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Thomas Hobbes
"A philosopher and political theorist whose 1651 treatise Leviathan effectively kicked off the English Enlightenment. The controversial Leviathan detailed Hobbes’s theory that all humans are inherently self-driven and evil and that the best form of government is thus a single, all-powerful monarch to keep everything in order." (SparkNotes). -
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John Locke
"An English political theorist who focused on the structure of governments. Locke believed that men are all rational and capable people but must compromise some of their beliefs in the interest of forming a government for the people. In his famous Two Treatises of Government (1690), he championed the idea of a representative government that would best serve all constituents." (SparkNotes). -
Enlightenment 1
"The Enlightenment is the period in the history of western thought and culture, stretching roughly from the mid-decades of the seventeenth century through the eighteenth century, characterized by dramatic revolutions in science, philosophy, society and politics; these revolutions swept away the medieval world-view and ushered in our modern western world. Enlightenment thought culminates historically in the political upheaval of the French Revolution, in which the traditional hierarchical... -
Enlightenment 2
"...political and social orders (the French monarchy, the privileges of the French nobility, the political power and authority of the Catholic Church) were violently destroyed and replaced by a political and social order informed by the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and equality for all, founded, ostensibly, upon principles of human reason. The Enlightenment begins with the scientific revolution of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries." (Bristow). -
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The Enlightenment
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Social Contract
"An idea in political philosophy, generally associated with John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, stating that a government and its subjects enter into an implicit contract when that government takes power. In exchange for ceding some freedoms to the government and its established laws, the subjects expect and demand mutual protection. The government’s authority, meanwhile, lies only in the consent of the governed." (SparkNotes). -
Treatises on Government
"In his book, Two Treatises of Government, Locke explained that all men have Natural Rights, which are Life, Liberty, and Property, and that the purpose of government was to protect these rights. Furthermore, Locke states that if government did not protect these rights, and became abusive, then the people had a right to revolution. Locke supported a limited government that protected people's natural rights." ("[Regents Prep Global History] Golden Ages: The Enlightenment."). -
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Voltaire
"A French writer and the primary satirist of the Enlightenment, who criticized religion and leading philosophies of the time. Voltaire’s numerous plays and essays frequently advocated freedom from the ploys of religion, while Candide (1759), the most notable of his works, conveyed his criticisms of optimism and superstition into a neat package." (SparkNotes) -
Salons
"Gathering places for wealthy, intellectually minded elites during the years during and prior to the Enlightenment. The salons typically held weekly meetings where upper-class citizens gathered to discuss the political and social theories of the day." (SparkNotes). -
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Adam Smith
"An influential Scottish economist who objected to the stifling mercantilist systems that were in place during the late eighteenth century. In response, Smith wrote the seminal Wealth of Nations (1776), a dissertation criticizing mercantilism and describing the many merits of a free trade system." (SparkNotes). -
Enlightenment Despots
"A trend in European governments during the later part of the Enlightenment, in which a number of absolute monarchs adopted Enlightenment-inspired reforms yet retained a firm grip on power. Frederick the Great of Prussia, Maria-Theresa and Joseph II of Austria, Charles III of Spain, and Catherine the Great of Russia are often counted among these “enlightened despots.”" (SparkNotes). -
The Declaration of Independence 1
"John Locke believed that every man has natural rights that include the right to live and the right to property. He also said people should have freedom and that no man should be a slave. This could have influenced Declaration of Independence because it says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This shows that they both... -
The Declaration of Independence 2
...thought people were equal and should have access to basic rights such as life." ("Enlightenment Influences on the Declaration of Independence."). -
Philosophes
"The Enlightenment is associated with the French thinkers of the mid-decades of the eighteenth century, the so-called “philosophes”, (Voltaire, Diderot, D'Alembert, Montesquieu, et cetera). The philosophes constitute an informal society of men of letters who collaborate on a loosely defined project of Enlightenment centered around the project of the Encyclopedia." (Bristow). -
U.S. Bill of Rights
"In forming the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and thus our governmental framework, the Framers drew upon several ideals of the Enlightenment. Enlightenment issues of crime and punishment, social contract, and separation of governmental powers are echoed throughout the Constitution and Bill of Rights." ("Enlightenment Influences On Framers."). -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man 1
"This presented to the world a summary of the ideals and principles of the Revolution, and justified the destruction of a government based upon absolutism and privilege, and the establishment of a new regime based upon the inalienable rights of individuals, liberty, and political equality. The Declaration became the preamble to the Constitution of 1791. It has been referred to in almost every single revolutionary movement since 1789, and has been translated into nearly all major languages... -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man
...Many ideas for the Declaration were from the Enlightenment, with the most important influence being John Locke's Second Treatise of Government (first published in England in 1690 at the time of the 'Glorious Revolution'). By 1791, the Declaration had been transformed from a legislative document into a kind of political manifesto." ("The Declaration of the Rights of Man." ). -
“A Vindication of the Rights of Women”
"Published in 1792, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman was the first great feminist treatise. Wollstonecraft preached that intellect will always govern and sought “to persuade women to endeavour to acquire strength, both of mind and body, and to convince them that the soft phrases, susceptibility of heart, delicacy of sentiment, and refinement of taste, are almost synonimous [sic] with epithets of weakness.”" ("Wollstonecraft, Mary. 1792. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman." ).