10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

The Enlightenmentand Society

Page 550-558

Page 564-575

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

Objectives

I. The Formative influences

II. The Enlightenment an society

III. Adam Smith

IV. The Enlightenment and Political Thought

V. Women and the Enlightenment

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

I. The Formative influences

A. Locke and Newton

B. British Toleration

C. The Print Culture

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

A. Locke and Newton

• Use science, not ancient or medieval religion to explain the world.

• Reason, Rational thinking and science dominated the study of the natural world– Newton and laws of Gravity…etc– Locke and tabula rasa

• Man is a blank slate• He is a product of his experiences• This can be studies and shaped

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

B. British Toleration

• Constitutional Monarchy and Individual liberty– Magna Carta– Petition of Right– Habeas Corpus– English Bill of Rights

• Admired by all of Europe as most free

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

C. The Print Culture

• Guttenberg and the Printing Press• Led to expansion of printed materials• Encouraged a literate culture

– The populace– Authors as well

• Encouraged new ideas

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

II. The Enlightenment an society

A. Voltaire

B. The Encyclopedia

C. Beccaria

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

A. Voltaire

• Voltaire was his pen name.

• Used his writings to campaign against intolerance, injustice and prejudice.– Often is jailed for his

criticisms of rulers.• Admired British system of

common law.• Viewed reason as a

divine force.

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

B. Encyclopedia

• Denis Diderot Created the First Encyclopedia.

• Wanted to collect all information from leading scholars and writers.

• Louis XV saw the book as a threat and and had it banned.

• Diderot continued to print other copies.• Inspired Encyclopedia Britannica

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

C. Beccaria

• Attacked torture and capital punishment• Supported speedy trials• Laws should deter crime and ensure

societal happiness

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

III. Adam Smith (1723-1790)A. Background

B. Critic of mercantilism

C. Advocate of Free Markets

D. Law of self interest

E. Law of Competition

F. Laws of supply and demand

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

A. Background

• Born in Scotland• College Professor

– Ethics, Philosophy and economics• The Wealth of Nations, 1776• Critic Of Mercantilism• Advocated Free markets

– Laissez Faire economics– Private property

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

B. Critic of Mercantilism

• Nations compete for wealth– Taxes, regulations, tariffs and colonies

protected markets• The world is a zero sum game

– My gain is your loss

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

C. Advocate of Free Markets

• Wealth is created (non zero sum game)• Law of self interest

– People act in their own self interest• The profit motive• Power of incentives

– Free markets harness this…• It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or

the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

C. Advocate of Free Markets

• Law of Competition– Forces producers to provide better products

for a cheaper price.• efficiency• Innovation

• Laws of supply and demand– Price systems direct market forces

• High prices attract production and decrease demand

• Low prices attract demand and limit production

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

IV. The Enlightenment and Political Thought

A. Baron de Montesquieu(1689-1755)

B. Rousseau

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

A. Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755)

• Charles de Secondat• Inherited title and wealth• Wrote Spirit of the laws

– Studied British model– Still supported aristocracy

• Huge influence on Madison

– Separation of Powers– Checks and Balances

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

Separation of powers

• Each function of government should be divided– Legislative Branch: Write the laws– Executive Branch: Enforce the laws– Judicial Branch: Interpret the Laws

• Prevents concentration of power• “When the legislative and executive powers are

united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty;...”

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

Checks and balances

• Each branch must have the power to restrain the others.

• This is the power exercised between the branches

• “Power should be a check to power”

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

B. Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

• Wrote The Social Contract

• Eccentric (Crazy)• Believed man was

good…– Society corrupted

him• Also advocated the

Social Contract– Freedom is

obedience to laws you agree with

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

B. Rousseau

• Focused on virtue– Emphasized collective

good versus individual interest

– Attacked the emphasis on the individual found in other writers

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

Rousseau

" Find a form of association which defends and protects with the whole force of the community the person and the goods of each associate, and in which each, while uniting with all, may still obey himself alone, and remain as free as before. This is the fundamental problem of which the Social Contract offers the solution."

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

V. Women and the Enlightenment

A. The role of Salons

B. Mary Wollstonecraft

C. Enlightenment on Women

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

A. The Role of Salons.

• Acted as intellectual centers of Europe.

• Poetry, stories, debate, and music.

• Organized by woman.– Marie Therese

Geoffrin.

• Restricted to the upper class.

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

The Salons

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

B. Mary Wollstonecraft

• A Vindication of the Rights of Women• Opposed traditional roles for women

– Confinement to roles is slavery– Male tyranny

• Critiqued other philosphes for excluding women

• Broadened the debate

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

C. Enlightenment on Women

• Most did not advocate a change for women– Montesquieu’s support was limited

• Sympathetic, not revolutionary• Subordinate to male, but could divorce

– Most writers emphasized the physical differences• Weakness• Frivolous

– Rousseau advocated traditional roles for women

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

What we know…

• What influenced the enlightenment?• How did the Enlightenment influence

society?• How did the Enlightenment influence

politics?• What was the role of women in the

Enlightenment?

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

Terms

• John Locke• Voltaire• Adam smith• Montesquieu • Rousseau• Marie Therese Geofrin• Mary Wollstonecraft

• Separation of powers• Checks and balances• Salons• Laissez Faire• Free markets

10.2 The Enduring Political Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

IDEA Thinker Impact

Natural Rights-Life, liberty, property; Right to Revolt

Locke Fundamental to ideas found in Dec. of Ind.

Separation of Powers Montesquieu France, U.S. Latin America use these ideas in their Constitutions

Freedom of thought and expression

Voltaire Ideas found in many Bills of Rights

Free Trade Adam Smith Free Trade, capitalism

Religious Freedom Voltaire Bill of Rights, reduction of Persecutions

Women’s Rights Wollstonecraft Eventual women’s rights in N. America and Europe

Major Ideas of the Enlightenment