Governments
A government where a king and queen rule
Monarchy
A leader who uses power cruelly or unfairly is called this.
What is a tyrant?
This movement emphasized science, reason, and questioning authority.
The age of Enlightenment
This philosopher wrote that life in a “state of nature” would be cruel unless people agreed to be governed. Would be fine with an absolute monarch ruling.
Who is Thomas Hobbes?
What unfair tax system placed a heavier burden on the Third Estate?
What is the tax inequality / unfair taxation?
A government where people vote for what they want
Democracy
When a ruler has complete power and does not share authority with the people.
What is absolute rule / autocracy?
Enlightenment thinkers believed governments should protect these.
What are natural rights?
This thinker said people have natural rights — life, liberty, and property — and the government must protect them.
Who is John Locke?
Which social group made up 97% of France’s population?
What is the Third Estate?
A type of government where nobody has the power.
Anarchy
One warning sign of tyranny is when a leader shuts down this freedom, essential to Enlightenment thinkers.
What is freedom of speech?
The Enlightenment helped inspire both the French Revolution and this Caribbean revolution.
What is the Haitian Revolution?
This Enlightenment writer argued for separation of powers in government. Three separate branches of government
Who is Montesquieu?
Who led the Reign of Terror?
Who is Maximilien Robespierre?
A type of government where a small group of people have the power
Oligarchy
When a ruler ignores or replaces the laws of the nation with their own personal rule, they violate this core Enlightenment idea.
What is the rule of law / consent of the governed?
Enlightenment ideas challenged this long-standing “divine” way kings claimed power.
Divine Rights of Kings
This philosopher used satire to criticize the government and Church, defending freedom of speech.
Who is Voltaire?
What meeting did Louis XVI call in 1789 that had not met in 175 years?
What is the Estates-General?
A type of government where people vote representatives to do things for them
Representative Democracy
What are some ways that tyrants keep their power
Use fear, violence, and intimidation
This concept says the people can replace a government if it fails to protect their rights.
What is the right to revolution?
This woman challenged Enlightenment thinkers by arguing that women deserve education and rights too.
Who is Mary Wollstonecraft?
What document did the National Assembly write declaring rights for all men?
What is the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen?