Regents Review Study Guide 2026: Enlightenment to Modern Day

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the major political, social, and economic concepts from the Enlightenment through the Modern Era as presented in the Regents Review study guide.

The Enlightenment

A philosophical movement in the 1700s that began in Europe and focused on government using logic, reason, and questioning authority.

Natural Rights

The belief by John Locke that all people are born with the rights to life, liberty, and property, which the government must protect.

Social Contract

Thomas Hobbes' theory that people are naturally evil and agree to a strong government in return for order.

Republic

A form of democracy in which the people elect representatives to rule for them.

Mercantilism

An economic policy practiced by England where colonies were used to provide raw materials and wealth back to the mother country.

Third Estate

The class in pre-revolutionary France comprising the middle class (Bourgeoisie) and peasants who paid all the taxes.

Bourgeoisie

The middle class subset of the French Third Estate.

Deficit Spending

A situation where a government is spending more money than it is bringing in through revenue.

The Bastille

An armory and fort that held weapons which was attacked by violent uprisings in 1789, starting the French Revolution.

National Assembly

An organization of representatives of the Third Estate that wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man.

Jacobins

The radical members of the French National Assembly who took over and led the Reign of Terror.

Maximillien Robespierre

The leader of the Committee for Public Safety during the Reign of Terror between 1792 and 1794.

Napoleonic Code

A new set of laws established by Napoleon that included freedom of religion and Good Samaritan laws.

Continental System

A naval blockade established by Napoleon against England to destroy the British economy.

Scorched Earth

A military tactic used by the Russians in 1812 involving the destruction of their own land and cities to leave an invading army with no resources.

Congress of Vienna

An 1814 meeting where European leaders sought to restore monarchs and redraw the map of Europe to bring peace.

Simon Bolivar

A powerful revolutionary leader who fought for independence in Latin America.

Toussaint L' Ouverture

A former slave who led a slave revolt and a revolution in Haiti.

Industrial Revolution

The shift from making goods by hand to making them by machine, beginning in England in the mid-1700s.

Urbanization

The growth of cities caused by the massive migration of people from farms to urban areas for factory jobs.

Laissez Faire Capitalism

The economic philosophy that government should not be involved in the regulation of businesses.

Socialism

An economic system characterized by government control of the economy.

Capital

Money used to invest in businesses and industries.

Unions

Organizations that represent the rights of workers, developed during the labor movement.

Communism

A form of government developed by Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels that emphasizes government control of the economy and a classless society.

Proletariat

A term used in the 'Communist Manifesto' to describe the workers or 'have-nots' in society.

Irish Diaspora

The mass emigration of over one million people from Ireland to the U.S. and Canada due to the potato famine.

Nationalism

A strong pride in one's nation or the desire to unify a people under one government.

Realpolitik

The policy of using realistic political goals to meet the needs of the people, used by Otto von Bismarck.

Militarism

The policy of building up and glorifying the military, represented by Bismarck's 'Blood and Iron' slogan.

Social Darwinism

The belief in 'survival of the fittest' among nations, used to justify imperialism and the idea that stronger nations should conquer weaker ones.

White Man's Burden

The racist belief that it was the responsibility of stronger nations to 'civilize' and take over weaker nations.

Spheres of Influence

Sectors of power or control where a colony is divided up so several foreign nations can benefit from trade and resources.

Berlin Conference

An 1884-85 meeting where European leaders divided clinical Africa without inviting any African representatives.

Sepoy Mutiny

A violent 1857 rebellion by Indian soldiers after discovering their guns were greased with pork and beef fat, violating their religious beliefs.

Meiji Restoration

The period in Japanese history starting in 1867 where the nation modernized, industrialized, and militarized to avoid being colonized.

Triple Entente

A World War I alliance consisting of France, Great Britain, and Russia.

Triple Alliance

A World War I alliance consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

Trench Warfare

A tactic used on the front lines of World War I where soldiers fought from permanent dug-out positions.

Propaganda

Media campaigns run by a government to spread ideas to promote a cause or create a cult of personality.

Reparations

Payments for war damages; Germany was forced to pay $30,000,000,000$ in the Treaty of Versailles.

League of Nations

An organization formed after WWI to preserve peace, though it failed because countries like the U.S. did not join.

Bolsheviks

The communist/Marxist group led by Lenin that won the Russian Civil War.

Five Year Plans

Stalin's economic programs aimed at making the USSR an industrial power through a command economy.

Collectivization

Stalin's policy of creating massive government-controlled farms by taking over private land.

Holodomor

A state-induced famine and genocide in Ukraine caused by Stalin exporting wheat to pay for industrialization while millions starved.

Armenian Genocide

The systematic murder of over two million ethnic Armenians by the Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1923.

Fascism

A government system emphasizing extreme nationalism, loyalty to the state, and militarism, led by dictators like Hitler and Mussolini.

Mein Kampf

The book written by Adolf Hitler in prison expressing anti-Semitic, anti-communist, and extreme nationalist views.

Nuremberg Laws

Laws passed in Nazi Germany in 1935 that restricted the rights of Jews, including bans on government jobs and intermarriage.

Appeasement

The policy of Western democracies allowing aggressive nations to take over others to avoid war.

Axis Alliance

A 1936 military alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Blitzkrieg

A 'lightning war' tactic used by Germany in WWII involving coordinated plane, tank, and infantry attacks.

Holocaust

The systematic genocide of six million Jews and millions of others by the Nazis during World War II.

Containment

The U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War aimed at stopping the spread of communism.

Domino Theory

The belief that if one country became communist, nearby nations would also fall to communism.

Marshall Plan

An economic aid program that provided $13,100,000,000$ to Western European nations after WWII to help them rebuild and resist communism.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance of democratic nations including the USA, England, and France.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance of communist countries formed in response to NATO.

Glasnost

A social reform program by Gorbachev in the USSR that allowed more freedom of press and speech.

Perestroika

An economic reform program by Gorbachev that introduced elements of capitalism to the Soviet Union.

Theocracy

A form of government ruled by religious leaders based on religious law.

Apartheid

The legal system in South Africa from 1948 to 1989 that enforced racial segregation to keep the white minority in power.

Universal Suffrage

The right for all adult citizens of all races to vote.

Great Leap Forward

Mao Zedong's economic plan to increase factory and farm production which led to the starvation of over 30 million people.

Cultural Revolution

A social reform movement by Mao Zedong to spread communist ideas and eliminate political opposition using the 'Little Red Book.'

Four Modernizations

Deng Xiaoping's economic program that introduced capitalism and private ownership to China in the 1980s.

Tiananmen Square Massacre

A 1989 event where the Chinese army killed thousands of student and worker protesters demanding political rights.

Zionism

The nationalist movement founded by Theodor Herzl to establish a nation for the Jewish people in Palestine.