It is expected that students first read through the overview page. After that, students should navigate through the five political thinkers in order to discover their theories and apply them to the development of democratic traditions as presented in the overview. A suggested unit plan with activities can be found on the unit plan page.

These pages are intended to enrich those parts of the curriculum which deal with the Enlightenment, Age of Revolutions, Constitutionalism, and the Rise of Democratic Traditions. The site consists of an overview page which discusses the changes from Absolutism to Constitutionalism. The majority of the pages are concerned with five philosophies or early political scientists. Four of the five political theorists are from the age known as the Enlightenment. Their ideas had a direct impact on the revolutionaries who wrote the documents of freedom and liberal constitutions in the 18th and 19th centuries in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. John Stuart Mill's ideas about censorship and public good have helped the courts refine its interpretation of the constitution. The importance of Mary Wolstonecraft's writings has been particularly influential in the women's movement during the twentieth century. It is necessary to give students a background on Absolutism before beginning the unit. Please consult the unit plan notes. 7.11 Students analyze political and economic change in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries (the Age of Exploration, the Enlightenment, and the Age of Reason). 7.11.5. Describe how democratic thought and institutions were influenced by Enlightenment thinkers (e.g., John Lock, Charles-Louis Montesquieu, American founders). 8.1 Students understand the major events preceding the founding of the nation and relate their significance to the development of American constitutional democracy. 8.12. Analyze the philosophy of government expressed in the Declaration of Independence, with an emphasis on government as a means of securing individual rights (e.g., key phrases such as "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights"). 10.2 Students compare and contrast the Glorious Revolution of England, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution and their enduring effects worldwide on the political expectations for self-government and individual liberty. 10.21.Compare the major ideas of philosophers and their effects on the democratic revolutions in England, the United States, France, and Latin America (e.g., John Locke, Charles-Louis Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Simon Bolivar, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison). 11.1 Students analyze the significant events in the founding of the nation and its attempts to realize the philosophy of government described in the Declaration of Independence. 11.1.1Describe the Enlightenment and the rise of democratic ideas as the context in which the nation was founded. 12.1 Students explain the fundamental principles and moral values of American democracy as expressed in the U.S. Constitution and other essential documents of American democracy. 12.1.1 Analyze the influence of ancient Greek, Roman, English, and leading European political thinkers such as John Locke, Charles-Louis Montesquieu, Niccolo Machiavelli, and William Blackstone on the development of American government.

Rise of Democratic Ideas Vocabulary

abusive advocated assemblies affect authority balance basic basis benevolence bully censorship consent contract corrupt criticize democratic doctrines economist elite endowed enforce

Enlightenment ethically formal focus inalienable influential intellectual interference interpret issue justice justify liberty literary maintain morality nauseatingly opposition particularly petition philosophy

preserve principle produce promote proponent pursuit rebel reflect representation responsibilities rights separate standard suffrage suppressive system theory tyranny utility will

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Links

www.lucidcafe.com	Selected Biographies Archive
www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/rousseau.html	Rousseau
http://www.knuten.liu.se/~bjoch509/philosophers/philosophers.html	Locke, Rousseau, Mill
www.chateauversailles.fr	virtual tour
www.utm.edu/research/iep/	Modern Encyclopedia of Philosophy
www.wsu.edu/~dee/ENLIGHT/ENLIGHT.HTM	Rousseau, Enlightenment
http://www.epistemelinks.com/	Philosophy Resources

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John Locke	Mary Wolstonecraft	Montesquieu	Jean Jacques Rousseau	John Stuart Mill

Overview

Unit Plan

Vocabulary Page