Hobbes, Locke, Voltaire, Beccaria, and Rousseau not only established the Enlightenment, but set principles for people to follow, resulting in the United States government and amendments from the American Revolution.
By kendra19
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Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes was the start of the Enlightenment. Hobbes work and views were shown in Leviathan. In the textbook it says, "In this state of nature, as Hobbes called it, life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short'"(Black and Beck 551).Hobbes believed that people were born evil and ruthless. -
John Locke
In the Enlightenment Locke believed that people were created with three natural rights; life, liberty, and property. In the textbook it states, "He believed that people could learn from experience and improve themselves" (Black and Beck 551). Not only did Locke believe that people were made with the three natural rights he also thought that people can change from past experiences. He felt that if the government could not protect these natural rights, people could overthrow the government. -
Voltaire
Voltaire was a very powerful Enlightenment Thinker. Overtime Voltaire was able to write and publish 70 books focusing on a variety of different topics. In the textbook it states, "Although he made powerful enemies, Voltaire never stopped fighting for tolerance, reason, freedom of religious belief, and freedom of speech" (Black and Beck 553). Voltaire fought for what he believe in and never let anything get in his way. -
Cesare Beccaria
Cesare Beccaria wanted to fix Italy's justice system. In the textbook it states that he believes, "...laws existed to preserve social order, not to avenge crimes..." (Black and Beck 554). He thought that peoples crimes should suit their punishments and have a fast and speedy court trial if possible. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act caused people to have to pay taxes on all paper documents. This mean't people would get charged with a tax on newspaper, document, publications, and much more. This was all going on when when the British Empire was in debt. In an article it states, "Arguing that only their own representative assemblies could tax them, the colonists insisted that the act was unconstitutional, and they resorted to mob violence to intimidate stamp collectors into resigning" (HIstory.com). -
The Stamp Act pt. 2
Like states in the quote, people were able to express how they felt by breaking out in violence and causing more problems. Thomas Hobbes thought that all people were born with evil or violence and could only live to a young age, due to the violence they can cause. Hobbes also though that people were nasty and brutal. When the Stamp Act got released peoples feelings were nasty and brutal. -
Boston Massacre
There was a total of five people that died in the Boston Massacre. A British soldier name Captain Thomas was convicted of manslaughter with his other soldiers. In an article it states, "The killings of March 5, promptly termed a “massacre” by Patriot leaders and commemorated in a widely circulated engraving by Paul Revere, aroused intense public protests and threats of violent retaliation" (History.com). Rousseau believed that it was society vs government which it was in the Boston Massacre. -
Declaration of Independence pt. 2
In the Declaration of Independence it states, "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" (USHistory). John Locke thought that people were created equal and had the same natural rights, like stated. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence shows America's property of each state. It is a sign of freedom that the Americans have gained from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was able to separate the Americas away from Great Britain. America was able to make a statement when we agreed to the Declaration of Indepence. -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau disagree with many Enlightenment Thinkers. Rousseau mainly focused on the social contract originally created by Thomas Hobbes. In the textbook it states, "For Rousseau, it was an agreement among free individuals to create a society and a
government" (Black and Beck 554). His idea was different by thinking that it was to free individuals and the goverment while Hobbes saw is as between the society and government. -
Checks and Balances
The point of Checks and Balances was to balance out the powers in the government and to ensure that no branch would become to powerful. In an article online it states, "In addition to this separation of powers, the framers built a system of checks and balances designed to guard against tyranny by ensuring that no branch would grab too much power" (History.com). Voltaire wanted to separate government and religion and with checks and balances we were able to do that. -
Check and Balances pt.2
Checks and Balance made sure that know one would overrule a branch. It also checked that the laws being passed are beneficial. -
The 8th Amendment
The 8th Amendment is an important amendment that talks about the government and what may happen if a law get broken. On an article I found on online, written by Michael Levy, it states, "Reasonableness and proportionality are generally taken into account when fixing bail amounts for criminal infractions" (Levy). The American government or court will come up with a reasonable consequence for a bad action. Becarra had a clear point when saying that there should be fair punishments for actions. -
Works Cited 1
"The Declaration of Independence: Full Text.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association,www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/. -
Works Cited 2
Levy, Michael. “Eighth Amendment.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 12 Apr. 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/Eighth-Amendment. -
Works Cited 3
History.com Staff. “Stamp Act.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/stamp-act. -
Works Cited 4
History.com Staff. “Checks and Balances.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2017, www.history.com/topics/checks-and-balances. -
Works Cited 5
History.com Staff. “Boston Massacre.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-massacre -
Book Citation
Beck, Roger B. World History: Patterns of Interaction. McDougal Littell, 2005.
