<u>The main contributions of those Enlightment thinkers were the following:</u>
John Locke was among the first ones who developed the<u>social contract theory.</u>He also claimed for <u>natural rights:</u>"life, liberty, and property.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau introduced the concept of <u>social contract.</u> it established that citizens were the ones who held power legitimately, and these should grant it to representatives elected through suffrage, that would conform the goverments. This viewpoint sharply contrasted with the absolute monarchies that ruled in most European countries.
Isaac Newton is a very representative figure of the <u>scientific revolution</u> during the age of Reason. He developed the laws of motion and universal gravitation, and afterwards the theory of relativity.
Baron the Montesquieu: introduced the concept of the <u>separation of powers</u> in three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. It constituted a mechanism to preserve democracy in the sense that it prevented the emergence of any form of authoritarism, as each of the powers should supervise the other two.
Cotton Mather: was a puritan leader from New England. He promoted the <u>use of vaccines</u> for illness prevention.
The period of US history from the 1890s to the 1920s is usually referred to as the Progressive Era, an era of intense social and political reform aimed at making progress toward a better society.
The Persian Wars gave the Greeks a new feeling of confidence. The Ionian Greek cities, once subject states to the Persian king, gained their independence. The Greek world would go on to achieve great things, led by the city-state of Athens.
