ipl-logo

The Enlightenment Dbq Essay

1178 Words5 Pages

The Enlightenment was created in France in the 1700’s. It was a movement in Europe that was about applying reason to all aspects of life. During this movement, Philosophers used five concepts that they built upon to create the Enlightenment; reason, nature, happiness, progress, and an envy for England's glorious revolution and their bill of rights. The Enlightenment was a European movement that sparked and challenged new ideas about the relationship of common people to their governments. Over a period of time Enlightenment ideas spread outside of Europe and created a change of governments around the globe. An outcome of the Enlightenment were philosophers who challenged the government created their own ways of how they believe the government …show more content…

Some people like Thomas Hobbes believed that they needed an absolute monarchy or else there would be chaos, every man vs. every man in a fight over selfishness. Hobbes believed that there needed to be a monarch to scare the people for obedience and order. Another who believed this was Catherine the Great, she stated “Not to deprive people of their natural liberty; but to correct their actions, in order to attain the supreme good” (Doc 2). Then there were people like John Locke who believed that the people can govern themselves and the only laws that were needed were laws to protect a man's natural rights; life, liberty and property. Locke believed that natural rights were given to you by god and no one could break or take them away. It is stated in the encyclopedia that, “natural reason alone has established among men, or to put it better, which god has engraved them in our hearts [and] neither law nor custom can contrive it (Doc 1). After these two theories of government people started to combat their government. For example, Voltaire targeted the government through the use of humor and insulted the government. Rousseau who believed there should be a government that is free in the state of nature but civilized and formed by the people. With all of these ideas of government made, they were bound to be applied to a country to …show more content…

After the French and Indian war, Britain needed money to cover the cost of the war. So they issued the Stamp Act, without asking the colonists or taking a vote in the colonies. The colonists protested the stamp act and eventually it was removed. Then Britain put more taxes on things like tea and other british goods. But this time instead of protesting, the Americans used violence, such as the Boston tea party, where they acted out by throwing chests of British tea into the boston harbor. Eventually, these protests and acts led to the Revolutionary War. The colonists were led by George Washington in the fight against Britain. To rally troops and support for the war against England, Colonists would put up what were known as “Liberty Poles” in towns and villages (Doc 5). These poles became a symbol of the Enlightenment spirit. They also served purposes as when the flags were raised that meant there was a meeting to plan for the

Show More
Related
588 Words | 3 Pages

The Era of Enlightenment was a cultural movement in Europe that favored reason in place of belief. It challenged the accepted views of the time which, in turn, endangered the power of absolute rulers and their system of government. This era influenced a majority of the European population, however, the monarchs of the time did not exemplify those same ideals. Catherine II of Russia’s views on serfs and peasants are a great example of a ruler defying the enlightenment movement. In her “Decree on Serfs” she states that “serfs and peasants...owe their landlords proper submission and absolute obedience in all matters” , essentially saying that serfs of the time should be completely obedient to their masters (Doc. 6).

Read More
672 Words | 3 Pages

John Locke an English writer states that “ As guards and fences to the properties of all the members of the society, to limit the power and moderate the domination, of every part and member of the society.” (Doc.5) ‘Society’- The general public must endeavor to fight for a say in court for the laws that are being created and used against for them. Through people like Locke, it created an equality in the government, which now involved the voices of the lower class(Mkay). Voltaire, French writer and most famously known for “ I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” , (Doc 6.)Writes the letters on the English, which highlight the importance of a well-governed government, one of which involves the help of all, not just nobles.

Read More
426 Words | 2 Pages

Because of the great amount of power Britain possessed, the colonists were under oppression, ultimately taking action to defend themselves. Namely, according to document 5, the author states, “what is to defend us against so enormous, so unlimited power?”. As the taxes began to mound on top of one over the other, the colonists began to feel overwhelmed. In response, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and three others, created the Declaration of Independence as a call to war, to offset British rule. Like the Stamp Act, the colonists answered with violence, and the violence only increased as the British made sure to oppress the

Read More
1053 Words | 5 Pages

En·light·en·ment noun 1. the action of enlightening or the state of being enlightened. 2. the Enlightenment, a philosophical movement of the 18th century, characterized by belief in the power of human reason and by innovations in political, religious, and educational doctrine.

Read More
1560 Words | 7 Pages

During the seventeenth century many ideas emerged that changed the way people saw the world. The Enlightenment is consider one of the breaking points in human history, the knowledge from that time influenced directly in how the events of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and consequent centuries develop till today, important ideologies like Republic emerged during this time. The introduction of the “reason” was one of the most important concepts of this movement. The “reason” proposed the arriving of a judgment through the analysis of evidence that is why the first ideas of the enlightenment were scientific ones, like Sir Isaac Newton. But this changed by the eighteenth were the philosophical ideas focused more to the human existence.

