History- Enlightenment Thinkers

People are born moral and reasonable, all people are born with 3 natural rights, consent of the government to protect their rights, if the contract is broken the people may replace the government

John Locke

Life, liberty, and property

The 3 natural rights

People are born cruel, greedy, and selfish, the government (law) protects people from each other, social contract- people give up their rights to be protected by the government, absolute monarchs(but not from God)

Thomas Hobbes

England’s government had 3 branches, Executive (the monarch), legislative (Parliament), and judicial (court of law).

Montesquieu

Criticism of Christianity. Fought for civil liberties- rights/freedoms of citizens. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, separation of church and state, believed that humanity's worst enemies were intolerance, prejudice, & superstition.

Voltaire

People were naturally good, but were corrupted by society, importance of the general will- the will of the people as a whole. Good of the community should be placed above individual interests common good, some controls are necessary but should be minimal, democracy.

Rousseau

Associated with law and punishments, laws are to preserve order, not avenge crimes, abolition of torture, right to a speedy trial and punishments should fit the crime, free will.

Cesare Beccaria

Women had natural rights, that were limited to the areas of home and family.-SALONS informal parties where politics were talked about, opposed to monarchy, equality of education.

Mary Wollstoncraft

He believed in the separation of power which meant that the government would limit and control each other in a system of checks a balances.

Montesquieu

He was a writer who helped make the encyclopedia

Diderot

He was a Scottish philosopher who was the founder of the modern social science of economics

Adam Smith

The concept that the state should not impose government regulations but should leave the economy alone

Laissez-faire

An entire society agrees to be governed by its general will

Social contract

he was an english write

Henry Fielding