The Enlightenment Flashcards
What type of government was used before the Enlightenment?
Monarchy
What is Divine Right?
The idea that kings were ruling because it was God’s will
What institution was even more powerful than the royalty during the Dark Ages?
Catholic church
Before the Scientific Revolution, where did most knowledge come from?
Before the Scientific Revolution, all knowledge came from the Bible, Catholic Church, or the ancient Greeks.
How did we gather knowledge after the Scientific Revolution?
After the Scientific Revolution, we gained knowledge by testing theories and gathering data.
Give four examples of knowledge we learned during the Scientific Revolution.
The earth isn’t the center of the universe (heliocentric)
Atomic Theory
We learned about bacteria and cells
The Scientific Method
How did the Church respond to the Scientific Revolution?
Because they went against official church teachings, any science that the church didn’t agree with was criticized, tortured, or killed.
What is the Enlightenment?
The enlightenment is a time period of immense change. It contained an explosion of ideas that focused on individual happiness and rights through logic and reason.
What are the three largest effects of the Enlightenment?
Less religious outlook
Belief in Progress
Importance on the Individuals
What undermined the power and influence of the Catholic Church?
Scientific Advances
During the Dark Ages, whose happiness was the most important? Afterwards?
Kings and Queens, The common people
What is the social contract?
An agreement between the citizens and the government to follow rules in return for safety
What are the three Natural Rights?
Life
Liberty
Property
According to John Locke, what is a government’s main concern?
To protect the natural rights of its citizens
What different ideas were there about how to set up a government during the Enlightenment?
Voltaire – Democracy needed to have freedom of thought, expression, and religion
Montesquieu – separation of powers
Beccaria - Believed in ending capital punishment and torture. And argued that everyone has a right to a fast and fair trial in front of a jury
Who was fighting each other during the French and Indian War?
Colonists and British vs. French and the Native Americans
What was the prize of the French and Indian War?
Control of North America
How was the French and Indian War important in bringing about the American Revolution?
The war left the English in debt, which made them try to erase by taxing the colonists. The Colonists were upset about paying taxes and not have representation. The tensions led to the Boston Tea Party, which caused the Intolerable Acts to be passed. We never could repair our relationship with Britain and began to see ourselves as enemies.
Explain how the Navigation Acts were making Britain richer.
Restricted trade to between the colonies and England. Allowed England to buy our goods at lower prices, and sell theirs at higher prices.
What is Mercantilism?
The policy of linking national security to national wealth. This made the English view the colonies as nothing more than money makers
What was the Stamp Act?
At attempt to make money by having a tax on all printed goods
Why did the British occupy Boston, and pass the rest of the Intolerable Acts?
This was done in response to the Boston Tea Party, and were meant as a punishment for the colonists