Revolutions

Aristotle & Ptolemy (Geocentrism)

Believed Earth was the center of the universe. Their ideas were accepted for centuries and supported by the Catholic Church.

Nicolaus Copernicus

Developed heliocentrism, the idea that the Sun is the center of the solar system.

Tycho Brahe

Made detailed observations of planets that helped later scientists.

Johannes Kepler

Proved planets move in elliptical orbits around the Sun.

Galileo Galilei

Used a telescope to support heliocentrism; challenged Church teachings.

Observation

Careful watching and recording of facts to gain knowledge.

Heliocentrism

Theory that the Sun is the center of the solar system.

Francis Bacon

Promoted experimentation and observation as ways to gain knowledge.

Scientific Method

Organized process of observation, hypothesis, experimentation, and conclusion.

Rene Descartes

Believed reason and logic were the source of truth.

Use of Reason

Enlightenment belief that people can solve problems using logic and thinking.

Isaac Newton

Developed laws of motion and explained gravity.

Universal Law of Motion

Newton’s laws explaining how objects move in the universe.

Gravity

Force that pulls objects toward each other.

Philosophes

Enlightenment thinkers who spread ideas about liberty and reason.

Salons

Gatherings where Enlightenment ideas were discussed.

Deism

Belief that God created the universe but does not interfere with it.

Thomas Hobbes

Believed people needed a strong government to keep order.

John Locke

Believed people have natural rights and governments need consent of the governed.

Natural Rights

Rights all people are born with, such as life, liberty, and property.

Tabula Rasa

Locke’s idea that the mind begins as a blank slate.

Jean

Jacques Rousseau

Direct Democracy

Government where citizens directly vote on laws.

Montesquieu

Developed the idea of separation of powers.

Separation of Powers

Dividing government into branches to prevent abuse of power.

Checks and Balances

System where each branch of government limits the others.

Voltaire

Supported freedom of speech and religion.

Mary Wollstonecraft

Advocated equal rights and education for women.

Louis XVI

King during the French Revolution; executed during the radical phase.

Marie Antoinette

Queen of France seen as a symbol of royal excess.

The Ancien Régime

Old social and political system in France before the Revolution.

The Three Estates

Social classes in France: clergy, nobility, and commoners.

Causes of the French Revolution

Debt, unfair taxes, Enlightenment ideas, food shortages, and weak leadership.

Initial Phase

Early stage of the French Revolution with moderate reforms.

Moderate Phase

Stage where France became a constitutional monarchy.

Radical Phase

Violent stage including the Reign of Terror.

Conservative Reaction

Return to a more moderate government after the Terror.

Estates

General

Tennis Court Oath

Promise by the Third Estate to create a constitution.

National Assembly

Revolutionary government formed by the Third Estate.

Declaration of the Rights of Man

Document guaranteeing liberty and equality.

Fall of the Bastille

Symbolic beginning of the French Revolution.

Women’s March on Versailles

Protest demanding bread and action from the king.

Jean

Paul Marat

Charlotte Corday

Assassinated Marat.

Maximilien Robespierre

Led the Reign of Terror.

Reign of Terror

Period of executions of suspected enemies of the Revolution.

Guillotine

Machine used for executions during the Revolution.

Sans

culottes

The Jacobins

Radical revolutionary political group.

The Girondists

Moderate revolutionary political group.

The Committee of Public Safety

Group controlling France during the Terror.

The Directory

Weak government before Napoleon took power.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Military leader who became emperor after the Revolution.

Corsica

Birthplace of Napoleon.

Concordat

Agreement between Napoleon and the Catholic Church.

Nationalism

Pride and loyalty toward one’s nation.

Napoleonic Codes

Uniform laws promoting equality before the law but limiting women’s rights.

Battle of Trafalgar

British naval victory over Napoleon.

Continental System

Napoleon’s blockade against British trade.

Waterloo

Final defeat of Napoleon in 1815.

Invasion of Russia

Failed military campaign that weakened Napoleon.

Elba & St. Helena

Islands where Napoleon was exiled.

Louis XVIII

Restored monarch after Napoleon’s defeat.