The Enlightenment, A Time Period Between 1600c.

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The Enlightenment, a time period between 1600c. and 1800c., emphasized using reason, logic, and science to solve problems within society. European thinkers, such as Baron De Montesquieu, Jean Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, and J.H. Bernardin de Saint, used logic to question the authority of kings and queens. They also stressed freedom for all, humanism, and equality between rulers and their citizens. The Enlightenment pushed people to question ancient traditions. Sadly, ‘all’ only included free men. Slaves and women, for example, were not included when these ideas of equality and freedom were applied to society. For example, Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote “man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains,” in his book The Social Contract. The keywords are ‘men’ and ‘he’. At no point were women mentioned when it came to having freedom, and, ironically, slaves were in literal chains as Rousseau wrote The Social Contract. John Locke, another Enlightenment philosopher, believed that all men are born with life, liberty, and property. Again, men not slaves, men, not women. …show more content…

When young boys went to school, they learned about math, economics, language, and history. When young girls were sent to school they learned how be good wives, how to care for children, and the home. As a result of this, only about fifty percent of Europe's population were truly educated. This was one of the reasons women were looked down upon. Additionally, without an education women would not be able to teach their children anything, support themselves financially, or be involved in government. All of those responsibilities, and many others, were those of