Enlightenment & Constitution

11th grade

Lesson Objective

Students will identify 3 Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas that directly influenced the

drafting of the Constitution, and present the 3 ideas in the form of a constitutional recipe.

What was the Enlightenment?When: 1620 – 1780

Where: Western Europe

What: intellectual, artistic, social, and

philosophical movements

Why: Europe coming out of the Middle Ages,

when religion dominated society.

What's the big deal?

The Enlightenment was a time of :•Reason•Science•Art

•Individualism•Challenging Authority

John Locke• Governments and Citizens have Social Contract,

consent to be governed.• Governments only job is to protect “Natural

Rights”

Life, Liberty, Property

• Citizens obligation to challenge and overthrow government not protecting natural rights

Montesquieu

• Rule of Law

• Separation of Powers

Separation of Powers

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e1cN5KuB5s0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Voltaire

Freedom of Religion

Separation of Church and State

Rousseau• Mans natural state is free

• Promoted individual freedom/rights and equality

• Social Contract – consent to be governed means balancing freedoms with security

Hobbes

• Life without government :“solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” - Leviathan

• Man needs strong government to control people

• People consent to governments to maintain security

• Best Government? Absolute Monarchy

US Constitution

• Drafted: September 17, 1787

• Ratified: June 21, 1788

• Purpose: To establish the government of the United States of America, and lay out basic rights of its citizens.

Constitution“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Constitution

• Bill of Rights• 3 Branches of Government– Legislative – create the laws– Executive – enforce the laws– Judicial – judge the laws

• Checks & Balances

Bill of Rights• First 10 Amendments to Constitution• Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly• Right to bear arms• No unreasonable searches and seizures• Right to due process of law• Right to quick, public trial• Right to trial by jury• Freedom from excessive/cruel punishment