Chapter 8: The Enlightenment and Revolutions

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the key thinkers, concepts, scientific discoveries, and political events of the Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, and American Revolution from Chapter 8.

Ptolemaic System (Geo-centrism)

An astronomical system formulated by second-century astronomer Ptolemy holding that the Earth is fixed at the center of the universe while celestial bodies revolve around it, fitting the Christian concept of God's image-bearers in the middle.

Helio-centrism

The astronomical model proposed by mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus asserting that the Earth and other planets revolve around the sun.

Johannes Kepler

An astronomer and mathematician who determined that planetary orbits are elliptical (oval-shaped) rather than circular.

Galileo Galilei

An Italian scientist who used a telescope to observe the planets, confirming Copernicus and Kepler's heliocentric conclusions; he was confronted by the Church and forced under threat of torture to publicly deny his claims.

Universal Law of Gravitation

A law formulated by Sir Isaac Newton in Principia stating that every object in the universe is attracted to every other object through gravity.

Pascal's Law

A physical principle formulated by Blaise Pascal stating that any pressure applied to an enclosed liquid will be transmitted evenly throughout.

Boyle's Law

A chemical principle discovered by Robert Boyle stating that the volume of a gas depends on the pressure applied to it.

Rationalism

A philosophical approach based on the belief that reason is the chief source of knowledge, championed by René Descartes under his Concept of Doubt and principle "I think, therefore I am."

Scientific Method

A systematic procedure for gathering and testing ideas developed by Francis Bacon, following five stages: Ask a Question, Research, Develop a Hypothesis, Experiment, and Analyze and Revise.

The Enlightenment

An eighteenth-century intellectual movement that applied the systems of thought and reason from the Scientific Revolution to human life, politics, religion, and ethics, defined by reason, progress, and skepticism.

Tabula Rasa

John Locke's doctrine that every human is born as a "blank slate," with their knowledge, beliefs, and character filled in by society and experience over time.

Montesquieu

Charles-Louis Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu; a French political philosopher who studied English law and advocated for a government divided into three branches operating with checks and balances.

Deism

A religious philosophy embraced by Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) asserting that God is like a Clockmaker who designed and set the universe in motion, and now leaves it to operate according to natural laws without intervening.

Social Contract (Rousseau)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's political philosophy stating that a community must be governed by the general will of society as a whole, subordinating individual desires.

Mary Wollstonecraft

An Enlightenment thinker who argued that since all human beings possess reason, women should be educated equally to men.

John Wesley

An Anglican minister who experienced the "gift of God's grace" and founded the Methodist Church, traveling across England to preach God's radical grace.

Enlightened Absolutism

A form of monarchical government guided by Enlightenment principles, emphasizing religious toleration, freedom of speech and press, private property rights, the promotion of education and the arts, and the rule of law.

Junkers

The aristocratic landed nobility of Prussia who served as officers in the expanded army and officials in the government bureaucracy under Frederick William I.

Frederick II (Frederick the Great)

The ruler of Prussia who implemented reforms such as abolishing torture, granting limited freedom of speech and press, and maintaining religious tolerance, while prioritizing territorial expansion.

Joseph II

The Austrian emperor who sought to make philosophy the lawmaker of his empire by freeing the serfs and establishing religious toleration, but ultimately alienated his subjects and considered himself "unfortunate in all his enterprises."

Catherine II (Catherine the Great)

The German-born empress of Russia who took power after Czar Peter III was killed; she relied on Russian nobility, suppressed Pugachev's rebellion, and expanded the empire through Poland and down to the Black Sea.

War of Austrian Succession (1740–1748)

A European war triggered by Prussia's invasion of the Austrian territory of Silesia, pitting France and Prussia against Austria and Great Britain, concluded by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

Seven Years' War (1756–1763)

A worldwide conflict in which France allied with Austria against Great Britain and Prussia; settled by the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which granted Britain control of Canada and lands east of the Mississippi River, while Spain surrendered Florida.

The Stamp Act of 1765

A tax levied by the British Parliament on printed paper materials in the American colonies to pay debts from the Seven Years' War; it prompted widespread colonial resistance and was repealed in 1766.

Second Continental Congress (1775)

The colonial gathering that formed the Continental Army and appointed General George Washington as its Commander-in-Chief.

Common Sense

An influential pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that sold over 100,000 copies, arguing that monarchies usurp power from the people and that citizens have the natural right to govern themselves.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

The military engagement where British General Cornwallis surrendered his army to American and French forces, leading Great Britain to end the Revolutionary War.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

The formal peace treaty ending the American Revolutionary War, in which Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States and ceded territory between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River.

Federal System

A government design established by the U.S. Constitution in which power is shared between the national government and individual state governments across Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches.

The Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments ratified to the U.S. Constitution (out of 12 proposed), guaranteeing fundamental freedoms such as religion, speech, press, assembly, petition, the right to bear arms, and due process of law.