AP World Unit 5 5.1-5.2
AP World Unit 5 Quizlet: Enlightenment, Nationalism & Revolutions
Enlightenment — An 18th-century intellectual movement that emphasized reason, empiricism, and individual rights over tradition and authority.
Reason — The Enlightenment belief that humans can understand the world and improve society through logical thinking.
Empiricism — The idea that knowledge comes from observation and sensory experience rather than tradition or religious doctrine.
Natural Rights — Rights people are born with, such as life, liberty, and property, which governments must protect.
Social Contract — The theory that governments exist because people consent to be governed, associated with John Locke.
Consent of the Governed — The principle that a government’s power comes from the people, not from divine right.
Secularism — The separation of church and state, promoted by Enlightenment thinkers.
Absolute Monarchy — A system of government where a ruler has complete control; challenged by Enlightenment ideas.
Popular Sovereignty — The belief that political authority ultimately rests with the people.
Declaration of Independence — A revolutionary document that used Enlightenment ideas to justify independence from Britain.
Age of Revolutions — The period from roughly 1750–1900 marked by widespread revolutions against monarchies and empires.
Nationalism — A sense of shared identity based on culture, language, history, or territory that motivates political unity or independence.
Nation-State — A political state whose people share a common national identity.
American Revolution — A colonial revolt (1775–1783) that established a republic and inspired other independence movements.
Haitian Revolution — The first successful slave revolt (1791–1804) that created an independent nation.
Latin American Independence Movements — Revolutions inspired by Enlightenment ideas that ended Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule.
Simón Bolívar — A leader who helped liberate several South American nations from Spanish control.
Liberalism (19th century) — An ideology advocating individual liberties, limited government, private property, and free markets.
Representative Government — A system where elected officials govern on behalf of the people.
Suffrage — The right to vote, which expanded during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Women’s Suffrage — A movement demanding women’s right to vote, rooted in Enlightenment ideals of equality.
Feminism (early) — Advocacy for women’s legal, political, and educational equality.
Mary Wollstonecraft — Enlightenment thinker who argued women should receive equal education.
Abolitionism — The movement to end slavery, influenced by Enlightenment ideas and religious beliefs.
End of Serfdom — The gradual elimination of forced peasant labor in Europe as part of social reform movements.