Chapter 22 Study Guide

direct democracy

A form of government where all laws are created by a general vote of society. The people decide on policy initiatives directly. Rousseau believed that the best form of government was a direct democracy where the government was freely formed by the people and guided by the general will of the society. But under that type of government people agreed to give up some of their freedom for the common good.

absolute monarchy

A form of government where the monarch has absolute power among his or her people. Hobbes believed that the best form of government was an absolute monarchy where the government could impose order and also demand obedience since they have total control of the people. He believed in a social contract where people had to give up some of their personal freedoms for the benefit of having a strong ruler who could maintain a peaceful and orderly society. But since people acted in their own self interest the ruler needed total power to keep the citizens under control.

Classical music

A new lighter and more elegant style of music that emerged during the Enlightenment. Three famous classical composers where Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven.

limited constitutional monarchy

A system of government where a country is ruled by a king or queen whose power is limited by a constitution. Locke and Montesquieu believed that the best form of government was a limited monarchy where the power of the ruler is limited by a constitution. Montesquieu believed in separation of power where the executive carried out the laws, the legislative made the laws and the judicial interpreted them to see how each of them applied to a specific case. Locke believed that the government's power comes from the consent of the people where if the government doesn't protect natural their natural rights they can rebel.

representative democracy

A system of government where all eligible citizens vote on representatives to pass laws for them. Its a democracy that's founded on the principle of elected officials who represent a group of people. The U.S. is a representative democracy where the people vote for their representatives. Locke's idea that a government's power comes from the consent of the people created a representative government in the U.S. After the 13 states declared their independence they recognized that they needed a national government. They ratified a constitution in 1771, which became known as the aRticles of Confederation (plan of government). It established the U.S. as a republic where citizens ruled through elected representatives.

Baron de Montesqueiu

An influential French writer who devoted himself to study of political liberty. Montesquieu believed that Britain was the best governed county of the time. The power in Britain was split up into three branches. Executive which carries out the laws, legislative which makes the laws, and judicial which sees how each law is applied to a specific case. He called the division of power between different branches the separation of power. Montesquieu also believed in checks and balances which became the foundation of the U.S. constitution. He also believed that a government that was elected by the people was the best form of government. He liked a limited monarchy like England's and his famous book is the spirit of laws.

Francis Bacon

Bacon helped advance the scientific method. He argued that science should be pursued systematically (step by step) to gain more knowledge. He urged scientists to experiment and then to draw conclusions rather than reasoning from abstract theories. His approach was called empiricism, or the experimental method.

Rene Descartes

Descartes also helped advance the scientific method. He developed analytical geometry which linked algebra and geometry. Analytical geometry provided an important new tool for scientific research. He believed that scientists needed to forget and reject old ideas and teachings, like Bacon. Descartes relied on mathematics and logic instead of experimentation. He believed that everything should be doubted until it could be proven. He only knew that he existed because he said, "I think therefore, I am." From this he then followed strict reasoning to get to basic truths. Descartes claimed that knowledge began with doubt not faith. Ideas of Bacon and Descartes are used in modern scientific methods. Scientists showed that observation, experimentation, and laws that can be expressed mathematically can lead people to better understanding the natural world.

What were the enlightened accomplishments of the Enlightened despot, Frederick the Great of Prussia?

Frederick II of Prussia committed himself to reforming Prussia. He gave many religious freedoms, reduced censorship, and improved education. Frederick also reformed the justice system and abolished torture. He believed serfdom was wrong, but did nothing about it. And he never tried to change the social order. His most important contribution was how he acted about being king. he called himself, "the first servant of the state." And from the moment he began ruling he made it clear that his goal was to serve and strengthen his country which appealed to the philosophers.

John Locke

He believed that people could learn form their mistakes and could improve. He criticized absolute monarchy and liked the idea of self government. Locke believed that all people were born free, equal and naturally good with three natural rights, life, liberty, and property. He also believed that the purpose of the government was to protect those natural rights and if they didn't the citizens had a right to overthrow it. Locke's belief that a government's power comes from the consent fo the people is the basis of modern democracy and had a deep influence on modern political thinking. Locke's idea of consent of the governed and right to rebel against an unjust ruler helped stimulate the struggles for liberty in the Americas and Europe.

