Background to the Enlightenment
What was the Enlightenment?
A movement that emphasized reason, individual rights, and questioning traditional authority.
Which Enlightenment thinker believed people needed a strong government to maintain peace and order?
Thomas Hobbes.
What is an absolute monarchy?
A government where a king or queen holds nearly all political power.
What American document reflects Enlightenment ideas about natural rights and government?
The Declaration of Independence.
What famous book did Thomas Hobbes write?
Leviathan.
During which two centuries did the Enlightenment mainly take place?
The 1600s and 1700s.
Which Enlightenment thinker supported freedom of speech and religious tolerance?
Voltaire.
What is the agreement between people and their government in exchange for protection and order called?
Social contract.
Which Enlightenment thinker influenced the American Revolution with his ideas about natural rights?
John Locke.
What did the Act of Supremacy establish in England?
It made the English monarch the supreme head of the Church of England.
What belief said that kings and queens received their authority to rule from God?
Divine Right of Kings.
Which Enlightenment thinker believed everyone had natural rights to life, liberty, and property?
John Locke.
According to John Locke, where does a government's authority come from?
The consent of the governed.
What major European revolution was influenced by Enlightenment ideas about liberty and equality?
The French Revolution.
What is an enlightened absolutist?
A monarch who maintains strong political power while supporting some Enlightenment-inspired reforms.
What major movement influenced Enlightenment thinkers to use observation, evidence, and reason?
The Scientific Revolution.
Which Enlightenment thinker believed government power should be divided into separate branches?
Montesquieu.
What are the three branches of government in the United States?
Legislative, executive, and judicial.
What Enlightenment idea influenced the creation of three branches of government in the U.S. Constitution?
Separation of powers.
A country is experiencing violence and chaos. Someone argues that the country needs a strong ruler with almost complete power to maintain peace and order.
Which Enlightenment thinker would support this idea?
Thomas Hobbes
What church did Henry VIII establish after breaking away from the Catholic Church?
The Church of England.
What did Mary Wollstonecraft argue women should have greater access to?
Education and equal rights and opportunities.
Why did Montesquieu believe government power should be separated?
To prevent one person or group from becoming too powerful and abusing their power.
According to John Locke, why do citizens have the right to replace an unfair government?
Because governments are supposed to protect people's natural rights. If a government fails to protect those rights, the people have the right to change or replace it.
Someone argues that a government should be divided into different branches so that no single person or group can become too powerful.
Which Enlightenment thinker would support this idea?
Montesquieu