The Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, and Revolutions

Vocabulary flashcards covering key thinkers, theories, and historical events from the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution.

Geocentric theory

The belief that Earth is the center of the universe, with all celestial bodies revolving around it.

Scientific revolution

A period of major advances in science during the 16th–18th centuries, emphasizing observation, experimentation, and reason.

Heliocentric theory

The idea that the Sun is at the center of the solar system, with planets orbiting it.

Galileo Galilei

An Italian scientist who supported heliocentrism and advanced physics, astronomy, and the scientific method.

Scientific method

A systematic process for investigating phenomena, involving observation, hypothesis, experimentation, and conclusion.

Isaac Newton

An English mathematician and physicist known for laws of motion and universal gravitation.

Enlightenment

An intellectual movement in the 17th–18th centuries promoting reason, science, individual rights, and the power of individuals to solve problems.

Social contract

A political theory holding that governments derive authority from agreements among free individuals.

John Locke

An English philosopher advocating natural rights—life, liberty, and property—and influencing liberal democracy.

Philosophe

Enlightenment thinkers in France who promoted reason, progress, and reform.

Voltaire

A French writer and philosopher who championed freedom of speech, religion, and civil liberties while attacking superstition, prejudice, and oppressive government.

Montesquieu

A French philosopher who proposed separation of powers in government, advocating three equally divided branches modeled after Britain.

Rousseau

A French philosopher who argued that people are born good but are corrupted by government, environment, and education, emphasizing popular sovereignty.

Mary Wollstonecraft

An English writer advocating women’s rights and education.

Salon

Social gatherings where intellectuals discussed ideas during the Enlightenment.

Baroque

An artistic style popular in the 17th century characterized by grandeur, drama, and ornamentation.

Neoclassical

An art style inspired by classical antiquity, emphasizing simplicity and symmetry.

Enlightenment despot

An absolute ruler who implemented reforms inspired by Enlightenment ideas.

Catherine the Great

Empress of Russia who expanded territory and promoted Enlightenment reforms.

Declaration of Independence

The document adopted on July 4, 1776, declaring the American colonies' independence from Britain.

Thomas Jefferson

An American Founding Father, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and third U.S. president.

Checks and balances

A system where each branch of government can limit the powers of the others.

Federal systems

Political systems dividing power between national and regional governments.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing individual freedoms.

Rationalism

The philosophical concept that truth is arrived at by reason.

Natural law

The principle that objects in nature behave in ways that humans can understand and predict.

Popular sovereignty

The principle that government is created by and subject to the will of the people.

Intolerable Acts of 1774

British punitive measures following the Boston Tea Party that closed Boston harbor and took control of the government of Massachusetts.

First Continental Congress

A convention of delegates that met in Philadelphia in the fall of 1774 seeking full rights as citizens and mutual support against British actions.

National Convention

A French governing body that ruled for 3 years with the tasks of creating a constitution, suppressing internal revolution, and fighting a war.