Read More
1091 Words | 5 Pages

baptism, therefore only allowing the children of saints’ to receive baptism. However, it left the adult-children half-way members and were prohibited from communion and church affairs. This corrupted the church because it questioned the definition of purity in the church, and as a result, worldly power overcame the value of spiritual purity. The Half-Way Covenant was important because it was the only attempted solution to the decreasing number of saints, but it failed to achieve its goal and also led to some religious misunderstandings.

Read More
1098 Words | 5 Pages

The Enlightenment, the intellectual movement that stressed reason and individualism rather than tradition, sparked a change in the political systems of many Eastern and Central European rulers during the eighteenth century. Before the Enlightenment, the majority of rulers relied on absolutism and expected strict adherence to their laws. However, following the Enlightenment the philosophes, intellectuals involved in the movement, believed that it was crucial to educate the monarchs about the emergence of new ideals, which could be applied to their governments. Because the European monarchs were among the most educated in society, they were attracted to any ideas that could improve or reform society. The resulting ideal coined the term “enlightened

Read More
1014 Words | 5 Pages

Failure to establish an appropriate government for a country's circumstances can cause a revolution. If the government's system does not serve the needs of the people, the people may revolt and demand change. John Locke's "Two Treatises on Government" supports the idea that "all men should be equal and independent, [and] no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions. " In a substantial government, everyone should be treated equally and responsible for their possessions. However, under a monarchy, not everyone is equal, and the government may restrict their power.

Read More
426 Words | 2 Pages

Consequently, a limited government was created in response to these new thoughts. Furthermore, this new type of government was extremely revolutionary because it changed the way that the citizens had thought or viewed about the government. Two Enlightenment philosophers that influenced the creation of the government were John Locke and Montesquieu. John Locke had the belief that everyone had natural rights (life, liberty, property) and that if the government failed to protect these rights, they could be overthrown and replaced. Also, Montesquieu’s idea of the separation of powers helped shape the government.

Read More
463 Words | 2 Pages

During the times of Political Enlightenment, it was known as an examination over humane society, politics, and power. People questioned the relationship between the state individuals, who were assumed to be born with rights that sat above others. Enlightenment thinkers also began to question whether it was science or religion, and questioned the idea that God had given the monarchy their powers. Not only did the American Revolution give life to the Americas, it also gave a new opportunity for a political democracy system. The American and French revolutions are one the most known revolutions in history.

Read More
568 Words | 3 Pages

As mentioned previously, let's start off with understanding what Enlightenment is, in order to understand what this whole topic is about. The Enlightenment was a European movement, which was based on finding new things by logic and reason(mostly science), this made up the other name for Enlightenment therefore called The Age Of Reason. It was amazingly influenced by the 17th century philosophers. The Enlightenment started either in the middle of the 17th century or at the commencement of the 18th century.

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the scientific revolution built a foundation that allowed Europe to expand its thoughts about math, science, astronomy, and physics; this movement was called the Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment was a consequential point in history because this was when society shifted away from the Church’s authority and began to rely on scientific reason. Philosophes focused on the idea of religious tolerance and how it would create a positive change in society while also concentrating on the concept that people are capable of achieving perfection on earth. Religious tolerance, education, and the perfectibility of man were all significant themes that emerged during the Enlightenment.

Read More
1443 Words | 6 Pages

The Enlightenment was a cultural movement, which occurred during the 18th century, characterised by loss of faith in traditional religion and a turn towards human rights, politics and science. The ideas of the Enlightenment were highly influenced by many French philosophers, such as Voltaire, who highly contributed in displaying his philosophies to the world. François-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, considered to be one of the greatest Enlightenment writer, was a French Philosopher and writer born in November 21, 1694 in Paris, son of a minor treasury official. Voltaire received great education being born in a middle class family, and was sent to a Jesuit Collège called Louis-le-Grand from 1704 to 1711.

Read More
1820 Words | 8 Pages

The process of Enlightenment was really to just get the world to think freely for ourselves and to understand that not everything is by the book or that we must believe and follow everything we see and hear. Tutelage from

Read More
1333 Words | 6 Pages

Only those who are born with true philosophical understanding can rule. In the Second Treatise by John Locke, Locke addresses the state of nature, which is essentially equality and freedom. Even though people have liberty, they still need to obey natural laws. On the contrary of Plato’s just city, Locke believes that absolute authority is not a civil government. A civil society is where the majority rules.

Read More

More about The Enlightenment Dbq Essay

Open Document