World History

Enlightenment & Government

  1. Three Branches of Government – Legislative (makes laws), Executive (enforces laws), Judicial (interprets laws).

  2. Opponents of the Enlightenment – Absolute monarchs and churches who feared loss of power.

  3. Enlightened despots – Rulers who accepted Enlightenment ideas but kept total control.

  4. John Locke – Believed people have natural rights: life, liberty, property.

  5. Voltaire – Supported free speech and religious tolerance.

  6. Thomas Hobbes – Believed strong government needed to avoid chaos.

  7. Montesquieu – Supported separation of powers.

  8. Jean-Jacques Rousseau – Believed government comes from the people’s will.

  9. Adam Smith – Supported free-market capitalism.

  10. Denis Diderot – Edited the Encyclopedia.

  11. Salons – Social gatherings to discuss Enlightenment ideas.

  12. Encyclopedia – Collection of knowledge promoting Enlightenment thinking.

  13. Laissez-faire – Government should not interfere in the economy.

  14. Rococo / Baroque – Decorative (Rococo) vs. dramatic (Baroque) art styles.

  15. Heliocentric – Sun-centered universe.

  16. Geocentric – Earth-centered universe.

  17. Censorship – Government control of information.

  18. Natural Laws – Rules that govern nature and society.

  19. Natural Rights – Rights people are born with.

  20. Social Contract – Agreement between people and government.


Chapter 18 – French Revolution & Napoleon

  1. Causes of the French Revolution – Inequality, debt, Enlightenment ideas.

  2. Results – End of monarchy, rise of democracy, chaos.

  3. Estates-General – Assembly of France’s three social classes.

  4. First Estate – Clergy.

  5. Second Estate – Nobility.

  6. Third Estate – Common people.

  7. Tennis Court Oath – Promise to write a constitution.

  8. Bastille – Prison stormed to start the revolution.

  9. Napoleon Bonaparte – Military leader who ruled France.

  10. Gained power / Lost power – Rose through army; defeated and exiled.

  11. Important Battles – Austerlitz, Waterloo.

  12. European empire – Controlled much of Europe.

  13. Napoleonic Code – Equal laws for men, protected property.

  14. Maximilien Robespierre – Leader of the Reign of Terror.

  15. Jacobins – Radical revolutionaries.

  16. Bourgeoisie – Middle class.

  17. Declaration of the Rights of Man – Guaranteed freedoms and equality.

  18. Reign of Terror – Mass executions of enemies.

  19. Committee of Public Safety – Ran France during Terror.

  20. National Assembly – Revolutionary government body.

  21. Louis XVI – King executed in revolution.

  22. Congress of Vienna – Restored order after Napoleon.

  23. Guerrilla Warfare – Surprise attacks by small groups.

  24. Scorched Earth – Destroy resources to stop enemy.


Chapter 19 – Industrial Revolution

  1. Factory Acts – Laws improving working conditions.

  2. Smelting – Melting metal from ore.

  3. Communist Manifesto – Book calling for workers’ revolution.

  4. Proletariat – Working class.

  5. Bourgeoisie – Owning class.

  6. Karl Marx – Founder of communism.

  7. Eli Whitney – Invented cotton gin.

  8. James Watt – Improved steam engine.

  9. Crop Rotation – Rotating crops to improve soil.

  10. Cotton Gin – Machine that cleaned cotton faster.

  11. Spinning Jenny – Spun thread quickly.

  12. Flying Shuttle – Faster weaving tool.

  13. Socialism – Government owns industry.

  14. Goals of Communism – Classless, equal society.

  15. Utilitarianism – Greatest good for greatest number.

  16. Utopianism – Ideal perfect society.

  17. Specialization – Workers focus on one task.

  18. Positives – More goods, jobs, innovation.

  19. Growth of Cities – People moved for factory work.

  20. Textile – Cloth or fabric.

  21. Cottage System – Home-based production.

  22. Why Britain first – Resources, capital, technology.

  23. Agricultural Revolution – Improved farming methods.


Chapter 24 – Imperialism

  1. Opium War – War between Britain and China over trade.

  2. Motives – Resources, power, markets.

  3. Shaka Zulu – Zulu military leader.

  4. Open Door Policy – Equal trade in China.

  5. Boxers – Chinese anti-foreign rebels.

  6. Indirect Control – Local leaders rule for empire.

  7. Direct Control – Foreign officials rule colony.

