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The Enlightenment

Teacher Resources

Driving Question: How did Enlightenment ideas help spark revolution?

The Enlightenment, which began in the late seventeenth-century, was a European movement emphasizing reason, science, individualism, and skepticism of traditional authority. Thinkers applied rational principles to government, philosophy, science, and religion, inspiring revolutions based on equality, reason, and freedom. Material conditions, such as rising taxes or food prices, also fueled public unrest.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Evaluate the influence of Enlightenment ideas on political revolutions.
  2. Learn how new ideas about sovereignty and individualism affected states.
  3. Practice sourcing to evaluate the Enlightenment’s impact on revolutionary thought.
STEP 1

Opener: The Enlightenment

STEP 2

Revolutionary Ideas

Revolutions were fought with weapons, but the ideas behind them gave revolutions their power. Enlightenment ideas about rights and sovereignty aimed high, but as you’ll explore in these articles and activities, they had their limits.

STEP 3

Words of the Enlightenment

The ideas of the Enlightenments are often best analyzed through the words of those who shaped it. Compare original quotes and their modern “translations.”

Extension Materials
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The source collection and video below provide additional opportunities to dig into the writings of Enlightenment thinkers and explore how they attempted to reimagine their world.

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Dare to Know

Enlightenment thinkers sought to transform their world and how people thought about it. Use the article, source collection, and activity to examine their motives and impacts.