Preview

Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, And Voltaire

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
183 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, And Voltaire
The ideas from the Enlightenment changed the world over time by causing revolutions. There were four main people whose ideas led to these revolutions: Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Voltaire. Locke said that people are born with three natural rights: life, liberty, and property. Locke thought that it was the government’s job to protect these rights. Montesquieu said that there should be a separation of powers. He talked about 3 main branches of government: the judicial, legislative, and executive. Rousseau thought that the government and and people have a “social contract” and when the government breaks that contract, people have a right to back out of it and start a new government. Voltaire stated that there should be a separation between

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Enlightenment was a time period of demystification and the birth of many new ideas. Thinkers of the Enlightenment such as John Locke, Voltaire and Rousseau believed in governments that were based on the interests of the people, and not obtaining too much power. Global politics in the 17th and 18th century, including France, Venezuela and Mexico were impacted greatly by the ideas of the enlightenment.…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Voltaire influenced the Declaration of Independence and Constitution in many ways; they were also Enlightenment thinkers. First, Montesquieu believed in the separation of powers to avoid tyranny and promote liberty and justice, which was expressed in the Declaration of Independence. The theories he had made were very influential in the making of the Constitution. He wrote a system of check and balances that a government should incorporate so that one branch cannot overrule another. The branches he wrote of are the judicial, executive, and legislative, which to this day, the US still currently employs. His idea about a need for a “separation of powers” was highly critical too.…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Enlightened thinkers influenced the writers of the Constitution with their ideas on the Social Contract. The Enlightenment was an Intellectual Movement from the 1650s to the 1750s in Europe where people started to base ideas off of science and logic, rather than faith and guesses. Enlightened thinkers were the first people who started to question the absolute power and divine right of their governments. Jean Jacques Rousseau and John Locke were two of these thinkers. They both believed in the idea of a social contract, a metaphorical agreement that people follow when they create a society. Since the people agree to be ruled by the government, they control the government. This idea shows the concept of popular sovereignty, because the government will only work if it has the consent of the governed, earned by the government protecting the natural rights of the people. Natural Rights are the rights to life, liberty, and property. Popular Sovereignty is shown throughout the Preamble of the Constitution. The Preamble of the Constitution shows that the right to rule comes from the people, which is the idea of popular sovereignty. Popular Sovereignty was included in the Constitution so the people can have the power to control the government. Voltaire was another great Enlightened thinker, who influenced the the Constitution with his idea of natural rights. He believed that all people should respect the beliefs and opinions of others. He also believed in the ideas of separation of church and state, and freedom of religion and speech.His ideas show individual rights, because he thought all people deserved natural rights: life, liberty, and property. Individual Rights are found in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution. They give the people unalienable rights that cannot be taken away by the government. Individual Rights were included in the Constitution so the people could have rights that the…

    • 1886 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The ideas of the Enlightenment influenced the French Revolution. The third estate, or the poorest social group, held very little rights socially or politically. But some of them, such as doctors and lawyers, were educated and could read the new ideas of government from philosophers. For example, philosophers like John Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. “The Revolution had been accomplished in the minds of men long before it was translated into fact... The middle class...was sensitive to their inferior legal position. The Revolution came from then-the middle class. The working classes were incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution. They were just beginning to learn to read.” (Document 4) The Third Estate studied these ideas; They had used ideas like Equality, Liberty, and Democracy. The Third Estate inspired The French Revolution. (ROI) These men spoke of democratic governments, with certain freedoms and natural rights. Eventually, the people of the third estate began to question their government in France, and by the standards of these philosophers, demanded change. The cahiers reflect the ideas of the Enlightenment such as democracy and equality. “That the king forced to reform the…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout time, the ideas of democracy have changed with the help of many philosophers. Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau were four of the most important founders of the ideals of democracy. Through the Enlightenment Period, these thinkers began creating new ideas that would forever change the way governments are run through time. Our own American government reflects the ideas in some way or another of each of the philosophers we studied. Through new ideas, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Montesquieu all changed the way government was run with the innovative ideas they created.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dbq: the Enlightenment

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Enlightenment known by many as the Age of Reason was a turning point in history. Man people believe that without the Enlightenment, many of the laws, and rules would exist. For example the United States Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were greatly influenced by the Enlightenment. For example, John Locke, an Enlightenment thinker highly influenced the Declaration of Independence by stating that the natural rights of people include life, liberty and property except the founding fathers changed it by stating life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The American Revolution itself has been called the embodiment of Enlightenment ideas. If the founding fathers were not influenced by some of these ideas, maybe the United Sates would not be a democracy; it could have been an absolute monarchy, aristocracy, etc. Some of our human rights would not exist if it were for the Enlightenment. Philosophers such as Montesquieu, Rousseau, Locke, and others lead to many great changes. These ideas were used by some to challenge absolute monarchies. An absolute monarchy is a government ruled by one ruler. These ideas also impacted both government and society.…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Non-Political Revolutions

