Chapter 17: Enlightenment Thinkers Popular Sovereignty: The belief that all government power comes from the people.
Thomas Hobbes If people were left alone they would constantly fight To escape the chaos of their natural state, people entered into a contract or agreement Encouraged absolute power
John Locke People were basically reasonable and would cooperate with each other Rulers could stay in power only as long as they had the consent of those they governed. He believed in people s natural rights: Life, Liberty, and Property Believed in limited power of government
Baron Montesquieu The Spirit of Laws Agreed with a system of government which would include a legislative, executive, and judicial branch A system of checks and balances Separation of powers
Francois Voltaire Ruler-Strong but Enlightened Fought for religious toleration Freedom of thought Freedom of speech I do not agree with a word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Men are born free but everywhere in chains Human nature was basically good and equal Society corrupted people All people were equal All titles of rank and nobility should be abolished General will-people give up some of their freedom in favor of the decisions of the majority NOBLE SAVAGE-Thoreau
Denis Diderot Supervised the publication of a huge encyclopedia that summarized human knowledge of the time Encyclopedia-he hoped would bring about a revolution in the minds of men to free them from prejudice
Adam Smith Physiocrat-rational economic system was based on natural laws of economics Rejected mercantilism, government regulated the economy to gain a favorable trade balance Argued for laissez faire, unregulated or lightly regulated free trade Manufacturing, trade, wages, profits, and growth linked to supply and demand
Enlightenment ideas also spread in other ways Literacy rates rose Women played a role Number of people who could read and write increased Learned societies informed people of the new ideas through public lectures and published reports Middle class men met in coffee houses to discuss the latest news in science or politics Working class neighborhoodspopular songs and political pamphlets helped spread these ideas. Salons-wealthy women held informal gatherings at which writers, musicians, painters, and philosophers presented their works and exchanged ideas Shaped the taste and manners of the Enlightenment
Salon (gathering)
Johann Sebastian Bach Germany 1685 known especially for "counter-point" - the playing of two or more melodies at the same time, and "fugue" - different instruments repeating the same melody with variations.
George Frideric Handel Germany 1685 Handel s Messiah is an English-language oratorio, a musical composition for voices and instruments that has a religious theme, often telling a sacred story but not using costumes, scenery, or dramatic staging. 1741 (composed)-1754 (most familiar version)
Franz Joseph Haydn Austria 1732 Austrian composer, is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms. He was also instrumental in the development of the piano trio and in the evolution of sonata form.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Austria 1756 composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concert, piano, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers. Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty.
Mozart During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of Mozart's death. The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized. He was survived by his wife Constanze and two sons.
Ludwig van Beethoven Germany, 1770 before age 30 he began to lose his hearing, and was totally deaf in the last years of his life. ironic that Beethoven was really the first to compose music, not for any other purpose, but simply to listen to. In spite of his hearing difficulties, he composed nine symphonies, the piano was a relatively new instrument
Richard Wagner Germany 1813 Flight of the Valkyrie Wagner's later musical style, with its unprecedented exploration of emotional expression, introduced new ideas in harmony, melodic process and operatic structure His music inspired fanatical devotion. His music and comments are believed to have influenced the anti-semitism of Adolf Hitler.