Social studies quiz chapter 2 lesson 1 pages 4-7

Philosophes

Were18th-century European Enlightenment public intellectuals and social critics—primarily based in France—who applied human reason and the scientific method to politics, science, philosophy, and society

Natural rights

freedoms people possess relating to life, liberty, and property

Or life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

Social contract

an agreement among people in a society with a government

people agreed to give up some freedom and be ruled by government. In return, government had to protect the people’s rights

Tabula rasa

Blank slate

to describe a clean break, a completely new beginning, or moving to a new place with no prior history

Plymouth

is a historic coastal town known as "America's Hometown," famous for the 1620 Mayflower landing site and rich colonial history

Republic

a representative democracy in which citizens choose their lawmakers

Compact

an agreement, or contract, among a group of people

State of nature

a hypothetical thought experiment describing what human life would look like if there were no laws, no government, and no police

Separation of powers

is the division of government responsibilities into three distinct branches. This system ensures that no single person or group holds all the power

Jamestown

was the first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607 in what is now Virginia

Burgesses

elected representatives who were chosen by the citizens of a town or colony to make laws and help govern

Treatise

is a long, formal piece of writing that deeply explains and examines a specific topic

Enlightenment

or Age of Reason) was a 17th- and 18th-century European movement where thinkers used reason, science, and logic instead of tradition and faith to understand the world and improve society

Checks + balances

is a system that prevents any one branch of government from becoming too powerful by giving each branch ways to limit, or "check," the power of the other branche

Colony

is a settlement or territory in a new area that is controlled and ruled by a distant, parent country

Machiavelli

was an Italian writer and politician who lived during the Renaissance (in the late 1400s and early 1500s). He is most famous for writing a book called The Prince(better to be feared than loved), which gave advice to rulers on how to gain and keep power

Montesquieu

was an important French thinker and writer during the 1700s Enlightenment who is famous for creating the idea of the separation of powers in government

Rousseau

was an influential Enlightenment philosopher whose ideas about individual freedom and the "social contract" inspired the French and American Revolutions and shaped modern democratic governments

Wollstonecraft

argued that women deserve the same education and rights as men, laying the foundational groundwork for the modern feminist movement

Consent of the governed

the political idea that a government's right to use power is only legitimate when chosen by the people, which impacted history by inspiring the American Revolution and shaping a democracy where citizens control their own laws through voting

Liberty ~ Montesquieu

redefined liberty as a reflection of political security, arguing that true liberty can only exist when citizens do not fear their government or each other. To protect this freedom, he proposed separating government power into three distinct branches—executive, legislative, and judicial—a framework that directly shaped the U.S. Constitution and modern democracies

the power to make your own choices, live your life without unreasonable government control, and act on your own free will as long as you do not harm others

List our branches of government

divided into three branches—the Legislative branch (Congress) which makes laws, the Executive branch(President) which enforces laws, and the Judicial branch (Supreme Court) which interprets laws—working together under a system of checks and balances to ensure no single group gains absolute power over the citizens

Explain the governments in Jamestown and Plymouth

(Representative Government):Introduced a system where colonists elected lawmakers called Burgesses to meet in an assembly, vote on taxes, and make local laws for the colony

(Direct Democracy / Self-Government):Introduced a system where all adult male colonists signed the Mayflower Compact, promising to vote directly on fair laws and follow the will of the majority

Hobbes

English philosopher, absolute power, purpose of government to control people, without government humans exist in total chaos

Locke

English philosopher, life liberty & property (natural rights), everyone born equal

Voltaire

French philosopher, balancing reason with feelings, wrote social contract, direct democracy