LQ 2: Enlightenment - Con. Of 1791

Question 0

What were tenets of the Enlightenment?

Answer 0

1. It was an optimistic age.
2. The leaders of the Enlightenment looked forward to the discovery if all the natural laws of the universe.
3. They believed in reason and education.

Question 1

What was the Enlightenment?

Answer 1

It was “the age of human reasoning.” It represented a shift from tradition and faith to evidence and reason.

Question 2

What were leaders of the Enlightenment called?

Answer 2

Philosophes. The founding fathers were among them.

Question 3

What is deism?

Answer 3

It is the belief in god, but not religion. Deists saw god as a clockmaker - he made the universe, set it in motion, and let it move on its own from there.

Question 4

Who were physiocrats?

Answer 4

They were people trying to uncover the natural laws of economics.

Question 5

What does “Laissez-faire” refer to?

Answer 5

If refers to a free market economic policy. It essentially means a hands off approach for the government

Question 6

Who was Adam Smith and what is he famous for?

Answer 6

He was famous for writing “The Wealth of Nations” which talked about the ‘invisible hand’ of the free market. He argued that people should pursue their self-interests when it comes to economics and that an economy works best when people do just that.

Question 7

Who, and in what writing, implicitly described a social contract?

Answer 7

Thomas Hobbes in his book “Leviathan.”

Question 8

Who explicitly describes a social contract, and what is it?

Answer 8

John Locke. Individuals in an ordered society must give up some freedom to a government and in return, the government will keep them safe.

Question 9

What “self-evident truths” does the constitution refer to?

Answer 9

Unalienable rights.

Question 10

John Locke argued people have the right to do what?

Answer 10

He argued that people have the right to rebel when a government oversteps its bounds.

Question 11

What is the natural tendency for governments, speaking of power?

Answer 11

Governments tend to grow larger and more powerful with time, slowly taking away the rights of its citizens.

Question 12

What is “Spirit of Laws” about and by whom was it written?

Answer 12

It was written by Montesquieu and it argued that the only way to protect liberty is via checks and balances in government.

Question 13

What is enlightened despotism?

Answer 13

It is a form of government in which monarchs pursue reforms inspired by the Enlightenment.

Question 14

How did things look in France in the summer of 1789? Why did it look that way? (3 reasons)

Answer 14

Things looked bad and hopeless.

1. There was a famine in France due to poor harvests.
2. The leaders of France were bad and people had little confidence in them.
3. France was bankrupt from several costly wars.

Question 15

What were the 3 estates in France?

Answer 15

Clergy, nobility, and commoners.

Question 16

In what way did King Louis XVI ask the nobility for help? How did the nobility respond?

Answer 16

He asked them to pay taxes (which they previously hadn’t done) due to France’s dire financial situation. They agreed to pay taxes, but only if the King would call an Estates General.

Question 17

What is an Estates General?

Answer 17

It was an advisory board to the King, with all estates represented.

Question 18

Why did the nobility call for an estates general? What was different about this one than those in the past?

Answer 18

They wanted to control the king. The difference was that the commoners were represented by well-off, educated men and could greatly influence the Estates General this time around (having been through the Enlightenment).

Question 19

What was the National Assembly and why was it formed?

Answer 19

The representatives of the commoners were not treated well in the Estates General so they made their own organization. The King refused to do voting by head count (which they would’ve won easily) and instead wanted the old system of voting by chamber.

Question 20

What is the Tennis Court Oath?

Answer 20

The National Assembly first met in a tennis court and made the following oath: “We will not disband until a Constitution has been made for France.”

Question 21

What was Bastille famous for?

Answer 21

On July 14, 1789, commoners destroyed many things that represented the power of the King. Mobs destroyed a prison which held political prisoners of the King.

Question 22

Why did mobs form at Bastille?

Answer 22

As a result of the King calling in troops while the National Assembly met.

Question 23

What was the March of the Fishwives?

Answer 23

It was a march on the palace of Versailles by women demanding bread (and food in general) from the King. They felt he should come back to Paris with the commoners.

Question 24

What are the 4 main tenets of “Declaration of the Rights of Man AND the Citizen?”

Answer 24

1. A person’s political liberty ends where another’s begins.
2. Laws should only prohibit actions harmful to society.
3. Laws should be the same for everyone whether they protect or prohibit.
4. Presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Question 25

What kind of government resulted from the Constitution of 1791?

Answer 25

A constitutional monarchy, not a French Republic.

Question 26

What are the contents (3) of the Constitution of 1791?

Answer 26

1. Declaration of the rights of man and the citizen.
2. Constitutional Monarchy
3. Legislative Assembly

Question 27

What are the differences between active and passive citizens and what determined the status of citizens?

Answer 27

Active citizens could vote and hold political office, whereas passive citizens could not. Wealth determined whether you were active or passive.