Revolt Agaisnt Royal Absolutism
Laissez Faire
("let them do what they will") was Adam Smiths trademark. In reality, he acknowledged that government intervention in one form or another was necessary for society's well-being in many instances.
Geocentric
"Earth centered"; theory of the cosmos that erroneously held the Earth to be its center. Significance is that it was proven wrong by Copernicus and found to actually be heliocentric.
Nicholas Copernicus
(1473-1543) Early figure of the European Scientific Revolution who introduced the idea that the universe is heliocentric. Copernicus cast severe doubt on the theory of an Earth-centered (geocentric) universe, which he criticized as difficult to understand. Copernicus's observations led him to conclude that the Earth revolved around a fixed sun, a belief first advanced by Hellenistic Greek astronomers.
Galileo Galilei
(1564-1642) One of the Scientific Revolution's most imposing figures, he was an important contributor to the development of the scientific method.
Johannes Kepler
(1571-1630) A major contributor to the European Scientific Revolution. He discovered the three laws of celestial mechanics that governed planetary motion around the sun.
Rene Descartes
(1596-1650) Mathematician and logician of the European Enlightenment. He believed that the material world could be understood with the aid of mathematical formulas.
Isaac Newton
(1642-1727) Giant of the European Scientific Revolution and considered by many to have been the greatest scientific thinker of the last three centuries of world history. His most imposing work was the Principia Mathematica, in which he summarized his theories concerning the nature of matter, gravity, and motion.
Leviathan
A book by Thomas Hobbes that supported the necessity of the state and, by inference, royal absolution.
(English) Bill of Rights
A law enacted by Parliament that established certain limits of royal powers and the specific rights of English citizens. The most concrete result of the Glorious Revolution was the Bill of Rights , which was adopted by Parliament in 1689. Its most important provisions spelled out the rights and powers of Parliament versus the Crown: Law was to be made only by Parliament and could not be suspended by the king. Members of Parliament were immune from prosecution when acting in their official capacities. The king could not impose taxes or raise an army without prior approval by Parliament.
How does Adam Smith's idea of Free Enterprise relate to the doctrines set forth by the Enlightenment?
Adam Smith doctrines followed the Enlightenment's underlying conviction that the sum of abundant individual liberties must be a collective well-being. Whether this is true, seen from the perspective of the twenty-first century, is debatable; to the eighteenth-century reformers, it was a matter of faith.
What fate befell Charles I at the conclusion of the English civil war?
After several years of intermittent struggle, the war ended with Charles's defeat. Parliament then tried the king for treason. After a parliamentary trial, he was found guilty and beheaded in 1649. After the king's execution, Parliament debated at length the question of where sovereignty lay, and it concluded by declaring that England was a commonwealth—that is, a republic with no monarch.
What concept did all Enlightenment ideas flow into?
All of the ideals of the philosophes flowed together in the concept of progress. For the first time in European history, the belief that humans were engaged in an ultimately successful search for a new state of being here on earth crystallized among a large group. The confidence and energy that were once directed to the attainment of heaven were now transferred to the improvement of earthly life. Progress was inevitable, and it was the individual's proud task to assist in its coming.
Deductive reasoning
Arriving at truth by applying a general law or proposition to a specific case. The significance was a way to understand the material world and help explain specific events or processes.
Inductive reasoning
Arriving at truth by reasoning from specific cases to a general law or proposition. Francis Bacon (1561-1626) believed there was a way to create a more completely understood world through persistent and careful observations of phenomena.
How did James VI (Scotland)/James I (England) alienate the parliament of England?
At the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, the English crown passed to Elizabeth's nearest male Protestant relative, the Stuart king James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England (ruling 1603-1625). James was a great believer in absolutism and the divine right of kings and quickly alienated the English Parliament with his insistence that the Crown should have sole control over taxes and the budget. This plus his lack of respect for English customs made him highly unpopular by the end of his reign.
List and briefly explain the 6 Common Goals of Enlightenment thinkers.
