The Enlightenment and the American Revolution

Chapter 17

17-1 Philosophy in the Age of Reason

“Go, wondrous creature! Mount where Science guides;

Go, measure earth, weigh air, and state the tides;

Instruct the planets in what orbs to run,

Correct old Time, and regulate the sun.”

-Alexander Pope, Essay on Man

Progress and Reason �  Scientific successes led to study of __________.

What did that lead to? �  The Enlightenment

�  Social �  Political �  Economic

Two Views of the Social Contract �  Thomas Hobbes

�  Belief: �  Leviathan �  Social contract:

�  John Locke �  Reasonable, moral, people �  Had certain Natural rights, such as: �  Limited government �  If government fails then…….

The Philosophes and Society

�  Philosophes - French thinkers who believed that the use of reason could lead to reforms of government, law, and society

�  Voltaire Defends Freedom of Thought �  Beliefs:

�  Battled against: �  Offended the French government and the Catholic Church

Separation of Powers �  1700s France saw a flowering of Enlightenment

thought

�  Baron de Montesquieu �  limited monarchy �  Three separate branches: �  Checks and balances �  (who does the above today?)

�  The Encyclopedia �  Denis Diderot �  “to change the general way of thinking” �  Topics of articles: �  Banned from Catholics (why?): �  Helped spread Enlightenment

n  Jean-Jacques Rousseau n  Natural innocence

n Minimum control n  Subordinate to community

n  Hatred for all forms of political and economic oppression

�  Women and the Enlightenment �  “free and equal”? �  Mary Wollenstonecraft

�  Good mother first �  Decide her own interests �  A Vindication of the Rights of Woman 1792

New Economic Thinking n  Physiocrats-______________________

n Laissez Faire: ____________________ n  Land v. Trade n  Free trade n  Opposed taxes on trade

n Adam Smith n Wealth of Nations n  No government regulation

17-2 Enlightenment Ideas Spread

The Challenge of New Ideas n Censorship______________________________

n  Books banned and burned

n Writers disguised their ideas in _________________. n Exposed corruption and hypocrisy on European society.

n Salons: ______________________________________

Enlightened Depots

�  Enlightened depots-

�  Frederick the Great �  King of Prussia 1740-86 �  Admired Voltaire �  Peasants- �  “everyone can go to heaven in his own fashion” �  Strong civil service �  Simplified laws

�  Catherine the Great (Russia) �  Exchanged letters with Voltaire and Diderot �  Serfdom �  But…_____________________

�  Joseph II (Hapsburg) �  “peasant emperor” �  Religious tolerance to: �  Ended censorship �  Abolished _________ �  Sold property of monasteries to build ______

Lives of the Majority �  E. Europe v. W. Europe

�  Were most Europeans affected by the early Enlightenment movement during the this time period?

�  How were peasants taken advantage of in Western Europe?

17-3 American Revolution

By the 1700s, Britain was a global power.

•  It had greater ability to trade due to its location and colonies and imposed fewer restrictions on trade than other nations.

•  It had won previous European conflicts.

•  It held a monopoly on the slave trade in Spanish America.

•  England took control of Ireland in the 1600s. It joined with Scotland and Wales in 1707 to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

The 13 English Colonies n  Colonies became more religiously and ethnically

divese n  Navigation Acts-

n Not enforced. Why?

n  Colonists seek autonomy (what is that?)

Growing Discontent �  Parliament passed laws to increase taxes on colonies.

Why? �  “no taxation without representation”

�  Early Clashes �  Boston Massacre �  Boycott

�  Stamp and Townshend Act

�  Boston Tea Party �  First Continental Congress

n Declaring Independence n  1776 Second Continental Congress

n  Declaration of Independence n July 4th, 1776

n Written by Thomas Jefferson, inspired by ____________.

n Popular sovereignty

The American Revolution n  British advantages:

n Loyalist, slaves, Native Americans

n  Colony advantages:

n The French Alliance n  Supplies, soldiers, and ____

n  Also support from:

n Treaty of Paris 1781

A New Constitution �  Articles of Confederation - �  The Constitution -

�  The Impact of Enlightenment Ideas �  Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau �  Federal republic- �  Bill of Rights

�  Limited Freedom �  Exclusions: