ENLIGHTENMENT COULD TALK
ABOUT THEIR IDEAS.
A. TEXAS HOLD-EM TOURNEY
B. SALON
C. LE BOUTÓN
D. RED ROOSTER REGADE
THIS ENLIGHTENMENT THINKER
BELIEVED IN THE IDEA OF THE
SEPARATION OF POWERS IN
GOVERNMENT
A. ANDREW WINSTON III
B. CLETUS T. BOYER
C. MONTESQUIEU
D. PRINCE JAVIER DE CUERRO
THIS ENLIGHTENMENT THINKER
BELIEVED IN THE IDEA OF THE
SEPARATION OF POWERS IN
GOVERNMENT
A. ANDREW WINSTON III
B. CLETUS T. BOYER
C. MONTESQUIEU
D. PRINCE JAVIER DE CUERRO
HE HELPED SPREAD IDEAS OF THE
ENLIGHTENMENT BY PUBLISHING A
COLLECTION OF ARTICLES BY
LEADING THINKERS.
A. GEORGE WASHINGTON
B. DIDEROT
C. AARON FAVRE
D. SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL
HE HELPED SPREAD IDEAS OF THE
ENLIGHTENMENT BY PUBLISHING A
COLLECTION OF ARTICLES BY
LEADING THINKERS.
A. GEORGE WASHINGTON
B. DIDEROT
C. AARON FAVRE
D. SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL
AN ENLIGHTENED DESPOT
WAS A RULER WHO…
A. ALLOWED WOMEN TO VOTE
B. WROTE FICTIONAL NOVELS
C. LIKED TO DE-SPOT RUGS
D. INFLUENCED POLITICAL
AND SOCIAL CHANGE
ELEGANT AND DELICATE
A. MR. FEE & MR. D
B. BAROQUE
C. ROCOCO
D. RAPPER DAN & MC JACK
ELEGANT AND DELICATE
A. MR. FEE & MR. D
B. BAROQUE
C. ROCOCO
D. RAPPER DAN & MC JACK
AN ENLIGHTENED DESPOT
WAS A RULER WHO…
A. ALLOWED WOMEN TO VOTE
B. WROTE FICTIONAL NOVELS
C. LIKED TO DE-SPOT RUGS
D. INFLUENCED POLITICAL
AND SOCIAL CHANGE
WHEN GEORGE III BECAME KING
OF GREAT BRITAIN IN 1760, HE…
A. FOUNDED COLONIES IN NORTH
AMERICA
B. CAME TO THE UNITED STATES TO
OFFER INDEPENDENCE TO THE
COLONISTS
C. DECIDED TO REASSERT THE
POWERS OF THE CROWN
D. IMMEDIATELY KILLED HIS MOTHER
TO PROTECT THE THRONE
WHEN GEORGE III BECAME KING
OF GREAT BRITAIN IN 1760, HE…
A. FOUNDED COLONIES IN NORTH
AMERICA
B. CAME TO THE UNITED STATES TO
OFFER INDEPENDENCE TO THE
COLONISTS
C. DECIDED TO REASSERT THE
POWERS OF THE CROWN
D. IMMEDIATELY KILLED HIS MOTHER
TO PROTECT THE THRONE
MAIN IDEAS
A government has an
obligation to its people, and
the people have the right to
overthrow that government if
it fails its obligations
MAIN IDEAS
Laissez faire is a policy that
allows business to operate
with little or no government
interference.
MAIN IDEAS
Some monarchs accepted
Enlightenment ideas and
were thus called enlightened
despots, or absolute rulers
who used their power to
bring about reform.
MAIN IDEAS
Britain sought to tax the
colonies to pay for their
defense, while colonists
thought Britain had no right
to tax them without
representation.
MAIN IDEAS
The Bill of Rights
recognized the natural
rights stated by Locke and
the duty of government had
to protect them.
MAIN IDEAS
By introducing new ideas on
liberty and government,
Enlightenment thinkers
inspired revolutionaries to
question what existed and
strive for a better, more
just, society and system of
government.
MATCH ‘EM UP
a) Adam Smith
b) Voltaire
c) Thomas
Hobbs
d) Montesquieu
e) Denis Diderot
f)
John Locke
g) Rousseau
1. Encyclopedia
2. Natural Rights- life, liberty, and property
3. Free market, laissez faire
4. Social contract in which people follow
the “general will” of the people for an
organized society
5. Battled corruption, injustice, and
inequality; defended freedom of speech
6. Separation of powers; checks and
balances
7. Social contract in which people follow
the “general will” of the people for true
liberty
AMERICAN DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE: MAIN IDEAS
 ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL AND
HAVE NATURAL RIGHTS TO LIFE,
LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF
HAPPINESS.
 IT IS THE GOVERNMENT’S OBLIGATION
TO PROTECT THESE RIGHTS.
 IF A GOVERNMENT FAILS TO PROTECT
THESE RIGHTS, THE PEOPLE CAN
REVOLT AND SET UP A NEW
GOVERNMENT.