Semester B Unit 2 Flashcards
- During the Middle Ages, why did philosophers who studied the natural world rely on explanations that had been accepted since ancient Greek and Roman times? What made Renaissance thinkers question the ideas of the ancient times?
Because ancient thinkers were viewed as authorities to be trusted, not questioned; they were charged with a new spirit of inquiry
- What was the Scientific Revolution of the mid-1500s and 1600s?
It was an era when scholars changed their attitudes and practices by questioning traditional ideas and opinions. They used observation, careful experimentation, and mathematical reasoning to better understand the workings of nature.
- What is the scientific method? Describe the major steps of the scientific method.
Procedures used to find answers by experimenting, observing, and drawing conclusions.
Observing and gathering data; making a hypothesis to explain the observations; experimenting to test the hypothesis; collecting and analyzing the data from the experiments; and drawing conclusions that may either confirm or deny the original hypothesis.
- Describe the work of the major contributors to the Scientific Revolution by completing the following table.
ANDREAS VESALIUS
Occupation or Field of Study
Contributions or Discoveries
Physician and anatomy; He published On the Structure of the Human Body, which gave the first accurate and detailed picture of human anatomy.
- Describe the work of the major contributors to the Scientific Revolution by completing the following table.
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS
Occupation or Field of Study
Contributions or Discoveries
Astronomy and mathematics; In his book, On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres, he describes the idea that the earth, along with the other planets, revolves around the sun.
- Describe the work of the major contributors to the Scientific Revolution by completing the following table.
JOHANNES KEPLER
Occupation or Field of Study
Contributions or Discoveries
Astronomy and mathematics; He showed that the planets do not travel in perfectly circular orbits but in elliptical ones. He also made other important discoveries about planetary motion.
- Describe the work of the major contributors to the Scientific Revolution by completing the following table.
FRANCIS BACON
Occupation or Field of Study
Contributions or Discoveries
Lawyer, statesman, writer, and philosopher; In his book, Novum Organum, he stressed that scholars must stop citing ancient authorities such as Aristotle to gain true scientific understanding. He believed that the path to new knowledge was by way
of inductive reasoning, and he insisted on conducting repeated observations and practical experiments.
- Describe the work of the major contributors to the Scientific Revolution by completing the following table.
RENé DESCARTES
Occupation or Field of Study
Contributions or Discoveries
philosopher and mathematics; He developed the Cartesian coordinate system, which
locates a point where two lines meet. He is often called the father of modern mathematics. He created analytic geometry and devised ways to refine
mathematical proofs and simplify algebraic calculations.
- Describe the work of the major contributors to the Scientific Revolution by completing the following table.
GALILEO GALILEI
Occupation or Field of Study
Contributions or Discoveries
Astronomy and mathematics; He designed scientific instruments, including a new
kind of thermometer, an improved compass, and a more powerful telescope. He disproved Ptolemy’s theory that the moon had a smooth surface, and confirmed the ideas of Copernicus. He discovered four moons orbiting the planet Jupiter, and described the things he observed through his telescope in his book The Starry Messenger
- Describe the work of the major contributors to the Scientific Revolution by completing the following table.
ISAAC NEWTON
Occupation or Field of Study
Contributions or Discoveries
Physics and mathematics; He developed the theory of universal gravitation, which explains the force that keeps the moon in its orbit around the earth and the planets in their orbits around the sun. He performed experiments on the nature of light. In his book, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, he explained the three laws of
motion. He also invented calculus, which described he movements of the planets more accurately.
- Describe the work of the major contributors to the Scientific Revolution by completing the following table.
ANTOINE LAVOISIER
Occupation or Field of Study
Contributions or Discoveries
Scientist; He showed that oxygen is essential to both respiration and combustion. He also demonstrated that water is made up of a combination of oxygen and the element called hydrogen.
- How did the attitudes of the Scientific Revolution influence the political, economic, and social thought?
Thinkers began to wonder if the principles behind the Scientific Revolution could be applied to questions of politics, economics, and society. They thought that if laws govern the physical world, these laws or principles might also apply to the social world—the world of human activity and government. So they began to practice the idea that human reason could solve human problems.
- Identify the Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas and accomplishments by completing the following tables
GOVERNMENT
Thomas Hobbes
He published Leviathan. He saw human beings as naturally violent and selfish. He believed that only an extremely powerful government could keep people in line and prevent them from hurting each other.
- Identify the Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas and accomplishments by completing the following tables
GOVERNMENT
John Locke
He published Two Treatises of Government. He believed that is the government’s job to protect the natural rights of life, liberty, and property. If the government robs people of those rights, then the people have a right to revolt.
- Identify the Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas and accomplishments by completing the following tables
GOVERNMENT
Baron de Montesquieu
Author of The Spirit of Laws; he believed that the best way to protect liberty was to separate a government’s powers into three branches: a legislative branch, an executive branch, and a judicial branch. His writings influenced the creation of the Constitution of the United States.
- Identify the Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas and accomplishments by completing the following tables
GOVERNMENT
Voltaire
He mocked the French government and admired the English system of government. As a deist, he believed in the existence of a creator God who had made the universe then left it to run on its own according to the laws of nature. He believed that people should be free to use reason and make up their own minds about religion, politics, and philosophy. He believed the best government would be ruled by an enlightened monarch, guided by advisers using reason.
- Identify the Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas and accomplishments by completing the following tables
GOVERNMENT
Denis Diderot
He published a massive collection that would organize all knowledge. The collection was called Encyclopédie and was instrumental in the spread of Enlightenment ideas.
