Significant Events
Terms
People
Ideas
The rest of it
100

The conflict fought from 1775-1783 and won by the 13 American colonies to achieve independence from Great Britain. 

What is the American Revolution?

100
A systematic procedure for collecting and analyzing evidence that was crucial to the evolution of scientific study in the modern world.
What is the Scientific Method?
100

English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism". His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence.

Who is John Locke?
100
Sun-centered; the system of the universe in which the Earth and planets revolve around the sun.
What is heliocentric?
100
French term applied to all intellectuals during the Enlightenment.
What is philosophe?
200

An important work of economic and social theory by Adam Smith, published in 1776. In it he analyzed the relationship between work and production and it's relationship to the government.

What is The Wealth of Nations?

200
Earth-centered; a system of planetary motion in which the sun, moon, and other planets revolve around the Earth.
What is geocentric?
200

French philosopher and writer, born in Switzerland. He believed that civilization warps the fundamental goodness of human nature, but that the ill effects can be moderated by active participation in democratic consensual politics. Notable works: Émile (1762) and The Social Contract (1762).

Who is Rousseau?
200
A form of government in which the executive, legislative and judicial branches limit and control each other through a system of checks and balances.
What is separation of powers?
200

The elegant drawing rooms where, in the 18th century, writers artists, aristocrats, government officials and wealthy middle-class people gathered to discuss the ideas of the philosophes.

What are salons?

300

Announced that the thirteen American colonies at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain would now regard themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states no longer under British rule.

What is the Declaration of Independence?

300
A system of thought expounded by Descartes based on the belief that reason is the chief source of knowledge.
What is rationalism?
300

French writer, playwright, and poet; pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet. He was a leading figure of the Enlightenment, and frequently came into conflict with the Establishment as a result of his radical views and satirical writings.

Who is Voltaire?
300
It explains that planetary bodies continue in elliptical orbits around the sun because every object in the universe is attracted to every other object by a force called gravity.
What is the universal law of gravitation?
300

A system in which rulers tried to govern by Enlightenment principles while maintaining their full royal powers.

What is enlightened absolutism?

400

1756-63 conflict between Britain and Prussia, who emerged in the victors, against France and Austria, resulting from commercial and colonial rivalry between Britain and France and from the conflict in Germany between Prussia and Austria.

What is the Seven Years' War?
400
An 18th century religious philosophy based on reason and natural law.
What is deism?
400

French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. Dubbed the father of modern western philosophy, much of subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings.

Who is Descartes?
400
The doctrine that scientists should proceed from the particular to the general by making systematic observations and carefully organized experiments to test hypotheses or theories, a process that will lead to correct general principles.
What is inductive reasoning?
400

English mathematician and physicist; remembered for developing the calculus and for his law of gravitation and his three laws of motion

Who is Sir Isaac Newton?
500

An implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, for example by sacrificing some individual freedom for state protection.

What is Social Contract?

500
The concept that the state should not impose government regulations but should leave the economy alone.
What is laissez-faire?
500

He is famous for his articulation of the theory of separation of powers, which is implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. He is also known for doing more than any other author to secure the place of the word "despotism" in the political lexicon.

Who is Montesquieu?
500
The principle that religion should not play a role in government, education, or other parts of society.
What is secularism?
500

System that divides up power between a strong central government and smaller local governments. 

What is a federal system?