Enlightenment Ideas and Influences

A period of intellectual and ideological change in the 17th and 18th centuries that emphasized reason, individualism, and progress.

The belief that knowledge comes from sensory experience and observation.

An intellectual movement that stressed the importance of applying reason to understand the natural world and human society.

A philosophical and political ideology that emphasizes individual rights, liberty, and limited government.

A political and economic ideology that advocates for the collective ownership and control of the means of production.

A political ideology that seeks to maintain traditional social and political structures.

A strong feeling of loyalty and identification with a nation or cultural group.

The system of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.

Voltaire, a French writer, campaigned for religious liberty and judicial reform in France after being exiled and influenced by British ideas on constitutional monarchy and civil rights.

Rousseau, a French philosopher, developed the concept of the General Will, suggesting that a sovereign's duty is to embody the will of the majority.

Adam Smith, a Scottish economist, argued for free trade and minimal government intervention in the economy, promoting the idea of the "invisible hand" guiding the market.

Laissez-faire, a French phrase meaning "leave alone", advocates for minimal government involvement in economic decisions.

Mercantilism is an economic theory emphasizing government control over trade to increase national wealth, while the free market, as advocated by Smith, emphasizes individual freedom and minimal government intervention.

Deism is a belief that God set the natural laws in motion but does not interfere directly in the world, like a watchmaker who creates the watch but doesn't fix it.

Empiricism is a philosophical approach that emphasizes knowledge acquired through sensory experience and observation.

A branch of socialism focused on creating ideal communities based on cooperation and social harmony, often emphasizing communal living and work.

A French utopian socialist who believed in the power of scientists and engineers to create efficient and beautiful workplaces, promoting public works and projects like the Suez Canal.

A French utopian socialist who identified numerous passions that could make work more enjoyable and workers less tired, advocating for harmonious communities instead of class struggles.

A British utopian socialist who established intentional communities in Scotland and Indiana, promoting education for working children, communal ownership of property, and rules for community life.

An ideology that emphasizes individual rights, limited government, and a free market economy, often advocating for reduced government intervention in the economy.

A group of British social reformers who believed in gradual change through parliamentary means, advocating for social justice and social reform within existing systems.

The belief that economic and political control should be vested in the hands of the people, often through democratic processes and collective ownership.

A movement advocating for the re-establishment of an independent Jewish homeland in the Middle East.

Anti-Semitism is hostility or prejudice against Jews.

Theodor Herzl was a prominent figure in the Zionist movement, advocating for the establishment of a Jewish state.

The Dreyfus Affair was a scandal in France in which a Jewish military officer was falsely convicted of treason due to anti-Semitism. It fueled Zionist sentiment.

The largest single emancipation of people in bondage in history, when Alexander II of Russia freed 23 million serfs.

The abolishment of serfdom in Europe was a major shift from an agrarian to an industrial economy as peasants revolted and demanded change.

The movement to end the Atlantic slave trade and free all enslaved people.

The right to vote.

A landmark event in the women's rights movement which called for equal rights and suffrage for women.

The document that established the rights of French citizens, but did not include women.

Published in 1791 by Olympe de Gouges, this document addressed the lack of women's rights in the French Revolution.

An 18th-century writer who advocated for women's education and equality in her book A Vindication of the Rights of Women. She argued that women should be educated like men to achieve intellectual and societal participation.

The year when women in Britain won the right to vote.

The practice of buying and selling slaves, outlawed in Denmark in 1803, Great Britain in 1807, and the United States in 1808.