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The following video is a quick explanation on how Europe was once ruled, and how John Locke, a philosopher, proposed an idea that every man was born equal to one another.

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A brief description of English philosopher John Locke's theories on "tabula rasa," natural rights, and the separation of powers. Quizlet on vocabulary from this video: http://quizlet.com/_1xsfaw Link to Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/TheOxfordObserver Images: John Locke - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/JohnLocke.png Baby picture - http://blog.quizzle.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/baby.jpg

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Similar to Laissez Faire, Scottish economist Adam Smith argued for a free market. Adam Smith also wrote an influential piece of literature named The Wealth of Nations. In his work, Smith explains his point of view that the market itself should regulate business instead of the government. Smith tried to show that economic growth was linked to the market force of supply and demand, meaning that if the market could trade, sell, or buy whatever they wanted, the economy would be better than what it already was.

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Similar to philosophers, physiocrats based their thinking on their economy. Physiocrats disliked the idea of mercantilism because it required government regulation. Instead of mercantilism, physiocrats proposed a new idea called Laissez Faire, which allowed business to run with little or now government at all.

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The Natural Rights can also be seen as the original "Declaration of Independence". First introduced by John Locke, the Natural Rights basically stated that every human has the right to live, the right to be free, and the right to own property. Locke also stated that if the government overruled these rights, or did anything to violate the people's natural rights, the people had the right to revolt that government.

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Rousseau believed that people in their own natural state were good people, but that society made them bad. His literature work The Social Contract was about his idea that society had too many limitations on people, and that they needed to minimize them. He also believes that only the government were elected by the people should be allowed to regulate the laws. Rousseau's ideas would later influence many political thinkers for 200 years.

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The founding father of the Encyclopedia which took him about 28 years. His duty was "to change the general way of thinking" by discussing certain topics including government, religion, and philosophy. In Diderot's Encyclopedia, he included many articles by the top lead thinkers of his time; including articles by Montesquieu and Voltaire. The French government saw the Encyclopedia as a threat, and tried to ban the volumes, but nearly 4,000 copies were made between 1751 to 1789. These volumes spread throughout Europe and the Americas and helped spread Enlightenment ideas.

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One of the most famous of the philosophers, Voltaire defended the right of Freedom of Thought. Voltaire's primary weapon was his own biting wit to expose corrupt officials and idle aristocrats. His works offended both the French government and the Catholic Church. This caused him to be jailed and exiled. Even though he watched his own literature works burn, Voltaire continued to defend the freedom of speech and thought.

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An early and influential philosopher, Montesquieu felt as if government should be divided into three groups so that not one group would be more powerful than the other. These three groups would later be known as the legislative, executive, and judicial and they would later affect the Framers of the United States Constitution.

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Another 17th century thinker who opposed Hobbes. Locke believed that people were reasonable and moral. Locke also believed that everyone should have natural rights such as the right to life, liberty, and property.

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A 17th century English thinker who believed in a strong government. Hobbes argues that people are naturally cruel, greedy, and selfish, and sates that people need to be controlled to keep them from breaking the laws and being unjust.