Ap world vocab 5.1-5.2

Social Contract

The idea that governments exist to protect the natural rights of the people, and citizens agree to obey laws in exchange for protection and order.

• The Enlightenment idea that people implicitly agree to give up some individual freedoms to a government in exchange for the protection of their rights and the maintenance of social order,

Philosophes

Writers during the Enlightenment who popularized the new ideas of the time.

• The public intellectuals and writers of the 18th-century Enlightenment, primarily French, who championed reason, individualism, and critical thinking to challenge traditional authority and advocate for social, political, and scientific reforms.

Enlightenment

An intellectual movement of the 17th-18th centuries that emphasized reason, science, individual rights, and progress over tradition and superstition.

• Intellectuals in the 17th and 18th centuries began to emphasize reason over tradition and individualism over community values.

Deism

God is a watchmaker; The religion of the Enlightenment (1700s). Followers believed that God existed and had created the world, but that afterwards He left it to run by its own natural laws.

Liberalism

A political philosophy that supports indiviudal freedoms, equality before the law, constitutional government, and protection of civil rights.

• Liberalism is a political and economic philosophy that emphasizes individual freedoms, equality, and limited government intervention in personal and economic matters.

Conservatism

A political ideology emphasizing tradition, established institutions (church, monarchy, aristocracy), gradual change, and social order.

• A belief in traditional institutions, favoring reliance on practical experience over ideological theories.

Empiricism

The belief that knowledge comes from observation, experiece, and scientific experimentation rather than tradition or authority.

Nationalism

A sense of shared identity and loyalty among people with common language, culture, or history, often leading to the desire for self-rule.

Classical liberalism

A belief in natural rights, constitutional government, laissez-faire economics, and reduced spending on armies and established churches.

• An 18th-century philosophy emphasizing individual rights (life, liberty, property), limited government, the rule of law, and free-market (laissez-faire) economics.

Feminism

The movement and ideology advocating for social, political, and economic equality for women

Abolitionism

The 18th-19th century international social and political movement to end slavery and the slave trade was driven by Enlightenment ideals, religious beliefs, and humanitarian concerns.

Zionism

The desire of Jews to re-establish an independent homeland where their ancestors had lived in the Middle East.

• The late 19th-century nationalist movement advocating for the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine (the ancient Land of Israel) due to rising European antisemitism and European nationalism

Anti-Semitism

hostility to or prejudice against Jews.

Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith)

A book written by Adam Smith in 1776 that argued for free markets, competition, and limited government involvement in the economy (laissez-faire). Laid the foundation for capitalism

Laissez-faire

Policy that the government should interfere as little as possible in the nation's economy.

• An economic philosophy advocating minimal government interference in the market, letting individuals pursue self-interest for economic prosperity

Capitalism

An economic system where private individuals or companies own the means of production (factories, resources) and operate them for profit in a competitive market, driven by supply, demand, and innovation.

Socialism

An economic and political theory advocating community/state ownership or regulation of production/resources, aiming for wealth redistribution and social welfare

• An economic system in which the government or community controls major industries to promote economic equality.

Utopian Socialists

Early 19th-century thinkers like Robert Owen, Charles Fourier, and Saint-Simon, who proposed ideal, cooperative communities to counter industrial capitalism's problems, advocating for shared ownership, equality, and communal living to create a more humane society through peaceful, visionary models rather than revolution or class struggle.

Fabian Society

A British socialist group that promoted gradual social reform through laws and education rather than violent revolution.

• British socialist organization (est. 1884) advocating gradual, democratic socialism (Fabianism) through reform, education, and influencing politics, rather than revolution.

• Reform through parliamentary means

American Revolution (1775-1783)

The war (1775-1783) in which the American colonies gained independence from Britain and formed the United States.

• A colonial revolt where the Thirteen Colonies fought for independence from British rule, driven by Enlightenment ideals (liberty, natural rights) and grievances over taxation without representation, leading to the formation of the U.S

Declaration of Independence (1776)

The 1776 document written mainly by Thomas Jefferson that announced the colonies’ seperation from Britain and states that people are born with natural rights.

• Expressed the philosophy behind the colonists' fight against British rule. In the document, Thomas Jefferson picked up the phrase "unalienable rights" from John Locke (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness)

French Revolution

A major uprising in France (1789-1799) that overthrew the monarchy and promoted liberty, equality, and democracy.

• A pivotal event marking the end of absolute monarchy and feudalism in France, fueled by Enlightenment ideals, financial crises, and social inequality, leading to radical political and social change, the rise of republicanism, the Reign of Terror, and ultimately Napoleon's ascent

• Period of radical social and political upheaval in France from 1789 to 1799, which profoundly affected French and global history. It marked the end of absolute monarchy, the rise of democratic ideals, and the emergence of nationalism, influencing revolutions around the world.

