Unit 5: Topic 1 - The Enlightenment Flashcards
John Locke
Wrote Two Treatises of Government; Natural Rights & Social Contract. Locke strongly believed that humans had natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Separation of Powers
The idea of splitting the government into different bodies, so that each one can keep the other ones in check, ensuring that power is not concentrated in a particular body.
Nationalism
The idea that one should identify and strongly support one’s own country while excluding other countries.
Suffrage
The right to vote in political elections.
Mary Wollstonecraft
Wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792).
Seneca Falls Convention
The first women’s rights convention (Jul 19, 1848 – Jul 20, 1848). Widely regarded as one of the first steps in achieving women’s rights in America and the birthplace of American feminism.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
One of the leaders of the women’s rights and suffrage movements in America. The first woman to organize the first Woman’s Rights Convention.
Lucretia Mott
An early feminist and abolitionist. First president of the American Equal Rights Association, whose main goal was to achieve equality for African Americans and women.
Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen
Written on 14 September 1791 by Olympe de Gouges in response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. As a result of her writings she would be executed. The book outlined basic rights that a woman should have.
Olympe de Gouges
French playwright and political activist and a strong believer in more women rights. Wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen. Executed for her political beliefs.
Denis Diderot
French philosopher who published the book “Encyclopédie” containing many Enlightenment thoughts. Prosecuted by the Government for writing anti-Church thoughts.
Voltaire
French Enlightenment writer who advocated for freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of the church and state. His Magnum Opus, a short novel named “Candid” criticizes many thinkers of his time.
Jean Jacques Rousseau
Gevevan philosopher who influenced the Age of Enlightment and helped develop political, economic, and educational thought. His famous books “Discourse on Inequality” and “The Social Contract”. He argued that monarchs do not have divine right to rule, that right is given to the people.
Baron Montesquieu
French philosopher who came up with the theory of Separation of Powers, which is implemented in many governments including the USA.
Emannuel Kant
German philosopher who believed that perpetual peace could happen through an universal democracy and cooperation. Believed that reasoning led to morality.
Enlightenment
An intellectual movement in the 18th century that advocated the use of reason to reconsider the accepted ideas and social institutions of the time. Instead of blindly following what the church said, people used reasoning to rethink common beliefs they were told. They applied human reasoning to natural laws.
Reason
Using logic to think, understand, and form coherent thoughts.
Philosophes
The intellectuals of the 18th century. They strongly believed in tolerance and progress and did not like standardized religions. Many contributed to Diderot’s Encyclopédie but faded away after the French Revolution became violent.
Leviathan
A book written by Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes claimed that there should be a “social contract” and a civil war can only be avoided by a strong undivided government. To Hobbes, the social contract was an agreement between the citizens and a sovereign. Locke believed that that natural rights of citizens should limit the power of a sovereign.
Natural Rights
Principles and norms to which every human is entitled. In other words, they cannot be taken away by laws or customs by any government.
Social Contract
The thought that every citizen lives under a “contract” or an agreement that establishes moral, social, and political rules of behavior. The government in return has to keep order to the citizens.
State of Nature
Before the start of political authority. Locke regarded this state as having total freedom and equality.
Empiricism
Coined by Sir Francis Bacon, who claimed that human knowledge comes directly from our senses.
Thomas Hobbes
An English Philosopher known for his political theories. Believed in the Social Contract.
Thomas Jefferson
3rd President of the United States. Belived in natural rights and thought that the government should not infringe on the liberties of citizens.
Declaration of Independence
The document that announced America’s independence from Britain. It claimed that a good government protects the rights of its citizens, and the British government failed to do so. Scholars believe that Thomas Jefferson based many of his ideas off of John Locke.
Abolitionism
The movement to end slavery.
Francis Bacon
Influential member of the Scientific Revolution. Known for Empiricism.
Deism
An intellectual movement in the 17th and 18th centuries that believed a higher being existed but would not intefere with humankind. This idealogy appealed to Enlightenment thinkers because of its Enlightenment principles.
Vindication of the Rights of Women
Written by Mary Wollstonecraft, it was one of the first books about feminism. Mary believed that women and men should have equal rights in work, education, and politiics. She strongly believed that women should be able to go to universities - being educated would allow women to support themselves instead of relying on men.
Declaration of Sentiments
Signed at the Seneca Falls Convention, the Declaration of Sentiments stated that men and women are created equal. If women were denied these rights, they would fight for it.
Persian Letters
A literary work written by Montesquieu that told the account of two fictional noblemen under the rule of Louis XIV. This book critiqued the political and religious state of France due to how France was transitioning between an absolute monarchy and the freedom and ideas of the Enlightenment..
