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Instruction 1-2 Western Law and its Influences | Thinkers of the Enlightenment
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| Thinkers of the Enlightenment | ||||||
| CCSTD History Grade 10 10.2.1. | ||||||
Monarchs based their increased power on the Divine Right theory. The idea of Divine Right is that the monarch is appointed by God, so the ruler's commands were the will of God. Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher who believed in the theory of Divine Right. He wrote that Kings and Queens were justified to rule because only they could be impartial enough to maintain order in society. The absolute control of a nation by a King or Queen is known as Absolutism. King Louis XIV of France (1638-1715AD) provides us with an excellent example of an absolute monarch (http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/210_Louis_XIV_the_Sun_King.php). During the same time England had a Limited Monarchy; there was a King or Queen, but with limited power. This system of rule is contrary to Absolutism, where the King or Queen had total power. England was different because there were strong checks and balances to English royal power. The two most important checks on royal power were:Religious matters played a large part in England during the 17th and 18th centuries. Martin Luther had posted his 95 theses on the door of the castle church at Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. These theses condemned the selling of indulgences by the Pope and other policies of the Roman Catholic Church. When Martin Luther refused to recant, or state that he had decided that his theses were wrong, the Pope excommunicated him, throwing him out of the Church. This is the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The reason why Martin Luther did not remain an unknown, minor priest is due to an earlier invention. Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type for his printing press. With this invention, books were printed faster and cheaper. Information could be printed quickly and spread around to people everywhere. Martin Luther’s 95 theses were printed and spread. People all over Europe heard about them, and many decided to read the Bible and listen to their own consciences instead of the Pope. England became a Protestant country during the reign of Henry VIII. There were still many Catholics in the country. After Henry VIII some of the English monarchs were Protestant and some were Catholic. Charles I was Catholic. He firmly believed in the ‘divine right of kings’. When Charles I tried to exercise this ‘divine right’ by collecting taxes that were not approved by Parliament, Parliament objected. Charles I dissolved Parliament. The English Puritans said that ‘divine right’ eroded property rights and denied personal rights as well. Charles was eventually brought to trial by Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, as a “tyrant, traitor and murderer; and a public and implacable enemy to the Commonwealth of England.” Charles I was executed on January 30, 1649. Oliver Cromwell became the “Lord Protector of the Commonwealth”. He ruled England until his death in 1658.
During the “Age of Kings” or the period of Absolutism, there were thinkers who did not believe that monarchs had a Divine Right to rule. These thinkers were part of the Enlightenment, an important intellectual movement during the 18th century, also known as the Age of Reason. The Enlightenment had its roots in the medieval renaissance where Humanists (people who looked to the achievements and value of individuals) began to re-discover the classic writers and thinkers of the Greco-Roman tradition. Enlightenment thinkers resurrected the ancient ideals from philosophers like Plato: “Plato held that the perfect society will occur only when kings become philosophers or philosophers are made kings,”(http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/2h.htm#forms). Many Enlightenment thinkers recognized other teachings besides the Church's teachings of the natural world. They discovered things about science and nature that resulted from direct observation. Scientists began to come to conclusions based on facts observed over time (Scientific Method). These scientists were part of the Scientific Revolution (http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/rhatch/pages/03-Sci-Rev/SCI-REV-Home/). One of these scientists was Galileo who, through his observations, discovered that the Sun was the center of the solar system and not the Earth. This was a direct contradiction of what the Church taught at that time. Enlightenment thinkers believed that by applying scientific reasoning people could better understand both themselves and the natural world. Enlightenment thinkers believed in “natural laws” which governed both nature and society. By using the Scientific Method to observe society and its problems they began to question the divine right of kings, the power of the catholic church, and the privilege of nobility. There are five major thinkers of the Enlightenment. Following are their most important contributions to Western thought:1. John Locke: (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/) Locke said that the government should obtain power from the “consent of the governed” not from “Divine Right.” Locke also believed that the purpose of the government is to “protect the people’s rights to life, liberty, and property.” Locke defended the right of people to rebel when a government abused it’s power.
2. Francois-Marie Arouet De Voltaire: 3. Jean-Jacques Rousseau:(http://www.iep.utm.edu/r/rousseau.htm) Rousseau believed that the government should express the “general will” of the people. 4. Baron de Montesquieu: Montesquieu wrote about separation of powers in government as a check against tyranny. 5. Adam Smith:(http://www.cpm.ll.ehime-u.ac.jp/AkamacHomePage/Akamac_E-text_Links/Smith.html) Smith's book The Wealth of Nations described modern day capitalism, and how division of labor and competition drive a free economic system based on self interest (http://www.readprint.com/chapter-8607/Adam-Smith). The influence of the Enlightenment thinkers on Western law and politics can be seen in both the American and French revolutions of the late 18th century. The American Declaration of Independence draws directly from John Locke when it describes the role of the government as protecting the natural human rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/Lesson_6_Notes.htm). As you study America's founding fathers and important Revolutionary figures during colonial times, see if you can identify common themes of Enlightenment ideals. Video Instruction
Now let's do Practice Exercise 1-2 (top).
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