Unit 5: Revolutions (copy)

Enlightenment

An intellectual movement in the 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason, observation, and the belief that human society could be studied and improved.

Natural rights

Rights believed to belong to all humans by virtue of being human, not granted by any government.

Social contract

The idea that government is formed by an agreement among the governed to create a state that protects them.

Popular sovereignty

The principle that legitimate political authority comes from the consent of the people.

Separation of powers

A design principle that divides government into branches with distinct powers to prevent tyranny.

Equality before the law

The concept that laws should apply equally to all citizens, undermining legal privilege.

Divine right

The belief that kings were ordained by God to rule, which argued that people had a moral obligation to obey them.

Thomas Hobbes

An Enlightenment thinker who believed government should preserve peace/stability through a powerful ruler.

John Locke

An Enlightenment thinker who argued that people are born equal, and government’s primary role is to secure natural rights.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

An Enlightenment philosopher who believed society should reflect the general will and emphasize community while preserving freedom.

Voltaire

An Enlightenment thinker known for advocating for religious toleration.

Montesquieu

An Enlightenment philosopher who argued for the separation of powers in government.

Adam Smith

An economist who introduced the concept of the 'invisible hand' to explain the self-regulating nature of the economy.

Mary Wollstonecraft

An early advocate for women's political rights, including voting and holding office.

Cesare Beccaria

An Enlightenment thinker who opposed cruel punishment and advocated for justice reform.

Atlantic Revolutions

A series of political upheavals in the late 18th and early 19th centuries across North America, the Caribbean, and Europe.

American Revolution

A conflict between Britain and its North American colonies that resulted in independence and the establishment of constitutional government.

French Revolution

A significant upheaval in France starting in 1789 that transformed the government and political engagement of citizens.

Haitian Revolution

A radical revolution from 1791 to 1804 that overthrew a system of racial slavery in the French colony of Saint-Domingue.

Latin American Revolutions

Independence movements in the early 19th century that led to the breakup of Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule in the Americas.

Industrial Revolution

A major shift from hand production to machine-based manufacturing, primarily beginning in Great Britain in the late 18th century.

Urbanization

The movement of people from rural areas to cities, mainly driven by industrialization.

Liberalism

An ideology emphasizing individual rights, limited government, and free-market economics.

Nationalism

The belief that people who share a common identity should govern themselves and have political self-determination.

Socialism

An ideology advocating for social ownership and democratic control of the means of production, often in response to inequalities produced by capitalism.

Marxism

A socialist ideology developed by Karl Marx, arguing that class struggle is a central aspect of societal progression and capitalism's contradictions will lead to its downfall.