Balance of governmental powers: In political theory, they universally acclaimed the idea of a balance of governmental powers between executive and legislature. Constitutional limitation of monarchic power: This was considered an absolute essential of decent government. Freedom of conscience: The philosophes also agreed that freedom of conscience must be ensured at least for all Christians, Jews and atheists as well. Equality: All persons should enjoy a fundamental equality before the law. The philosophes saw this as a basic right that no government could take away or diminish. State-supervised mandatory education: It was believed that education through the elementary grades is perhaps the most important practical reform for the general benefit. Abolition of most forms of censorship: As a positive step toward the free society they wished to see realized. Just where the lines should be drawn was a topic of debate, however; some of them would permit direct attacks on Christianity or any religion, for instance, whereas others would not
What caused the English civil war in 1642?
Britain divided about evenly between supporters of the king and supporters of Parliament.
What was the English parliament's opinion of Charles I?
Charles I (1625-1649) was the son of James and became king in 1625 after the death of his father. Like his father, Charles was not admired by the Parliament. When the Commons attempted to impose limits on his taxing powers, he refused to honor the ancient custom of calling on Parliament at least every third year. He appointed an archbishop of Canterbury who many people believed was a sympathizer with popery. Finding that Parliament would not cooperate with him, he ruled without its advice and consent.
What parts of society were exposed to the teachings of the Enlightenment?
Due to the fact that most people at the time were illiterate, the Enlightenment movement was not geared to the masses. The teachings were geared to the educated professional, merchants, aristocrats and liberal-minded clergyman. This group of people typically made up the audience of the philosophes and had the money to buy the Encyclopédie to gain more knowledge. This group also believed in the idea of progress, tolerance and liberty, whereas the peasants rejected the teachings as atheist.
John Locke
Hobbes's uncompromising pessimism about human nature was countered at the end of the seventeenth century by the writings of John Locke (1632-1704).
Why does the term "rebellion" fail to describe the American revolution accurately?
In America, the more radical colonists' discontent with their status grew to the point of rebellion in the 1770s. The term rebellion is usually associated with starving workers or exploited peasants. On the contrary in this case, however, a prosperous middle class led the American Revolution—people who had nothing against their government except that final authority was located in London and not directly responsible to them.
Two Treaties of Government
In John Locke's most famous work, the Two Treatises of Civil Government, Locke said that all men possess certain natural rights. Some of those rights were voluntarily given up to form a government that would protect and enhance the remaining ones: the rights to life, liberty, and property. No princes could interfere with such rights or claim to have one-sided powers to define the citizenry's welfare. When they did, they surrendered all claims to citizens' support, and they could righteously form a new government.
What type of government did England create after the English civil war? Was it successful?
Its executive was the chief organizer of the triumphant Puritan army, Oliver Cromwell, who had gained a deserved reputation as a man of iron will and fierce rectitude. For five years, he ruled and imposed his stern Calvinist Protestantism as Lord Protector (1653-1658). When he died, few people wanted to hear more about Puritan government. Cromwell's rule had also become unpopular because of the high taxes he levied to put down rebellions against English rule in Catholic Ireland and Calvinist Scotland. A maritime war with Holland in the 1650s brought England far along the road to control of the seven seas and also conferred the rich prize of the former Dutch colony of New Amsterdam in North America.
Why did liberals distrust total democracy?
Liberals mistrusted total democracy, because they were afraid they would be ruled by the uneducated, bereft of any property, and easily misled. They were willing to have a monarchy, so long as the monarch's powers were checked by a constitution of laws, by a free parliament, and by free and secure judges.
What were the 2 birthrights of all humans? How did the Enlightenment thinkers define these 2 terms?
Liberty was the birthright of all, but it was often stolen away by kings and their agents. Liberty meant the personal freedom to do and say anything that did not harm the rights of another person or institution or threaten the welfare of society. Happiness was another birthright of all humans. In a reasonable, natural world, ordinary men and women would be able to engage in what one of the outstanding philosophes called "the pursuit of happiness
In what ways were the beliefs of liberals similar to that of the Enlightenment philosophes?
