The Enlightenment and the “new” world

-Do you remember that Absolute Monarchs ruled Europe? (Global 9 +10)-Do you remember that they did not allow for any freedoms?-Do you remember that their word and will was law?

What was the Enlightenment?Educated Europeans started to dream of a world in which:-People had a voice in government.-Leaders were subject to the law, and not above it.-Religious freedom.-The right to change government if it was “not” working-A government that had “checks and balances”.

These “people” started to write their ideas down and publish them.People such as:John LockeBelieved in Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Property…also if your government was not protecting these rights you have a right to

Montesquieu Believed in “separations of powers”…three branches of gov’t

Voltaire believed in religious freedom…{worship who or what ya want}

Rousseau believed in the Social Contract…a person believes a government should protect their natural rights…if not, a person has the right to take the law into their own hands.

They all believed that a government’s power COMES FROM THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED!!!!...not from some king

or queen.

-These great ideas stayed in the books, and nobody acted upon them…because of fear.

“alter/abolish”/change it.If all aspects of the gov’t ignore you, you make an appeal to heaven…go to war

-Until people from Europe started to arrive here in the “new world”.