CopyRights

October16th,2015
Allrightsreserved
PublishedbyAAA+SandCO.locatedinOrinda,California
SonikaRenjen
ArielDeLaCampa
AbbySeverson
AnnaWong

~Foreword~
TheEnlightenmentwasagreattimeofnewideasintheAmericancoloniesin1800s.The
movementoriginatedfromFrance,andwasalsoreferredtoasTheAgeofReason.Itledtothemaking
oftheAmericanRepublic.Thisideaofthegovernmentoriginatedfromthephilosophersofthe
enlightenment.AmongthemwereMaryWollstonecraft,BarondeMontesquieu,Voltaire,Cesare
Beccaria,andJeanJacquesRousseau.Thesepeoplecontributedtheirideastothistimeofgreatlearning
anddiscovery.TheideasthatweresharedduringtheEnlightenmentareimportanttodaybecausemanyof
theideasexpressedduringthistimearestillseenintherootsofourgovernment.
The US government today has been influenced greatly by the Enlightenment. Ideas of gender
equality, no double jeopardy, right of fairtrial,thechecksandbalances system,freedom ofspeech and
government, and woman rights originated from the people involved in the Enlightenment. The
Enlightenment started in the 17001800s in Europe. Many intellectuals were not happy with the ideas
conveyed by the government, and they set out to express theirown.Therewere also manydiscoveries
madein science during thistime.MaryWollstonecraft,BarondeMontesquieu,Voltaire,CesareBeccaria
and Rousseau were five very important people involved with the Enlightenment.In this bookyouwill
learn how their ideas influence our government today. Mary Wollstonecraft, for example was thefirst
woman who expressed her ideas of feminism, which brought the ideas of gender equality to the US.
Baron de Montesquieu introduced the ideas of Checks and Balances to thegovernment. As expressed,
these five individuals have influenced our government greatly, along with the government of other
westerncivilizations.
It is very important to learn about five of the major influencing people of our government.
Knowing howthesekeyideas inAmericacameto be can giveyoua wholenew wayto lookathowwe
arerunandgiveyouaninsight onhowwe aregoverned.Knowingyourcountrysoriginisveryimportant
toknow.Happyreading!

~Short Biographies~
-Mary Wollstonecraft
Biography:

MaryWollstonecraftwasafemalewriterbornonApril27,1759inLondon.
Shewasoneofsevenchildrenthatcamefromafinanciallyunstablefamily.Shewasthe
daughterofEdwardJ.,whowastedalargeportionofhismoney.Herbrothersreceivedan
education,whilethewomeninherfamilydidnotshefoundthisveryunfair.Thisisoneofthe
reasonsshewantedtostandupforgenderequality.Asshestates,Virtuecanonlyflourish
amongequals.Sheexplainsthatforbothmenandwomantobegoodpeople,theymustfirstbe
equal.WollstonecraftmovedfromLondontoParisin1792,whereshefellinlovewithan
AmericanadventurernamedGilbertImlay.TheyhadachildnamedFanny,andrightafterher
birth,ImlayleftWollstonecraft.Depressed,shereturnedtoLondonin1795andmarriedWilliam
Godwin,in1797.Godwinwasaphilosopher.TheyhadanotherchildnamedMary.
WollstonecraftdiedshortlyafterthebirthofherseconddaughteronSeptember10,1797.She
andGodwinhadbeenmarriedforlessthan5months.Herdaughtergrewtowrite
Frankenstein
.
MaryWollstonecraftpromotedtheideaofwomenequalityand
wrotemanyfamousandinfluentialpiecesonthematter.Shewasa
promoterofsocialandeducationalequalityforallgenders.
Idonot
wishthem[women]tohavepowerovermenbutoverthemselves.
Wallstonedebatedthatwomenarentunderneathmen,theyjust
seemedthatwaybecausetheywerenteducatedlikemales.She
didntbelievethatwomenshouldbebetterthanmen,shejustbelievedthatallgendersshouldbe

equal.Wollstonecraftwasconsideredoneofthefirstfemalephilosophersandthemotherofthe
feministmovement.

