Adeline S2 History term1 exam Enlightenment

What was the intellectual movement in the 18th century looking for transformations in the old system called?

The Enlightenment.

What three negative things did the ideas of the Enlightenment help people get rid of?

Ignorance, superstitions, and prejudice.

What key feature did the Enlightenment put the most emphasis on?

Rationality (Rationalism).

What did Enlightenment thinkers believe rationality was the best method to measure?

The thinking and behaviour of people, and to observe political, legal, religious, cultural and educational standards.

What two other names was this period given, reflecting its emphasis on reason?

The Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason.

What did Enlightenment thinkers believe about the natural world (Feature 2)?

That there were order and harmony in the natural world.

What did Enlightenment thinkers believe humans could achieve using rationality?

Understand the mysteries of nature and establish an ideal society.

What does the optimistic spirit of the Enlightenment mean?

They were optimistic about the future.

What two freedoms did Enlightenment thinkers strongly pursue (Feature 3)?

Equality and liberty.

What two systems did Enlightenment thinkers strongly criticise?

The authoritarian regimes and unreasonable social systems.

What rights did Enlightenment thinkers believe every human being was born with?

The rights to live and to be free.

From which earlier movement did the anti-traditional spirit of the Enlightenment thinkers come from?

The Renaissance.

Name the British Enlightenment thinker.

John Locke.

Name three famous French Enlightenment thinkers.

Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

What did Enlightenment thinkers believe about people being born equal and free?

They had human rights that no one could take away.

What political system did Enlightenment thinkers criticise, and what did they long for?

They criticised absolute monarchy and longed for democracy.

Regarding religion, what did some Enlightenment thinkers oppose?

Superstitions.

What did Enlightenment thinkers suggest using to understand religion, instead of following the Church's control?

Rationality (or knowledge).

According to John Locke, what were the three basic natural rights of all people?

Life, liberty, and property.

What did John Locke call the agreement between the government and the people to protect rights?

The ‘social contract’.

What right did Locke say people had if the government became tyrannical?

The right to revolt against tyranny.

Which important US document adopted John Locke’s ideas?

The American Declaration of Independence.

What did Montesquieu believe was the most ideal political system?

The republican form of government.

According to Montesquieu, what three branches should powers be separated into to avoid tyranny?

The executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Which important US document included Montesquieu's ideas?

The American Constitution.

What major event did Voltaire’s and Montesquieu’s ideas inspire the French to start?

The French Revolution.

Voltaire strongly believed that people should have this specific freedom of expression.

The freedom of speech.

What did Voltaire believe was the most ideal political system (where the monarch carried out reforms)?

The constitutional monarchy.

What was Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s famous book called?

The Social Contract.

What was Rousseau's book, The Social Contract, nicknamed?

The ‘Bible of the French Revolution’.

According to Rousseau, who gave the monarch the right to rule?

The people, and not by God.

What did Rousseau believe about everyone's standing before the law?

Everyone was equal before the law.

Which key French document included Rousseau’s ideas?

The Declaration of the Rights of Man.

Before the Enlightenment, what political theory was popular, based on the idea that kings were God’s representatives?

Absolute monarchy (founded on the 'divine rights of kings').

What was the main political reform suggested by Enlightenment thinkers regarding the ruler's power?

That the power of the rulers belonged to the people, and it should be limited.

What were European monarchs called if they were influenced by Enlightenment thinking but kept absolute power?

Enlightened despots.

Name two good models of enlightened despots.

Frederick II of Prussia and Catherine of Russia.

What two major revolutions in the 18th century did the Enlightenment ideas of democracy and liberty directly influence?

The American Revolution and the French Revolution.

After the Enlightenment, what political ideas were raised, replacing the old belief in the divine rights of kings?

Natural rights and other political systems.