Gabriela Ramesar

Gabriela Ramesar

AP World History – Period 5

Study Guide

Enlightenment

1. What is the dictionary definition for this idea/event?

• A philosophical movement in the 18th century. Europe fostered the belief that one could reform society by discovering rational laws that governed social behavior and were just as scientific as the laws of physics. The writers of the Enlightenment period changed the world.

1. Who (give me precise people) started this idea/event?

• John Locke: He argued that in 1690 that governments were created to protect life, liberty and property. He believed that mankind was good and that if the monarch violated these rights, the people had the right to rebel.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: He argued that all men were equal and that society should be organized according to the majority rule of the people. He also stated that the legitimacy of the monarch depended on the people.
• Voltaire: Voltaire stood up for the idea that of religious toleration.
• Thomas Hobbes: He believed that people were greedy and prone to violent warfare. He thought that the government should be to preserve peace.

1. What were the reasons that this happened (previous philosophies)?

• The Social Contract was an idea that was created by the philosophers and intellectuals that were discussing the political and social structures. It held that governments were formed not by divine decree but to meet the social and economic needs of the people being governed. Some philosophers looked at human nature differently and disagreed with the role of government in the Social Contract.
• During the Middle Ages and through the reformation, the church allied itself with strong monarchs.

-These monarchs came to power by centralizing authority.

1. What countries/civilizations were affected most by this idea/event?

• The Enlightenment affected all of Europe along with North America (United States). The Enlightenment’s ideas heavily influenced the United States’ Founding Fathers. The ideology behind the Enlightenment helped create the framework for the American and French Revolutions.Then later, Balkan independence movements against the Ottoman Empire, resulted in the rise of classical liberalism, democracy, and capitalism.

1. What effects of this idea/event do we encounter today?

• In America, our Constitution is based on John Locke’s belief in life, liberty and property. And our government has the separation of the branches which correlates with Montesquieu’s assertive argument. The Enlightenment also influenced other countries to include democracy into their government system.