-Franois-Marie Arouet VoltaireBiography:

Voltaire,amanwhobelievedinfreedomofspeechandreligion,criticizedmany
aspectsofthegovernmentinhislifetime.Hewasbornin1694inParisanddied83yearslaterin
thesamecity.HelivedalloverFranceduringhislifetime,mostlyinexile.Becauseofhis
criticismandrebellionagainstthelawmanyleadersdislikedhim,causinghismultipleexiles.
Forexample,VoltaireheldradicaltheatricalperformancesinhishomeinSwitzerlandwhichled
toLouisXVexilinghim.Herelentlesslysaid,
Prejudicesarewhatfoolsuseforreason.
Voltairewasasmartman,hewroteover2,000booksandpamphletsinhislifetime.Hestrongly
believedincompletefreedomofexpressionandhislifeexemplifiedhisbelief.Freedomof
speechwasacrucialpartofhisideaofgovernment,"Idonotagreewithwhatyouhavetosay,
butI'lldefendtothedeathyourrighttosayit."Another
aspectofhisbeliefswastheseparationofchurchand
state.DuringhistimeFrancehadacountrywidereligion
thateveryonehadtofollow.Catholicismaffectedthe
peopleslivesandFrancesgovernment.Thiswascalled
theunfoirulewhichVoltairehighlydisagreedwith
LouieXV.Atonepointofhislife,Voltairebecamethe
firstsatiristinhistory.Hecriticizedormadefunof
injusticesinhislife.Voltairesideaofgovernmentincludedfreedomofexpression.Voltaire
expressedhisbeliefsoffreedomofspeechandreligioninmanyofhisbooks.

-Franois-Marie Arouet Voltaire

Biography:
MontesquieuwasbornonJanuary18th1689inFrance.Hewasbornintoasociety
thatwasruledbytheabsoluteKingLouisXVI.Whilegrowinguphewaseducatedinlawbya
noblefamilyandtraveledthroughmuchofEurope.Hebelievedthat,
Successinthemajorityof
circumstancesdependsonknowinghowlongittakestosucceed.
MontesquieubecameaFrench
lawyerandpoliticalphilosopherthatwrotemanybooks,including
TheSpiritoftheLaw
written
in1748.Hebelievedintheseparationofpowers,and
oncesaid"uselesslawsweakenthenecessarylaws".
Thismeansthathethoughtabsolutemonarchywasa
badidea.Insteadwherelegislative,executive,and
judicialpowerswereallseparated,theykepteach
otherbalanced.Heearnedhimselfthetitleof
"balanceddemocrat"throughouthislife.Hediedon
February10th1755.

-Cesare BeccariaB
iography:
CesareBeccariawasaphilosopher,criminologist,judgeandpoliticianbornon
March15,1738inMilan,Italyintoanaristocraticfamily.Hewasashychildwhooftenhad
moodswings.Hedidn'tlikeschool,buthewasabrightmathematician.Heattendedthe
UniversityofParmaandearnedhisdegreeinlawin1758.Twoyearslater,in1760,hemarrieda
16yearoldgirlnamedTeresa.SheandBeccariahadthreechildren.AlessandroandPietroVerri
weretwoofhisfriendsthathecaredformost.Beccariacreatedaliteraryandintellectualsociety
called"theacademyoffists."Theyfollowedtheprinciplesofenlightenmentandfocusedon
promotingeconomic,administrative,andpoliticalreform.Membersoftheacademyencouraged
BeccariatoreadBritishandFrenchwriting.In1764,hepublished
OnCrimesandPunishments
.
Inthiswriting,heexploredthetopicofcriminaljustice.Thiswaspublishedanonymouslyunder
thefearofgovernmentbecausetheseideaswerecriticalofthelegalsystem.Hisideaswerewell
stated.Hecommentedthat,Happyisthenationwithahistory.Thegovernmentapprovedof
hisessay,andherepublishedit.Beccariabelievedthateveryonehastherighttoaspeedytrial
andthereshouldntunusualcrimesforpunishments.Thisincludedthedeathpenalty.He
believedthatthepunishmentafterthecrimeshouldchangethecriminal
forthebetterinsteadofpunishingthemforrevenge.Healsowentagainst
theideaoftorture,andbelievedthattorturewouldgoagainsttheideathat
theaccusedisproveninnocentuntilprovenguilty.Ashestates,Lawthat
forbidthecarryingofarms...disarmonlythosewhoaren'teitherinclined
ordeclinedTheseideasareimportantbecausetheFoundingFathers

