Why do we have laws? Where does government's authority come from? What rights and privileges are people entitled to? Why can't I just do whatever I want?

These were the questions addressed by European philosophers during the Enlightenment. In the late Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries philosophers such as Locke, Voltaire, Montesqueau and Rousseau formed ideas about the nature of law, government, and human society. Applying the rules of reason and logic to human behavior, these men, sometimes known as the "philosophes" reached a remarkable conclusion: GOVERNMENT EXISTED TO SERVE AND PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THE GOVERNED. By following the path of reason, the philosophes believed, it would be possible to improve humankind and eventually create the perfect government.

The philosophes, however, were men of thought, not action. It would be up to others to put their ideas into practice. In this site, you will be asked to judge how well the ideas of the philosophes were put into action by people in America and France.

Click here to begin the lesson

Click here to see a Power Point overview of the project