The Enlightenment and the Age of New Ideas

The Enlightenment

• During the 17th and 18th centuries, intellectuals like Descartes prioritized reason and individualism over tradition and community values
• The Enlightenment challenged the authority of monarchs and church leaders, fostering revolution in the United States, France, and globally
• The Enlightenment was influenced by the Scientific Revolution and Renaissance humanism, promoting optimism
• Writers thought reason applied to natural laws would foster progress, emphasizing human achievement while acknowledging God's existence
• Natural laws were believed to govern social and political realms, which diminished the influence of traditional religion

Age of New Ideas

• Emergence of socialism and liberalism led to the "Age of Isms"
• Conservatism was popular among European ruling class, opposing socialism and liberalism
• Clashes between new ideas and old political structures resulted in revolutions seeking independence and constitutional representation
• Nationalism emerged from new governments, defined as intense loyalty to those sharing language and culture
• The concept of unified culture within an independent nation-state threatened Europe's multiethnic empires

New Ideas and Roots

• In the 17th century, Francis Bacon promoted empiricism, emphasizing knowledge through sensed experience and observation over tradition
• Philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke viewed political life through a social contract lens
• Hobbes (Leviathan, 1651) believed humans exist in a bleak world unless they give rights to a strong government for law and order
• Locke (Two Treatises of Government, 1690) thought that the social contract implied citizens' rights to revolt against unjust governments and advocated for natural rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of property
• Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) introduced "tabula rasa," suggesting individuals are born as blank slates shaped by knowledge, challenging the belief that intelligence is determined by ancestry

The Philosophes

• In the 18th century, philosophes explored social, political, and economic theories
• They popularized concepts based on 17th-century scientific thinkers
• Philosophes included Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Adam Smith, and French thinkers
• Baron Montesquieu's (The Spirit of Laws, 1748) admired the British government's checks on power via Parliament
• Montesquieu influenced the American system by separating the executive, legislative, and judicial branches
• Voltaire, also known as Francois-Marie Arouet (Candide, 1762), advocated for civil liberties and religious liberty, influencing the U.S. Constitution
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau expanded on the social contract idea, presenting the concept of the General Will of a population in The Social Contract (1762)
• Rousseau's ideas on child-rearing and education laid out in Emile, or On Education (1762)

Adam Smith

• Adam Smith, an influential Enlightenment thinker, wrote The Wealth of Nations (1776)
• Smith advocated for freer trade, responding to mercantilism
• He supported limited government regulation and taxation but preferred laissez-faire economics
• This approach suggests that governments should minimize intervention in economic matters
• Smith believed individual choices in business and consumption would be guided by the "invisible hand" of the market, benefitting society
• Smith's ideas laid the groundwork for capitalism, where means of production are privately owned and operated for profit

Deism

• Enlightenment thinkers reevaluated the relationship between humans and God, leading to Deism
• Deists viewed a divinity that established natural laws but does not interfere in daily affairs
• They compared the divinity to a watchmaker
• They thought these laws are best understood through scientific inquiry, not the Bible
• Many Deists considered regular church attendance socially important
• Thomas Paine defended Deism in The Age of Reason (1794)
• Paine was previously popular for supporting liberty from Britain through Common Sense (1776), but his anti-church writings impacted his popularity

The Age of New Ideas Continues

• Enlightenment thinkers addressed social issues caused by urbanization and industrialization
• Issues included increased poverty, poor living conditions, and lack of political representation
• Solutions proposed ranged from government regulations to private charity
• Some conservatives blamed poverty on the poor and promoted traditional values
• Socialism promotes public or worker ownership of production, such as mills, machinery, and land
• Utopian socialists created alternative views of the social and economic future by establishing ideal communities
• Henri de Saint-Simon believed that scientists and engineers could work with businesses to create clean and efficient workplaces and supported public works
• Charles Fourier thought that utopia entails harmonious living in communities rather than class struggle
• Robert Owen established intentional communities based on utopian socialist principles, including child education, communal ownership, and community rules

19th Century Socialism

• Fabian Society was formed in England
• The Fabians were gradual socialists who favored reforming society by parliamentary means
• Prominent Fabians include H. G. Wells, Virginia Woolf, and George Bernard Shaw
• Socialist principles influenced Western Europe by the mid-20th century
• Classical liberalism supported natural rights, constitutional government, laissez-faire economics, and limited government spending
• They pursued changes to reflect industrial cities within Parliament
• Classical liberals backed the Reform Bills of 1832, 1867, and 1884, expanding male suffrage

Feminism

• During this period, a movement emerged for women's rights and equality, rooted in Enlightenment ideals

• Olympe de Gouges advocated for these rights during the French Revolution

• After France adopted the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the (Male) Citizen" in 1789 she published "Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the (Female) Citizen" in 1791

• This was to address the lack of attention to women's rights

• Mary Wollstonecraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1792

• In it, she advocated for equal education for females, suggesting that it would enable them to participate in political and professional society

• Women gained the right to vote in 1928

Abolitionism and The End of Serfdom

• Reform movements extended to freeing slaves and ending serfdom
• Abolitionism gained followers in the 18th century
• Slave trading was banned earlier than slavery, with Denmark (1803), Great Britain (1807), and the United States (1808) banning first
• Slavery declined after the slave trade ended, except in the United States
• Brazil was the last country in the Americas to end slavery, in 1888
• Serfdom declined, due to Europe’s economic change from agrarian to industrial.
• Queen Elizabeth I abolished it in 1574.
• The French government abolished feudal rights in 1789, and Russia abolished serfdom in 1861

Zionism

• Zionism emerged in the late 19th century, as Jews wanted to reestablish an independent homeland in the Middle East
• Theodor Herzl led the movement, due to centuries of anti-Semitism
• The Dreyfus Affair in France increased support for Zionism
• Zionist faced opposition from the Ottoman Empire and Palestinian Arabs
• The Zionist movement grew in strength until 1948, when Israel was founded