Enlightenment Thinkers

Baron de Montesquieu

Separation of Powers - there should be three branches of government- one that makes laws, one that enforces laws, and one that interprets laws

Voltaire

Freedom of Expression: “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.”

John Locke

Government should protect people’s Natural Rights (life, liberty, and property)

Government should be based on the Consent of the Governed. This means that the people (the governed) should give their permission (consent) to the government, usually through voting.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The Social Contract, in which we promise to follow the “general will” of the members of the society as expressed by the laws made by the government. In exchange, we receive the liberty to do what we want as long as we do not break those laws.

Diderot

Everyone has the right to access information and get an Education. Wrote the first Encyclopedia.

Thomas Hobbes

In the state of nature, the the life of man would be, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. Absolute rulers are necessary to protect men from each other.

Thomas Paine

Wrote “Common Sense;” pamphlet pushing for American Independence, and considered one of history’s greatest political propagandists.

Immanuel Kant

Coined the term “The Enlightenment,” and pushed for the freedom of the press.

Mary Wollstonecraft

Believed women deserved rights and had just as much potential as men do. Wrote “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” in response to the French Revolution and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Marie-Jean Caritat

Fought for the Abolition of slavery, and believed in human progress.