usedmostofthemintheBillofRightswhentheywrotethedocumentsdefiningourcountry.

-
J
ean-Jacques Rousseau
Biography:
JeanJacques Rousseau
, was born in 1712, in Geneva, Switzerland. He was believed
that the government corrupted man, and made them into people they werent at heart. In his
book,
The Social Contract
, Rousseaustates,Manisbornfree,andeverywhereheisinchains.
Similarly to John Locke, Rousseau believed in protecting the natural rights of the people, but
took it to more extreme measures. He believed that in the ideal government, people would be
split into small groups of 515 members. Instead of giving their loyalty to thegovernment,they
would be devoted to their group of people.
Rousseau thought that a direct democracy would be
the best governmentfora groupofpeople. HeusedtheNativeAmericantribesasanexampleof
how an ideal community should be. He described them as "noble savages". He believed that
their community was not corrupted withgreedandjealousybecausetheydidnthavetocompete
with one another and all strived towards a common goal ofsurvival.
Theywouldbeabletohave
many more rights and a say than they would withagovernmentrulingoveracountry.Everyone
would behappybecausetheywouldalltakeapartinthesocietyinsteadofbeing ruledbyothers.
AlthoughRousseau'sideasofdemocracyaresimilartothoseof
Lockes ( in the social contract) his ideas of equality are
different. He didn't believe that the governments of a country
fit with equality because the majority of the peopledonthave
a say in it. His ideas of equality play a big role in the
enlightenment.

~
Scenarios~
These scenarios explain how the philosophers would
interpret these situations.
Rosseau:
Averythriftypersonwasjustfiredfromhisjob.Hehasplentyofmoney
saved,butisnotsurewhattodonext.Heisthinkingofeithertryingtofindanewjobin
SanFranciscoorbackpackingthePacificCrestTrailforayearwithagroupoffiveother
friends.Forhim,itwouldbenicetogetawayfromcivilizationforawhile.Whatshould
hedo?
AccordingtoRousseau,thismanshouldtakesometimeoffwithhisfriends,andgobackpacking
tothePacificCrestTrail.Takingthistripwillgivehimthefreedomtomakehisownchoicesand
puthistrustinhisfivefriends.Hewouldbeabletoexpresshisideasandbuildhisown
government,usingeveryonesinput.Inaddition,hewouldbeabletosayanythingwithoutbeing
judged,andwouldbefreefromtheconstrictivegovernment.

Beccaria:
Twobrothersgetintoafight.Theparentintervenesandwantstopunish
whoeverstartedthefight,butwantstobefair.Howshouldhefigureoutwhostartedthe
fightandwhatshouldthepunishmentbe?
Theparentshouldsittheboysonthecouch,askbothoftheboyswhathappenedandseewho
startedthefight.Insteadofpunishingwhoeverstartedtheargument,theparentshouldalso
considerwhoprovokedit.Forexample,ifthetwochildrenwerefighting,theparentshouldnt

justassumethatthefightwasstartedbytheolderchildtheyshouldtrytofigureoutwhostarted
thefightinsteadofimmediatelypointingblame.Thepunishmentshouldn'tbetoosevere,
becauseBeccariabelievedthat
thepunishmentshouldteachapersontochangeandtonotdowhathe/shedidagain.The
consequenceshouldntbetoosevere,butitmustbeharshenoughtoremember.Agood
punishmentforchildrenistogroundthemortakeawayelectronicprivileges.

