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7-2.5 Burnette
The Enlightenment's influence on the American & French Revolutions
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Enlightenment | the period beginning in the late 1600s and throughout the 1700s when many Europeans began to place their faith in reason, or the use of scientific and logical thinking, to draw conclusions about society and the world |
| American Revolution | War fought between British North American colonists & Great Britain from 1776-1783 which led to American independence; it was inspired by Enlightenment ideas and led to the formation of a limited government which inspired other, future limited governments |
| French Revolution | the 1789-1799 revolution which overthrew France’s absolute monarchy, replacing it with a republic; It was inspired by both Enlightenment ideas and the American Revolution; it, in turn, served as a model for the formation of future limited governments |
| John Locke | English Enlightenment political philosopher who believed that government's purpose was to protect people’s natural rights of life, liberty, and property; & that the people had the right to abolish & replace a government which did not protect these rights |
| Natural Rights | the rights which all people were born with, to include life, liberty, and property |
| Montesquieu | French Enlightenment political philosopher who promoted the ideas of separation of powers and checks and balances; his writings greatly influenced the structure of the U.S. Constitution |
| Rousseau | French Enlightenment political philosopher who believed government’s role was to protect the “general will” of the people; his ideas helped form the foundation for the idea of popular sovereignty |
| Voltaire | Francois-Marie Arouet, the French Enlightenment political philosopher who focused on civil liberties, mainly freedom of speech and freedom of religion (to include separation of church and state) |
| representative democracies | where the citizens choose other citizens to represent them in the decision-making processes of government |
| Thomas Jefferson | primary author of the United States’ Declaration of Independence, in which he used John Locke’s ideas to justify American independence, especially the idea that citizens had a right to alter or abolish their government if it violated their rights |
| United States Constitution | the written document which has been the basic or fundamental law of the United States since 1789; its framework (design) was based on Enlightenment ideas |
| Benjamin Franklin | American diplomat whose ideas influenced the French intellectual class and hence the coming of the French Revolution |
| Social Contract | an agreement between the people and their rulers concerning what powers the government should have and what rights the people kept |
| constitution | the “law” which establishes the structure and operation of government and details the relationship of the people to their government. These are critical because they provide the government legitimacy |
| Legitimacy | having a lawful or accepted basis or right to act |
| Legislative Branch | branch of government which writes the laws |
| Executive Branch | branch of government which carries out the laws |
| Judicial Branch | branch of government which interprets the laws and tries accused criminals |
| Separation of Powers | the idea, put into practice in the United States, that state governments and the national government could share powers |
| Federalism | when the duties of the government are divided between the federal (national) and state governments |
| Representatives | persons who are elected to act on behalf of others in government |
| accountable | having to explain, justify, or be responsible for one’s actions or decisions |
| General Will | the will of the people as a whole |
| Popular Sovereignty | the idea that governments get their power and legitimacy based on what the people or citizens want |
| Unwritten Constitution | a constitution (agreement between the people and the government) that is not written down in one place or one document, or not written down at all |
| Written Constitution | a constitution which is written down in a single document |
| Magna Carta | a charter or contract which King John signed in 1215; it limited the power of the King, made him respect the rights of the people, and said the King was not above the law |
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oburnette
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