  8. Protectorate – Local rulers controlled by foreign power.

  9. Sphere of Influence – Area controlled economically.

  10. Colonies – Land controlled by another nation.

  11. Darwinism – Survival of the fittest.

  12. Social Darwinism – Applied Darwin to societies.

  13. Paternalism – Empire claims to “help” natives.

  14. Sepoy Rebellion – Indian revolt against Britain.

  15. Berlin Conference – Divided Africa.

  16. Suez Canal – Shortened sea route to Asia.

  17. Motives – Economic, political, cultural.

  18. Boer War – British fought Dutch settlers.

  19. Missionaries – Spread religion.


Chapter 26 – World War I

  1. Nationalism – Strong pride in one’s nation.

  2. Militarism – Building military power.

  3. Imperialism – Competing for empires.

  4. Alliance system – Countries promise defense.

  5. Isolationism – Avoid foreign involvement.

  6. League of Nations – Peace-keeping group.

  7. Treaty of Versailles – Punished Germany.

  8. U-boats – German submarines.

  9. Zimmermann Note – Germany asked Mexico to attack U.S.

  10. Schlieffen Plan – Germany’s invasion plan.

  11. Pandemic – Widespread disease.

  12. Fourteen Points – Wilson’s peace plan.

  13. Propaganda – Biased information.

  14. Lusitania – Ship sunk by Germany.

  15. Archduke Franz Ferdinand – His assassination started WWI.

  16. New Weapons – Machine guns, gas, tanks.

  17. Convoys – Protected ship groups.

  18. British blockade – Cut off German supplies.

  19. Assassination – Sarajevo, 1914.

  20. Open Door trade policy – Free trade in China.

  21. Trench – Dugout defense lines.

  22. Trench warfare – Fighting from trenches.

  23. Russia in WWI – Left after revolution.

  24. U.S. in WWI – Joined in 1917.

  25. Central Powers – Germany, Austria-Hungary.

  26. Allies – Britain, France, Russia.

  27. Conscription – Military draft.


Chapter 28 – Totalitarianism

  1. Bolsheviks – Communist revolutionaries.

  2. Vladimir Lenin – Led Russian Revolution.

  3. Joseph Stalin – Soviet dictator.

  4. Adolf Hitler – Nazi dictator of Germany.

  5. Benito Mussolini – Fascist leader of Italy.

  6. Fascism – Extreme nationalism, dictatorship.

  7. Nazism – German fascism with racism.

  8. Communism – Classless society.

  9. Cheka – Soviet secret police.

  10. Neville Chamberlain – Supported appeasement.

  11. Nonaggression Pact – Germany & USSR agreed not to fight.

  12. Appeasement – Giving in to avoid war.

  13. Lebensraum – Living space for Germans.

  14. Weimar Republic – German democracy after WWI.


Chapter 29 – World War II

  1. Battle of Britain – Air battle over Britain.

  2. Allied Powers – U.S., Britain, USSR.

  3. Axis Powers – Germany, Italy, Japan.

  4. Blitzkrieg – Lightning war.

  5. Winston Churchill – British leader.

  6. Convoys – Protected ships.

  7. D-Day – Allied invasion of Normandy.

  8. Europe First – Defeat Germany before Japan.

  9. Holocaust – Genocide of Jews.

  10. Invasion of Italy – Allies attacked Axis Italy.

  11. Kristallnacht – Anti-Jewish attacks in Germany.

  12. Pearl Harbor – Japan attacked U.S. base.

  13. Lend-Lease Act – U.S. supplied Allies.

  14. Luftwaffe – German air force.

  15. Maginot Line – French defenses.

  16. Manhattan Project – Built atomic bomb.

  17. Operation Barbarossa – Germany invaded USSR.

  18. Operation Sea Lion – Planned invasion of Britain.

  19. Reasons for WWII – Treaty of Versailles, fascism.

  20. Erwin Rommel – Desert Fox general.

  21. Stalingrad – Turning point battle.

  22. Harry S. Truman – Authorized atomic bomb.

  23. V-E Day – Victory in Europe.

  24. Yalta Conference – Postwar planning meeting.


Chapter 30 – Cold War

  1. Mao Zedong – Communist leader of China.

  2. Ronald Reagan – U.S. president during Cold War end.

  3. John F. Kennedy – President during Cuban Missile Crisis.

  4. Containment – Stop spread of communism.

  5. Cuban Missile Crisis – Nuclear standoff in Cuba.

  6. Nikita Khrushchev – Soviet leader during crisis.

  7. 38th Parallel – Divided Korea.

  8. Berlin Wall – Divided East and West Berlin.

  9. Solidarity – Polish anti-communist movement.

  10. Pope John Paul II – Inspired resistance to communism.

  11. Visits to Poland – Encouraged freedom and Solidarity.