The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment (approximately 1685–1815) was an intellectual movement centered in Europe that emphasized reason, individualism, skepticism of traditional authority, and the application of scientific method to understand society. Its key thinkers — Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Hume, Kant, Adam Smith — created the intellectual foundations of liberal democracy, free-market economics, and scientific methodology. Enlightenment ideas directly inspired the American Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, the French Revolution, and the abolitionist movement. Locke's concept of natural rights (life, liberty, property), Montesquieu's separation of powers, and Rousseau's social contract became the architecture of modern democratic government. The Enlightenment also produced the first major critiques of slavery, organized religion, and absolute monarchy.