- Identify the Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas and accomplishments by completing the following tables
SOCIETY AND ECONOMICS
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Author of Discourse on the Origins of Inequality and The Social Contract; he believed that reason made people cold and unsympathetic to others. He thought that by setting aside individual self-interest for the sake of the “general will,” people would be working for the collective good of a community that would enhance rights and freedoms.
- Identify the Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas and accomplishments by completing the following tables
SOCIETY AND ECONOMICS
Mary Wollstonecraft
She published A Vindication of the Rights of Women. She believed that women should have the same opportunities for education as men and that women should be encouraged to work as doctors, politicians, businesspeople, and in other jobs assumed to be men’s works.
- Identify the Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas and accomplishments by completing the following tables
SOCIETY AND ECONOMICS
Adam Smith
In his The Wealth of Nations, he said that people are driven by self-interest. He also said that competition helps purchasers get the best price and causes the most efficient business to survive.
- Who were the philosophes?
They were Enlightenment thinkers in eighteenth-century France who often criticized France’s government as corrupt and unjust. They ridiculed many religious beliefs and practices as superstitions that went against reason.
- What was Smith’s opinion of government involvement in economic policies? What term was used to describe this doctrine?
Smith believed that government should adopt a hands-off policy and allow the natural laws of the economy to proceed freely. This doctrine—that the government should not interfere in the workings of the economy—came to be known as laissez-faire.
- What is neoclassism?
arts, architecture, and literature that had certain qualities of the Greek and Roman classics, such as harmony, order, and balance, but also appealed to reason and intellect of the Enlightenment
- How did the ideas of the Enlightenment influence the arts and literature?
The ideas of the Enlightenment gave artists and writers the freedom to use styles from the classical period. Neoclassical art, architecture, literature, and music emphasize the values of order, balance, and clarity.
- Explain the causes of the American Revolution by completing the following table.
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR
Britain faced an enormous debt due to the French and Indian War.
Britain needed to find ways to make money.
- Explain the causes of the American Revolution by completing the following table.
TAXES ON GOODS
Parliament passed laws requiring colonist to pay new taxes on goods such as sugar, paper, and tea.
Colonists refused to buy the imported British goods.
- Explain the causes of the American Revolution by completing the following table.
PROTESTS
Colonists did not want to pay new taxes because they had no representation in Parliament.
Organized protests and militias sprang up in the colonies
- Explain the causes of the American Revolution by completing the following table.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Inspired by John Locke and other Enlightenment thinkers, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration, explaining the reasons for the colonies’ separation and why the colonies had the right to be free and independent states.
- Explain the causes of the American Revolution by completing the following table.
PAINE’S COMMON SENSE
Paine argued that it was not reasonable for Great Britain to rule the colonies.
Paine’s words helped the colonists realize the need for a complete break from Britain.
- Explain the causes of the American Revolution by completing the following table.
THE PROCLAMATION OF 1763
The proclamation stated that colonists must stay east of the Appalachian Mountains. This was a disappointment for those who wanted to go west.
- Describe the British army and the Continental army during the American Revolution.
British - twice as many troops; well-trained and hired a lot of German mercenaries
Continental - ordinary men, with little training or experience; infighting; refusal to take orders; little equipment, no pay
- Who was the commander of the Continental army?
George Washington
Define mercenary.
Soldiers for hire
Define tories.
American colonists who remained loyal to the king
- Which battle was the turning point of the war? Why?
Battle of Saratoga; convinced France to send troops to the Americans
- Why was an alliance with the French so important? How did it help the Americans win the war?
They had a powerful navy; protected ports of northern colonies, at Yorktown, American and French forces surrounded the British and cut off their escape by sea,
which caused the British commander to surrender.
- Identify elements of Enlightenment ideas in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution by completing the following table.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
- All men are created equal.
- Men have unalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
- Governments are established to protect these unalienable rights.
- Governments obtain their powers from the consent of the people.
- If a government takes away those unalienable rights, the people have a right to change or abolish it, and establish a new government.
- Identify elements of Enlightenment ideas in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution by completing the following table.
U.S. CONSTITUTION
- A separation of powers
- A system of government with three branches
- A system of checks and balances
- Guaranteed individual rights – Bill of Rights
- Governments obtain their powers from the consent of the people.
- Describe some of the differences between the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution.
Articles of Confederation was weak, while the U.S. Constitution was strong; Articles of Confederation did not have an executive branch, while the Constitution did
- Why was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?
to address the concerns of several leaders that the new government would not give enough protection to individual and state rights
- What is the significance and impact of the U.S. Constitution as the world’s longest-lived written plan for government?
The significance is that a government could be based on a constitution that reflects the will of the people. The U.S. Constitution became a model for many governments throughout the world.
- In the late 1700s, how was French society organized?
Into three rigid classes, or estates
- What kinds of people made up the First, Second, and Third estates?
First estate is the clergy, second estate are the nobles, third estate is the rest
- How did the privileges of the members of the Third Estate differ from those of the First and Second, and how did those differences contribute to unrest in France?
Members of the First and Second estates had access to the best jobs, received special treatment under the law, and paid no taxes. Members of the Third Estate paid all of the taxes but had none of the privileges the other estates enjoyed. Members of the Third Estate were struggling under the financial burden, and they resented the fact that the other estates were able to lead lavish life styles while they themselves suffered.
What percentage of the French population was composed of members of the Third Estate?
98%
What percentage included the combined numbers of the First and Second estates?
2%
Which estate owned most of the land?
Third Estate
