The Enlightenment and the Rise of Democratic Ideas

1. The Enlightenment and the Rise of Democratic Ideas The Context in which this nation was founded…

2. Enlightenment Philosophers: Influencers of Modern Democracy NameCountry Published Work and Date Main Ideas Influence on U.S.

3. Thomas Hobbes Having witnessed the events of the English Civil War, Hobbes concluded that life, in the “State of Nature” (without controls or laws), is “nasty, brutish and short”. Human beings could not be trusted simply to live by their agreements. For this reason, and to escape warfare, individuals established government to secure the peace – this forms the basis of the Social Compact theory of government, and was readily embraced by the Founding Fathers and John Locke.  • Wrote Leviathan, 1651, claiming that people are created equal & this equality led them to fiercely competewith one another.So they are driven to be cruel, greedy, wicked, and selfish. • To escape this harshness, people must give up their freedom and enter into a Social Compact, or a government. • Because people cannot be trusted to govern themselves, government must be powerful— as in an Absolute Monarchy.

4. John Locke He witnessed the Glorious Revolution and was influenced by the English Bill of Rights with its Parliamentary power to choose the Monarch and to limit its power. • Natural Rights are those rights which we have as human beings. We have rights to Life, Liberty, and Property. All people have Natural Rights equally. • The State of Natureis unsatisfactory, so they agree to transfer some of their rights to a central government, while retaining others (Social Contract). • Governments are instituted by the Consent of the Governed.The purpose is to preserve the Natural Rights of Life, Liberty, and Property of the citizens, and to pursue the public good even where this may conflict with the rights of individuals. • The best government was one with limited powers that was accepted by all citizens. If the government fails to protect their Natural Rights, the people also have the right, or duty, to overthrow that government.

5. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. “If the government fails to fulfill the end for which it was established – the preservation of the individual’s right to life, liberty, and property- the people have a right to dissolve (overthrow or end) that government.” John Locke (Taken from the Second Treatise on Government – 1690) Thomas Jefferson

6. Voltaire “The English are the only people on earth who have been able to prescribe limits to the power of kings by resisting them, and who by a series of struggles, have at last established that wise Government, where the Prince is all powerful to do good and at the same time is restrained from committing evil.” • Introduced Empiricism— seeking knowledge through observation and experiment, as in scientific investigation. • Persisted in preaching for Religious Tolerance, Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Thought. • Worked against Inequality, Injustice and Superstition, the Slave Trade, and Religious Prejudice.

7. “… I will go even further and say that we ought to look upon all men as our brothers. What! Call a Turk, a Jew, and a Siamese, my brother? Yes of course; for are we not all children of the same father, and the creatures of the same God?” Voltaire (Taken from Treatise on Tolerance – 1763) Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. “I may disagree with what you have said but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Voltaire (Taken from Treatise on Tolerance – 1763) US Bill of Rights (James Madison?)

8. Jean-Jacques Rousseau The British were perhaps at the time the freest people on earth, Rousseau said, but he did not approve of their Representative Government. He felt that Liberty could be possible only in Direct Rule by the people as a whole in lawmaking. People, in the state of nature, were good and innocent, so he had faith in the general majority, to make laws and willingly obey them. The Social Contract1762 • Citizens must, in at least some circumstances, be able to choose together the fundamental rules by which they would live, and be able to revise those rules on later occasions if they choose to do so — something the English people as a whole were unable to do. • The individual citizen puts aside his egoism to create a “General Will", which is popular sovereignty itself. Popular Sovereignty(i.e., the Rule of Law), thus decides what is good for society as a whole, and the individual (including the administrative head of state, who could be a monarch) must bow to it, or be forced to bow to it.

9. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Jefferson’s immortal line, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights,” comes directly out of The Social Contract Declaration of Independence

10. Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu For Montesquieu, the best form of human government was embodied in the English system after the Glorious Revolution. • The Spirit of the Laws, 1748 • Three Branches of Government:Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. These should be separatefrom, and dependentupon, each other. This is so that the influence of any one power will not be able to exceed that of the other two, either singly or inacollusion of two branches. • System of Checks and Balances:to help ensure that no one branch became too powerful. Each branch has powers that it can use to check and balance the operations and power of the other two branches. • Single most powerful influence upon the formation of American Government at the end of the century.

11. “There is no liberty, if the power of judges is not separated from the legislative and executive powers. If the judicial branch were joined with the legislative branch, the life and liberty of the subject would be denied, for the judge would then be the legislator.” - Baron de Montesquieu(Taken from his famous work The Spirit of the Laws - 1748) A.K.A.: The separation of powers among the 3 branches of government—executive, judicial, and legislative. The provide checks & balances on each others’ powers.

12. Montesquieu’s Influence

14. Adam Smith The Natural Laws of Supply & Demandand Competition regulate Business and the Economy The Wealth of Nations 1776 Free Market economyis governed by the policy of Laissez-Faire(“let it do”) The government cannot interfere in the economy because: Supply & Demandwill dictate what is produced, when it's produced, how it's produced, and at what cost Competitionwill dictate the quality of what is produced, and control pricing, in order to increase sales These ideas are the basis for the Industrial Revolution, as well as Capitalism, the Economic System of the US today