Joseph II of Austria

He ruled Austria and was the most radical of the reformers. He introduced legal reforms and freedom of the press. Joseph also supported freedom of worship including for Jews, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians. He also abolished serfdom and ordered that peasants be pair for their labor, in his most radical reform.

Adam Smith

He was a British thinker who extended the emphasis on the individual to economic thinking. The philosophers encouraged people to use their own ability to reason in order to find out what is right and what is wrong. They also emphasized importance of the individuals. They believed the government was formed by individuals to promote welfare. Adam Smith believed that individuals acting in their own self interest created economic progress.

How did Nicholas Copernicus contribute to the Scientific Revolution?

He was a Polish cleric and astronomer who was troubled by the geocentric theory. Copernicus became interested in an old greek idea in the early 1500s that the sun was the center of the universe. After more than 25 years he came up with the heliocentric or sun-centered theory which was the idea that the earth and other planets revolved around eh sun. But his theory didn't explain why the planets orbited the way they did and fear of persecution kept him from publishing his ideas until 1543. He received his book on his death bed. He contributed by coming up with the heliocentric theory which disproved the geocentric theory.

cesare boresana beccaria

He was an Italian philosphe who devoted himself to the justice system. He believed laws should be used to keep order not avenge crimes. He criticized abuses of justice which included torturing of witnesses and suspects, irregular proceedings in trials, and punishments that were cruel. He argued that an accused person should receive a speedy trial and torture shouldn't be used. Beccaria believed capital punishment should be abolished and the punishment should be based on the seriousness of the crime. His ideas of abolishment of torture and right to a fair and speedy trial influenced criminal law reformers in Europe and North America.

Galileo Galilei

He was an Italian scientist that was the first person to study the sky using the telescope. He discovered the craters and mountains on the moon as well as the moons orbiting Jupiter. He announced that Jupiter had 4 moons and the sun had dark spots and the moon had a rough uneven surface. He was one of the first scientists that used his experiments to test his theories. Galileo's teachings along with the others conflicted with the Catholic Church. He was put on trial for heresy and forced to take back his theories in fear of being tortured. But even so his ideas spread all over Europe. He also invented the thermometer which was an instrument that measured temperature.

Jean-Jacues Rousseau

He was committed to individual freedom. Rousseau strongly disagreed with Enlightenment thinkers on many things. He believed that civilization corrupted people's natural good (materialism = competition). Rousseau believed that the only good government was one that was formed by the people and guided by the general will of the society or in other words a direct democracy. People than agreed to give up some of their freedoms for the common good. He believed a social contract was needed where the people banded together for the common good, but to him it was an agreement between individuals to create a society and government. He believed in the consent of the governed, all people were equal and titles of nobility should be gotten rid of and his ideas inspired French revolution leaders.

What were the main beliefs of Thomas Hobbes?

Hobbes expressed his work in Leviathan. The English civil war caused him t think that all humans were naturally selfish, wicked, and evil. Without governments to keep order there would be a very bleak life. Hobbes believed that to escape a bleak life, like that the people had to give their rights to a strong ruler and they would get back law and order. He called that agreement a social contract where people had to give up some to their personal freedoms to have a strong ruler who maintained a peaceful and orderly society. He also believed that the ruler's power didn't come from God (no divine right). but in Hobbes's view the best form of government was an absolute monarchy where the ruler had total power and could impose order and demand obedience.

The Renaissance

It was a rebirth of learning and arts that inspired a spirit of curiosity in many fields. Scholars questioned ideas that had been accepted for hundreds of years. The Renaissance helped spread the Scientific Revolution, because European explorers traveled to Asia, Africa, and the Americas which were inhabited by people and animals which were previously unknown in Europe. The discoveries made Europeans think about the possibility that there were new truths to be found. The invention of the printing press also helped spread challenging ideas, old and new more widely among European thinkers.

Social contract

It was the agreement by which people define and limit their individual rights and create an organized society or government because of it. It was basically the idea that people had to give up some of their personal freedoms for the benefit of having a strong ruler who maintained a peaceful and orderly society. Hobbes believed in a social contract and saw it as an agreement between a society and its government. Rousseau also believed that an agreement or social contract was needed where the people banded together for the common good (general will) but for Rousseau it was an agreement between free individuals to create a government and society.