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The enlightenment was an intellectual movement that brought an age of reason to the world that occurred during the 17th and 18th centuries. First, this revolution changed the way the European society thinked. The thinkers from the enlightenment wrote about rights and tried to apply reason to humans actions so everyone started to call for this rights.The enlightenment thinkers wanted a better society in which the people will become more equal for example John Locke wrote that all humans have natural rights that are life, liberty and property. Second, the enlightenment changed the way the countries were rule. The people started to call for those rights that the thinkers were writing about and this created other revolutions like the French revolution. The new countries in South America also gave more rights to the people and followed the ideas from the enlightenment such as separation of powers from Voltaire and the freedom of expression from Voltaire. Finally, this changed the position of people in their society. The women also got more rights thanks to Mary Wollstonecraft who stated the “If all men are born free. How is it that all women are born slaves?” this thinking slowly gave more rights to the women. The way criminals were treated also changed thanks to Beccaria who wrote against the abuses of justice that helped to outlawed certain kinds of torture in many European nations.…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Enlightenment was a period of European history during the 1600s and 1700s. Enlightenment thinkers tried to use reason to understand the way the world works and improve life. Enlightenment thinkers asked three key questions about government: Where does a government get its authority from? What kinds of natural rights do humans have? Does government have a responsibility to respect the rights of its citizens? The Enlightenment sparked many ideas, including the belief that a government cannot take away natural rights, people can justly overthrow a government that does not protect their rights, the Constitution divided the government into three branches, using the concept of separation of powers, and the Constitution begins with the words “We the people,” reflecting the importance of the will of the people to the US government. So, the Enlightenment helped convince many colonists of new ideas: people have natural rights, governments should represent the people, unjust governments should be overthrown, and government power should be…

    • 1437 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    After many years of absolute monarchy different philosophers, leaders, and writers idealized new forms of government to create the age of Enlightenment. Important Pre-Enlightenment people such as Queen Elizabeth,Thomas Hobbes, King Louis XIV, and Plato believed that the most successful way to run a country was with a single ruler. The philosophers and the leaders of the Enlightenment era believed that providing citizens with independence and freedom was the best way for a country to thrive and succeed.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Enlightenment thinkers essentially believed in freedom. They believed in freedom of the state from the church, freedom of the people from oppression and the monarchy, and freedom of the politicians to change government when things become corrupt. Revolutions followed through those beliefs and separated church and state by dissolving rights and privelegas, gave the people the power they wanted in the third estate, and continually innovated the government structure in search of something better. Ultimately, the Revolutionaries lived up to their motto “liberty, equality,…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    These questions helped me define terms such as philosophe, natural law and social sciences. This background information gave me a general understanding of the question I was to focus on during my analyzation of the ideas of John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, and Mary Wollstonecraft. After completing the questions coinciding with each document, I was ready to write my essay on what the main idea was of the philosophers during the Enlightenment Period. As a result, I learned that the main idea of the Enlightenment Philosophers was that; for society to function it’s best, individual freedom must be recognized. I learned that John Locke believed in the dangers of a government that has too much power. I learned that Voltaire believed that a government should use it’s powers to promote tolerance of other religions. I also learned that Adam Smith had greater confidence in the individual- rather than the government- when making economic decisions. Finally, I learned that Mary Wollstonecraft in the necessity of education and equal opportunities for…

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Did you know that there was philosophers who tried to improve their society during the enlightenment period? One of the philosophers was John Locke, he wrote the “Second Treatise on Civil Government” in 1690 in England. Another philosopher was Voltaire, he wrote the “Letters Concerning the English Nation” on 1726 in Paris. The last philosopher I am going to tell you about is Mary Wollstonecraft, she wrote “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” on 1792. The philosophers main idea was individual freedom. The philosophers wanted everyone to have freedom. This idea was a key part of their enlightenment was in three areas: government, religion, and gender equality.…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Revolution came from them-the middle class. They were just beginning to learn to read” (Document 4). Through this the middle class gained knowledge and ideas of the Enlightenment. They became philosophers. They started to believe and realized many things. Voltaire believed in freedom of speech but gone thrown in jail for making fun of a rich baron. This made the rest of the citizens to wonder about what they could say and why weren’t they allowed to talk about whatever they wanted?. John Locke was a believer of natural rights from birth and is famous for his writings on rights of life, liberty and property. His writings made people have an “oh yeah!why NOT?!” moment and questioned their rights and the other estates rights deciding that this was unfair and unjust. These people started to believe and agree with what these philosophers thought than what the king or the clergy…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the 1700s women had little to no equality, so they started to try and reform society. The philosophers during the Age of Enlightenment used logic, reason, and observation to find truths in society. They used their theories to try and change society for the better, influencing not only regular citizens but other philosophers as well. However, not all the changes and ideas they had made were good; they also influenced people in France to start the French Revolution which ended the Age of Enlightenment. The main concepts of the enlightenment theorists were; Locke's idea of self-government, Voltaire's idea of equality in religion, and Wollstonecraft’s idea of gender equality.…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Age of Enlightenment spanned from the Middle 18th century and on to the French Revolution. It is defined as the time when thinkers emerged believing in shedding the light of science and reason on the world in order to question traditional ideas and ways of society’s norms and established hierarchies. Many philosophers presented many theories and beliefs to form questions in the minds of people. These questions entertained elites and aristocrats to pass by the time. Eventually these thinking games evolved into more serious ideas emerged and began challenging those in power. Enlightenment thinkers created many concepts to question the status of the royals and gaining the fear of the upper class, afraid that it would lead to social chaos, and ultimately result…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays