Review of the Enlightenment!

Fill in the missing words. Click on each space and a word bank will appear. Use the grey scroll bar on the right side of the box to look over all the words. Pick the one that you believe completes the sentence accurately. Use context clues! Refer to your Enlightenment notes if you need to. The Enlightenment was a time when people believed they could use reason to figure out all the problems of the world. Philosophes believed that reason could be used to figure out the best form of government. Many philosophes contributed ideas.The most common form of government during the Enlightenment was absolute monarchy, or rule by a king or a queen who has complete control. The philosophes observed many of the problems that existed under this system. Beccaria objected to the use of torture to make people confess to crimes. Others objected to the fact that because of the belief in Divine Right of Kings, or the idea that the king's power came from God, the king was seen as being above the law and did not have to follow it himself.The only philosopher who believed absolute monarchy was the right form of government was Thomas Hobbes. He believed that people were basically selfish and violent. Therefore he said the only form of government that could keep people under control was absolute monarchy. He also believed people did not have the right to rebel, even if the king was a very bad king.Unlike Hobbes, John Locke believed people were good. He believed people were born with the natural rights of life, liberty and property. He believed that there was a social contract or an agreement between government and its citizens. In this contract citizens were required to follow the law. If they did not follow the law, they would go to jail. Government also had a job. It has to protect the natural rights (life, liberty and property) of its citizens. If the government fails to protect the citizens' natural rights, citizens have the right to rebel. John Locke believed that the right form of government was a democracy.Another philosopher who had a lot to say about how government should be set up was the Baron de Montesquieu. He believed that government power should be separated into three branches. These branches are the legislative branch which makes the laws, the executive branch that carries out the laws and the judicial branch that interprets the laws. He also believed in a system of checks and balances where each branch was capable of controlling the power of the other two branches. All of this was part of creating a government that was limited in power.Other philosophers contributed their ideas as well. For example, Voltaire believed in religious freedom, freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Beccaria believed that every man was entitled to a speedy trial and that no-one should be tortured into confessing to a crime. Of all of these philosophers, however, only one supported the rights of women. That philosopher was Mary Wollstonecraft. She believed that women could contribute just as much to society as men did, if they were educated equally.All of these philosophers contributed greatly to America's founding documents. Particularly in the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.