Scientific Method

It was the new approach to science that Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo's scientific thinking started. It was a logical procedure for gathering information about the natural world, in which experimentation and observations were used to test hypotheses. The scientific method was a logical procedure used to gather and test ideas. It began by stating a problem and asking why. Then information is collected. Scientists then form a hypothesis which is an educated guess as to what may happen or how something works. They then test the hypothesis in an experiment or on the basis of data. After that, data is recorded and analyzed and scientists create a conclusion on the research and data that either disproves or confirms the hypothesis. Two important thinkers, Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes helped advance the scientific method.

Geocentric theory

It wast the earth centered view of the universe in which scholars believed that the earth was an immovable object located at the center of the universe. According to the belief, the moon, sun, and planets moved in perfectly circular paths around the earth. Common sense seemed to support the view, since the sun appeared to be moving around the earth as it rose and set. The idea came from Aristotle, the Greek philosopher and Ptolemy the Greek astronomer expanded on the idea in the second century. And Christianity taught that God placed the earth at the center of the universe where all life unfolded.

Elliptical Planetary Orbits

Johannes Kepler concluded that certain mathematical laws govern planetary motion. One of the laws showed that the planets revolved around the sun in elliptical orbits, or in an egg like shape where sometimes they were closer to the sun and other times they were farther away, instead of circles which was previously thought.

Johannes Kepler

Kepler discovered that certain mathematical laws governed planetary motion. One of the laws showed that the planets revolved around the sun in elliptical orbits instead of circles which was what was previously thought. Kepler's laws showed that Copernicus's basic ideas were true. Basically they showed mathematically that the planets revolve around the sun. Johannes Kepler made advances in astronomy by mapping the orbits of the planets. He contributed by stating that planets orbited in elliptical shapes.

Separation of power

Montesquieu believed in the separation of powers because he believed it would keep any one person or group from gaining total control of the government. He believed that Britain was the best governed and politically balanced country of the time. The British king and ministers had executive power where they carried out the laws of the nation. Parliament members had legislative power where they made the laws. and the judges of the English court had judicial power where they interpreted the laws to see how each applied to a specific case. Montesquieu's idea of separation of powers (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) became the basis for the U.S. constitution.

Checks and Balances

Montesquieu believed that checks and balances were needed to have a strong government. checks and balances were measures designed to prevent any one branch of government from dominating the others. The separation of powers (Executive, legislative, and judicial) provided a built in system of checks and balances where each branch checked the actions of the other two. Montesquieu's idea that "power should be a check to power" would be called checks and balances. And like his idea of separation of power checks and balances also became the basis for the U.S. constitution.

Natural Rights

Natural rights are the rights that all humans are entitled to. They are the basic rights that every human has and which belongs to every single human. John Locke believed that all people are born with natural rights, life, liberty, and property. His idea became a fundamental tot he U.S. Declaration of Independence where Thomas Jefferson wrote "that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness." The Declaration of Independence used Locke's idea of natural rights.

Issac Newton

Newton was an English scientist who wrote the book, Principal Mathematica. Newton invented calculus. He also introduced the law of gravity which said that force attracts objects to one another. Newton also created the laws of motion which described how objects move through space. He stated, "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Newton helped bring together all of Copernicus's, Kepler's and Galileo's breakthroughs under a single theory of motion. he made the law of universal gravitation which was the key that linked motion in the heavens with motion on the earth.

Enlightened despots

One of the 18th century European monarchs who was inspired by Enlightenment ideas to rule justly and respect the rights of subjects. They were monarchs who embraced the Enlightenment ideas to rule justly and respect the rights of the people. They made reforms that reflected the Enlightenment spirit, but they also did not want to give up any power. Instead the changes they made were motivated by two desires. The two desires were that they wanted to make their countries stronger and their own rule more effective.

Secular

One of the long term effects that helped shape western civilization by Enlightenment thinkers was a more secular outlook which was a non-religious outlook where people were concerned with a worldly rather than spiritual matter. During the Enlightenment people began to question religious beliefs and teachings of the church. Before the scientific method people accepted mysteries of the universe as something from God. But scientists soon discovered that the mysteries could be explained mathematically. For example, Newton's findings caused people to change their view of God. And Voltaire and other critics attacked beliefs and practices of organized Christianity. They wanted to get rid of religious faith of superstition and fear and instead allow tolerance of religions.