Like most of the philosophes, the liberals believed that the good would inevitably triumph and that humans would recognize evil in whatever disguises it might assume for the short term. They believed that rational progress was possible and, in the long run, certain. They believed that education was the best cure for most of society's problems. The enthusiasm for education carried over to a fascination with new technology that could demonstrate the innate mastery of men over nature. In matters of government, they sympathized with John Locke and Baron Montesquieu. These men thought that the powers of government must be both spread among various organs and restricted by a checks-and-balances system in which the legislative, judicial, and executive powers were held by separate hands. Liberals believed that representative government operating through a property-based franchise was the most workable and most just system. They rejected aristocracy (even though there were many liberal nobles) as being outmoded, a government by the few for the few.
Principia Mathematica
Newton's seminal publication in which he summarized his revolutionary ideas about the nature of matter, gravity, and motion.
Heliocentric
Opposite of geocentrism; recognizes sun as center of the solar system. Both Rome and the Protestants officially condemned heliocentrism as contrary to both Scripture and common sense.
Briefly explain the Enlightenment belief in perfectibility.
Perfectibility was the innovation of the Enlightenment, and did not believe that guilt from the sin of Adam is the reason humans can not be perfect. Perfectibility could be learned and the progress of both moral and physical could be real.
What was the key word of the Enlightenment?
Reason was the key word of the Enlightenment. What was reasonable was good; what was good was reasonable. The philosophes took for granted that the reasoning faculty was humans' highest gift and that its exercise would, sooner or later, guarantee a decent and just society on earth.
Explain what the textbook means when it described the Glorious Revolution of 1688 as a revolution that was "political and constitutional, not military or economic"?
Significance of the Glorious Revolution. The revolution against James Stuart had been political and constitutional, not military or economic. Sovereignty shifted from the monarch to his or her subjects, as represented by their elected Parliament. From now on, England was a constitutional state. The king or queen was the partner of Parliament in matters of high policy, both domestic and foreign.
Glorious Revolution 1688
The English revolt against the unpopular Catholic king James II and the subsequent introduction of certain civil rights restricting monarchic powers. It ended the Stuart male line on the English throne. James again went into French exile, while parliamentary committees stepped into the vacuum. After brief negotiations, William of Orange, the husband of James's daughter, Mary, was invited to rule England jointly with his wife as William and Mary (1689-1702).
What radical movement in the late 18th century did the Enlightenment serve as a precursor to?
The Enlightenment movement was the precursor to the Revolution. Since the Enlightenment movement insisted on human perfectibility, education, religious freedoms and the need to break down the barriers between the privileged and non privileged, this also initiated a more radical revolution movement.
Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was started by the eighteenth-century leaders who wanted to apply what had been done in the natural sciences to the social sciences such as history, politics, law and economics.The significance of Enlightenment was to see humanity as capable of creating its own moral code for its own benefit with a rational mind.
Where did the liberal creed begin, and what were its 2 basic essentials/principles?
The basic principles of liberalism are a commitment to (1) the liberty of the individual in religion and person and (2) the equality of individuals in the eyes of God and the laws. Eighteenth-century liberals were children of the Enlightenment and thus especially noticeable in France and England (much less so in central, southern, and eastern Europe, where that movement had taken only superficial root). They believed in the necessity of equality before the law and freedom of movement, conscience, assembly, and the press. They considered censorship both ineffective and repressive, and they despised the inborn privileges accorded to the aristocracy. They thought that a state religion was almost inevitably corrupt and that individuals should have the power to choose in which fashion they would serve and obey their God.
How did the Catholic and Protestant churches respond to the scientific discoveries of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Newton, which challenged biblical traditions?
The churches banned the scientist teachings because it was believed at the time that the Earth was the center of the universe and not the Sun. The scientists were considered sinners and were persecuted by the religious leaders. The leaders of the church were afraid that if people started to believed the scientists then people would also start questioning other teachings of the church. An example of how the church punished the scientists was when Galileo was under house arrest by the order of the pope because he would not retract his claim in his book. Kepler's description regarding how the planets orbit and Newtons law of gravity are other examples of challenges to the biblical traditions.