MaryWollstonecraft:
Agirlwantstogotocollege,butherparentswanthertostayat
homeandgetmarriedinstead.Whatshouldshedo?
Wollstonecraftwouldsaythatthegirlshouldgotocollege.Shewouldarguethatitisn'tagirls
jobtostayhomeandgetmarried.Thegirlismorelikelytobesuccessfulifshecollegethanif
shestayedhomeandgotmarriedinstead.Shewouldbeeligibleformanyoptionsfor
employmentifshewenttocollege.wouldopenmanydoorsforherinlife.Ifshestayedhome
andgotmarried,shewouldhavelessdoorsopenforemployment.Forexample,ifshewentto
college,shecouldbeadoctor,engineer,orlawyer.Allwellpaidjobs.Ifshedidntgotocollege,
shemayendupatamuchlowerpaidjob.Wollstonecraftwouldarguethateverypersonshould
havetherighttofollowtheirdreamsandnobodyhastherighttotellthemotherwise.

Voltaire:
Studentsinahighschoolnewspaperclasswouldliketopublishapiececritical
oftheschoolsprincipal.Theyhavebeentoldthatiftheydo,theywillbeexpelled.
Whatshouldtheydo?
Ifstudentsatahighschooldisagreedwiththeschoolsprincipal,theyshouldbeabletoexpress
themselves.Whethertheyarepunishedornot,theyshoulddoitanyways.Whocaresiftheyare

expelled,iftheirschoolisunacceptingtoeveryonesvoiceandopinion,whyaretheythere
anyways?Ifotherstudentsagreewiththenewspaperclass,thatgivesthemevenmoreofa
reasontoprotest.Publishpamphletsandbooks,rebellagainstthelaw,anddowhatyouwantto
do.Youhavearightoffreedomofexpression,soshowit.

Montesquieu
:TheCEO(chiefexecutiveofficer)ofacompanyistryingtocreateanew
hierarchysystemforhis/hercompany.ThisCEOwantstomakesurethatnoneofthe
leadersinthecompanygaintoomuchpower.Whatshouldhedo?
Inyourcompanyitisimportantthatyoumakesureallpeopleinleadershippositionsareofequal
importanceandhaveequalpower.Thisisimportantsonoonepersoncouldgaintoomuch
powerandoverthroweveryoneelse.Forexampleifsomeoneinaleadershiprolethreatenedto
firesomeoneoversomethingthatwasunfair,thenthatworkercouldexplainthesituationto
everyoneelseandgetthemfiredfromthecompany.Thenpeopleinpowerfulpositionwouldn't
risktheirjobsandmoreoftheleaderswouldhaveequalpowerovereveryone.Anotheraction
thisCEOshoulddoisnotonlyallowthesocalled"leaders"tofirepeoplebutalsogivethelower
workingclassrightssothatifneededtheycouldgetaleaderthatwasabusingtheirpowerfired
aswell.

Glossary
enlightenment

awareness,understanding

republic

astatewherepowerisheldbythepeopleand
theirelectedrepresentatives

philosophers

apersoneducatedinphilosophy,thinker,
theorist

intellectuals

apersonpossessinghighlydeveloped
intellect

feminism

themovementforandofwomensrightsand
genderequality

civilization

astageofsocialdevelopmentsofhumansand
organizationthatisconsideredadvanced

exile

beingbarredfromonesnativecountry

exemplified

represent,symbolize,demonstrate

satirist

satireisagenreofwritingintendedtoshame
individuals

injustices

lackoffairness

noblefamily

aclassofpeopledistinguishedbyhighbirth
rank

criminologist

apersonwhoisresponsibleforanalyzing
datatodeterminefactsaboutthegivencrime

politicalreform

theimprovementofwhatiswrongorcorrupt

severe

verygreat,intense,critical

eligible

havingtherighttodosomethingorobtain
somethinggiventheappropriateconditions