Declaration of the Rights of Man

A 1789 document from the French Revolution that states all men are equal under the law and have natural rights such as liberty and property.

• A key French Revolution document asserting universal, inherent rights (liberty, property, security) for all men, inspired by Enlightenment ideals and natural law. A statement declaring basic human rights.

Reign of Terror

A violent period of the French Revolution (1793-1794) when thousands were executed as enemies of the revolution. Rule by the Committee of Public Safety (led by Robespierre) to enforce revolutionary ideals

• A period during which the government executed thousands of opponents of the revolution, including the king and queen, sprang from the Jacobins. The French Revolution's radical phase, marked by extreme political repression, mass executions (especially by guillotine) of perceived enemies

Liberte, egalite, et fraternite

French for “liberty, equality, and brotherhood”; the main slogan and ideals of the French Revolution

• The foundational motto of the French Revolution (1789), representing core Enlightenment-inspired democratic ideals: individual freedom from oppression, equal rights for all citizens under the law, and national solidarity (brotherhood)

Haitian Revolution

A successful slave revolt in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, resulting in the world's first independent black republic, Haiti, and the first successful slave rebellion in history

Bolivar Revolutions

A revolution against Spain led by Simon Bolivar. It resulted in the creation of multiple independent countries, which was not the goal (one unified country). The desire for independence also arose from creoles (who refused support from mestizos, indians, and mulattos).

• Independent movements in South America led by Simon Bolivar that freed countries such as Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia from Spanish rule.

Simon Bolivar

The most important military leader in the struggle for independence in South America. Born in Venezuela, he led military forces there and in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.

• Some creoles, such as Simon Bolivar, continued to push for enlightenment ideals in Latin America. He became instrumental in the independence of areas that became Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Propaganda Movement

The 1882 movement in the Philippines involved magazines, pamphlets, and other publications that demanded social and political reforms. Filipino intellectuals in Spain advocating for political reforms in the Philippines, seeking representation as a Spanish province, not independence, through literature (like Rizal's novels) and journalism, fostering national identity against colonial oppression

• A late 19th-century campaign led by Filipino intellectuals aimed at reforming Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines through advocacy, literature, and education.

• A movement in the Philippines (late 1800s) that used writing and peaceful reform to demand rights and fair treatment from Spain.

Italian unification

The 1800s process of joining many small Italian states into one nation, completed in 1870.

• Count di Cavour, the prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, led the drive to unite the entire Italian peninsula under the only native dynasty, the House of Savoy. The 19th-century political and social movement that united fragmented Italian states into the Kingdom of Italy, driven by nationalism and led by figures like Cavour (the "brains," using Realpolitik), Mazzini (the "soul," inspiring nationalist ideas), and Garibaldi (the "sword," a military hero)

Realpolitik

A policy of making decisions based on practical goals and power rather than moral or ideological beliefs.

• A pragmatic, power-focused approach to politics and foreign policy, prioritizing national interests, practicality, and achievable goals over ideology, ethics, or moral principles.

Risorgimento

The Italian nationalist movement that supported and guided Italian unification.

• "Renewal, to be born" movement in Italy to recreate a strong, unified Italian nation-state (Italian nationalist movement). Italian for "resurgence" refers to the 19th-century political and social movement for Italian unification, transforming fragmented states into a single nation, driven by nationalism, cultural identity, and figures like Mazzini, Cavour, and Garibaldi, culminating in the Kingdom of Italy by 1870

Ottomanism

Movement in the 1870s and 1880s that aimed to create a more modern, unified state by minimizing ethnic, linguistic, and religious differences across the empire.

• An idea in the Ottoman Empire that all people, regardless of religion or ethnicity, should be equal citizens to strengthen unity.

Maroons

Enslaved Africans who escaped from plantations and established independent communities in the Americas, particularly in regions like the Caribbean and Brazil.

• They joined the Haitian Revolution

Mestizos

People of mixed European (primarily Spanish/Portuguese) and Indigenous ancestry who emerged as a distinct social group in colonial Latin America.

Peninsulares

People born in Spain who lived in the Americas and held the highest social and political positions.

Mulattoes

People of mixed European and African ancestry

Bastille

A fortress and prison in Paris that symbolized the power and oppression of the French monarchy. Its storming on July 14, 1789 marked the beginning of the French Revolution and it is celebrated as Bastille Day in France.

• On July 14, 1789, a crowd in Paris stormed the Bastille, a former prison that symbolized the abuses of the monarchy and the corrupt aristocracy.