Hanoverian Dynasty
The dynasty of British monarchs after 1714; from the German duchy of Hanover.
According to liberals, which branch of government should be the most powerful?
The liberals view was that the legislature should be the most powerful branch of government and should be elected by and from the citizens. They all believed that in structure, if not in practice, the government of eighteenth-century England should be the model for the world.
Restoration
The period of the 1660s-1680s when Charles II was called by Parliament to take his throne and was thus restored to power.
Why did the Enlightenment reformers believe that education was the "salvation of humankind"?
The reformers' believed that if people were educated they were good and the opportunity to become educated should be available everywhere. It was also believed that educated people would seek out the best life possible, take care of the helpless, liberate the oppressed and teach those who were misguided.
Identify and explain the 2 key characteristics of the Enlightenment.
The two key characteristics of Enlightenment are optimism and rationality. Optimism is the belief that change is possible and can be controlled. Rationality is the idea that the universe and all creatures in it including humans are predictable, lawful and comprehensible. The rejection of the importance of supernatural religion is an example of rationality. The Enlightenment preferred to see humanity as capable of creating its own moral code for its own benefit and in accord with the precepts of a rational mind
Describe "the level playing field" theory that liberals proscribed to.
They subscribed to what we would now call "the level playing field" theory—that is, that all people should have the opportunity to prove themselves in the competition for wealth and the prestige that comes with it. Those who were weaker or less talented should be allowed to fail, as this was nature's way of allowing the best to show what they had to offer and keeping them on top. The liberals of the eighteenth century reflected the general optimism of the Enlightenment about human nature.
Why did the spectacular advances in natural science occur in the 17th century rather than earlier or later?
This Scientific Revolution became fully evident in the work of the eighteenth-century philosophes, but its major outlines were drawn earlier, when the focus of European intellectual work gradually shifted away from theology to the mathematical and empirical sciences. By the end of the eighteenth century, it had proceeded so far among the educated classes that a new worldview was taken for granted—one that seriously challenged the medieval conviction that an omniscient God ordained and guided the natural processes, including the life and eternal fate of mankind.
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) thought that the pre governmental "state of nature" had been a riotous anarchy. Recognizing the need to restrain violence, early societies soon gave birth to the idea of the state and to the state's living embodiment, the monarch. Most significant, however, was that Hobbes implied that the state and the monarch derived their sovereignty from the people, rather than from God.
Empirical reasoning
Using empirical data to establish scientific truth. Empirical means the evidence obtained by observation through the five senses, which is then worked up into varying hypotheses (assumptions) that may be subjected to experiment. This style of assembling facts and verifying knowledge was significant in the seventeenth century and later became a foundation of the sciences.
Philosophes
is a French term for philosophers who included men and women who were committed to reform the view of life by thought and action. They were significant in helping to make progress for people and quality of life.
Encyclopedie
is a series of thirty-five volumes and thousands of articles and first published in France. This was the first time Europeans realized they could profit from selling scientific and intellectual knowledge gained through the scientific Revolution. The Encyclopedia was a way of collecting, ordering and indexing information about the natural world and human relations.
Adam Smith
was a Scotsman who was an outstanding figure in the eighteenth-century for economics and wrote the Wealth of Nations. He played a significant role in developing the idea of free trade and free markets and believed government should play a smaller role in the national economy. He is credited as being the father of free enterprise as being used in the West.
Jean Jacques Rousseau
was a philosophes who believed that children can and must follow their inherent interest in education and the teacher should steer the child in the direction of interest. Although he did not have many followers at the time, he gained a significant interest of many educators in the nineteenth century and is regarded as the founder of modern pedagogical theory.
Wealth of Nations
was published in 1776 by Adam Smith and was Europeans best seller in several languages. Smith detailed his conviction of an "unseen hand" operating in a free market to bring goods and services to consumers at prices they would pay. This was significantly different from mercantilism which was the economic rule of the time.