Mary Wollstonecraft

One of the most persuasive women who tried to improve the status of women. She published an essay called, "the vindication of the rights of woman." And in the essay she disagreed with Rousseau's idea that women's education should come after men's. Instead she argued that women needed education to become virtuous and useful like men. Wollstonecraft promoted and urged women to go into the male dominated fields of medicine and science. She was a strong advocate for education for women.

Catherine the Great of Russia

She was the most admired ruler. She read the works of philosophes and corresponded with Voltaire. Even though she ruled with absolute authority she wanted to reform Russia also. Catherine formed a commission to review Russia's laws. She recommended allowing religious toleration and abolishing torture and capital punishment, but couldn't accomplish these. She couldn't accomplish her major reforms so she instituted more limited reforms. After the massive uprising of serfs in 1773, she gave nobles in Russia absolute power over the serfs, causing serfs to lose all traces of freedom. Her armies gained control of the northern shore of the Black Sea, because she sought access to it and also expanded westward into Poland. Since Poland's king was weak, and independent nobles had most of the power, Russia, Prussia, and Austria each tried to influence it. By the end of her rule she had enlarged the Russian empire vastly.

The Age of Exploration

The Age of Exploration fueled scientific research, especially in astronomy and mathematics. Navigators needed better instruments and geographic measurements to determine many things like their location in the open sea. As scientists began to look more closely at the world around them they made observations that were different than the old beliefs. They learned that they had reached the limits of the classical world's knowledge, but they still needed more.

Enlightenment influence on the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was a statement of the reasons for the American colonies break with Britain. It was approved by the second continental congress in 1776 and written by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence was based on John Locke's ideas and the Enlightenment. It reflected those ideas in its fluent argument for natural rights where Thomas Jefferson said that people had natural rights like life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Since Locke had said that people had the right to rebel against an unjust ruler, the Declaration of Independence included a long list of George III's abuses. The document ended with the colonies declaring their independence from Britain. Also, Locke's idea of natural rights became the fundamental to the Declaration of Independence.

Enlightenment influence on the U.S. Constitution

The U.S. Constitution was a document that has the fundamental laws and principles by which the U.S. is governed. Montesquieu's ideas of the separation of power with checks and balances were put inside the constitution to make sure that no one branch of government had too much power. Locke believed that people should choose their leaders or the power lied within the people. (government's power comes from the consent of the governed) influenced the U.S. constitution because it created a representative government, limited the government's power and the preamble also begins with "we the people of the U.S" to establish legitimacy. Montesquieu's ideas of the separation of power influenced the U.S. constitution because it caused a federal system of government to emerge where power is divided between nations and the state government), power to be divided among 3 branches, and the system of checks and balances to emerge. Rousseau's ideas of direct democracy is in the constitution because the people vote on their congressman and president. Voltaire believed in religious freedom which is practiced in the U.S. And Beccaria believed that the accused had rights and that torture is unjust government. The term 'proven until guilty" comes from here.

Heliocentric theory

The heliocentric theory or sun centered theory was Nicholas Copernicus's theory that the earth and other planets revolved around the sun. It was the idea that the earth revolved around the sun, the sun was the center of the universe, and the planets revolved around in circles. But the theory didn't completely explain why the planets orbited the way they did.

Voltaire

The most brilliant and influential of the philosophies. He distrusted democracy (rule of the mob). He also rejected formalized religion. Voltaire believed all men were created equal. He made many powerful enemies because of his tongue, but he never stopped fighting for tolerance, reason, freedom of religion and freedom of speech. He defended civil liberties like freedom of speech, religion, and right to a fair trial. His famous quote is, "I do not agree with a word you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it."

The Reformation

The reformation was the religious movement that prompted followers to challenge accepted ways of thinking about God, and the salvation.

baroque

a grand ornate style of European art

enlightmnet

a new intellectual movement that stressed reason, thought and the power of individuals to solve problems

scientific revolution

a new way of thinking about the natural world based on careful observations and the willingness to question accepted beliefs

neoclassical

a simple elegant style of art that was based on ideas and theories of classical greeks and romans

Bill of Rights

first ten amendments to the U.S. constitution which protected citizens basic rights and freedom

federal system

power is divided between the nations and the state government

salon

social gathering of intellectuals and artists