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Enlightenment Ideas In The 17th And 18th Century

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In the late 17th and 18th century, a movement of wisdom and intellect took place that encouraged reasonable thinking over tradition or religion and was greatly influenced by many 17th century philosophers. This movement impacted what, “All men created equal” should truly mean. With enlightened thinkers like Kant, Hobbes and Locke sharing these new concepts, these more reasonable ideas broke out. Large groups of peoples everydays lives were affected with the idea that they were equal to those, who were once considered, below or above them. Monarchs like Catherine the Great, Joseph II and Frederick II of Prussia were accepting these philosophers ideas in such a way where they incorporated them into the way they governed their people. Furthermore, …show more content…

As early as the 1500’s, the slave trade has been a big part of the economy of european countries. Slaves were taken from Africa onto ships that would often be overpacked and taken to the new world on the middle passage through triangular trade. They were treated and sold like property and seen as animals. During the enlightenment era, new concepts on rights were set in place that helped defend the rights of slaves. Locke introduced the belief that all men are created equal in the sense that they can all learn, even through the simplest ways and if you could learn, you had natural rights. With enlightened monarchs such as Catherine the great and Frederick II, who accepted these concepts despite them being astray from tradition, they changed the way they governed their people. They abolished serfdom or a bondage of peasants. Similar to slavery, serfs were viewed as property or animals and expected to work in exchange for living on the land. This ban helped change the way people viewed slavery later on. In document 2, Jean Jacques Rousseau states,“If war does not give the conqueror the right to massacre the conquered peoples, the right to enslave them cannot be based upon a right which does not exist...So, from whatever aspect we regard the question, the right of slavery is null and void…”. His enlightened ideas along with Locke's concept of natural rights, spread and inspired the abolishment of the slave trade …show more content…

Although there were many big steps towards making “all men created equal” true, some steps were smaller. Women in the 17th and 18th century were considered inferior to men. They did not have the right of contributing to government, owning property and were not welcome in many professions. Olympe de Gouges shows the desperation for women's rights in document 4 by saying, “Man alone has raised his exceptional circumstances to a principle. Bizarre, blind, bloated with science and degenerated-in a century of enlightenment and wisdom-into the crassest ignorance, he wants to command as despot a sex which is in full possession of its intellectual faculties…”She describes men as ignorant towards women who still do not have their rights, yet the men are gaining theirs. Marriage was seen as a business obligation, to gain wealth and reproduce and women were seen as the object that supplied this. Chosen for their beauty, they gave birth and left the child to a nanny servant or a milk mother. Mary Wollenstonecraft offered a solution to this in A Vindication of the Rights of Women. She suggests for women to become dutiful mothers for that was what they were made to do. You are giving yourself a extremely important duty to dedicate yourself to, by caring for your child and raising it. As opposed to appearing useless by trying to become pleasing for a man. Although women were not given the same

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