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Enlightenment
vocab and people and book + who wrote them
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| The Leviathan | written by Thomas Hobbes; expressed the belief that people need a strong government to control them; proposed the idea of social contracts |
| Immanuel Kant | came up with the idea of the Age of Reason; idea of general laws of nature |
| natural law | unchanging principle, discovered through reason, that governs human conduct |
| social contract | an agreement by which people gave up their freedom to a powerful government in order to avoid chaos |
| natural rights | rights that belong to all humans from birth, such as life, liberty, and property |
| philosophe | "philosopher"; French thinker who desired reform in society during the Enlightenment |
| laissez faire | policy allowing business to operate with little or no government interference |
| free market | market regulated by the natural laws of supply and demand |
| free enterprise system | economic system in which private businesses compete with each other with little control by the government; AKA "capitalism"; driven by supply and demand, rather than government regulations |
| censorship | restriction on access to ideas or information |
| salon | informal social gathering at which writers, artists, philosophes, and others exchanged ideas |
| baroque | ornate style of art and architecture; popular in the 1600s and 1700s |
| rococo | personal, elegant style of art and architecture that featured designs with the shapes of leaves, shells, and flowers; popular in the mid-1700s |
| enlightened despot | absolute ruler who used his/her power to bring about political and social change |
| Two Treatis on Government | written by John Locke; used history as evidence to support the people's rights to life, liberty, and property |
| John Locke | believed that people are good/moral; people are born with natural rights to life, liberty, and property; the purpose of the government is to protect the people's rights; government should have limited authority and bad government should be overthrown |
| Thomas Hobbes | believed that people are cruel, greedy, and selfish; believed that people need a strong government to keep order and control; encouraged the use of social contracts |
| Baron de Montesquieu | believed in no absolute governments; proposed the idea of checks and balances |
| The Spirit of the Laws | written by Baron de Montesquieu; proposed the idea of checks and balances; proposed three branched of government (legislative, executive, and judicial) to maintain a balance of power |
| legislative | branch that makes laws |
| executive | branch that carries out laws |
| judicial | branch that enforces laws |
| Voltaire | hated religious prejudice; hated slave trade; was exiled for his books against these injustices |
| Encyclopedia | produced by Denis Diderot |
| Jean Jacques Roussoan | people are good; gov. places too many limits on people's behavior; minimal limits decided by freely-elected gov.; people have a "general will"; hated political and economic oppression; needs of the community should take priority over needs of individuals |
| Mary Wollenstonecraft | expressed the injustice that women's rights were limited to home and family |
| physiocrats | AKA "philosophers" |
| mercantilism | government control of businesses; make and sell products in your own country, so the money stays in your country |
| The Wealth of Nations | written by Adam Smith; suggested the idea of laissez faire; expressed the belief that if people traded with the world, those people would become richer |
| Gulliver's Travels | written by Johnathan Swift |
| opera | created by composers such as Bach, Handel, and Mozart; emphasized/portrayed average life |
| literature | books, novels, and stories; Robinson Caruso; people better understood and more closely related to |
| Catherine the Great | liked Voltaire; liked the Encyclopedia; some equality |
| Frederick the Great | liked Voltaire; ruled Prussia; make government more efficient |
| Charter of Rights | written by Catherine the Great |
| Joseph II | from Austria; most radical; free press (freedom of press) |