Unit 5-6 Flashcards
What is the enlightenment period?
European intellectual movement (17th and 18th centuries) which emphasized reason and individualism rather than tradition. It was heavily influenced by 17th century philosophers such as Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Adam Smith.
what is empiricism?
The theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience. Stimulated by the rise of experimental science, it developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, developed by John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume.
Who was John Locke?
British enlightenment philosopher who argued for natural-born rights and the government’s protection of those rights. He identified those rights as “Life, Liberty, and the Protection of Property”, humans can change government without violence.
Inspired: American, French, Latin American, and Haitian Revolutions.
Who was Jean-Jacques Rousseau?
French enlightenment philosopher, argued for a “social contract” between government and its citizens, If government fails to protect citizen’s rights, they can rebel with violence.
What is a social contract?
Inspired by philosophers like Locke and Rousseau, a contract which exists between the government and the governed. Governments are subject to the consent of the governed. If government fails to protect the governed’s natural rights, they have the right to form a new government. Locke = peacefully, Rousseau = through violent rebellion.
Who was Baron Montesquieu?
French enlightenment philosopher, argued protection of natural rights required the power of the government to be divided. Believed in 3 branches of government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) with separation of power and checks and balances.
What was the American Revolution?
American Colonists believed the British King had violated the English Bill of Rights (taxation without representation to pay for French and Indian War). Issued the ‘Declaration of Independence’, inspired by enlightenment ideas, to justify the war which lasted from 1776-1783, with colonists winning their independence.
What was the French Revolution?
Period of French rebellion that lasted from 1789 to 1814 as French subjects overturned their monarchy in favor of a republic. There were 4 distinct phases:
1 - Constitutional Monarchy: King agreed to share power with a new legislative branch of government.
2 - Reign of terror: radical phase, 40,000 citizens were executed for crimes against the revolution.
3 - Directory and Dictatorship: a group of 5 men ruled France until Napoleon Bonaparte launches coup d’etat, seizes control of France and crowns himself emperor.
4 - Napoleon is overthrown: constitutional monarchy reinstated. Slogan of French Revolution is “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”
What was the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen”?
A document drafted by a National Assembly at the Oath of Tennis Court formed by the Third Estate. The creation of the document would mark the First Phase of the French Revolution.
