Enlightenment

John Locke believed that the government had an obligation to the people it governed to protect their natural rights.  If the government failed to do this, then the people had the right to

• move to another country

• refuse to vote in the next election

• overthrow the government

• continue to be persecuted

 In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that, “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their power from the consent of the governed.” Which Enlightenment belief about government does Jefferson’s quote best reflect?

• The belief that people are born with natural rights that the government cannot take away

• The belief that the power of a government rests with the people and they give the power to the government with their vote.

• The belief that the people have a right to abolish a government that violates their rights

• The belief that a government’s power should be divided into three branches

In his work, The Spirit of the Laws, Baron de Montesquieu wrote that, “in every government there are three sorts of power, the legislative, the executive, in respect to things dependent on the law of nations, and the judiciary, in regards to things that depend on civil law…” What Enlightenment belief does the above quote best represent?

• The belief that people have natural rights that the government cannot take away

• The belief that government should be divided into different branches to limit the power of each branch

• The belief that the source of power for any government rests with the people

• The belief that people have a right to overthrow a government that does not secure their rights

 Locke’s arguments were used in the 18th century to:

• support demands for a constitutional government

• support demands for absolutism

• restore papal influence

• justify slavery

Which of the following is an accurate description of the lasting consequences of the European Enlightenment?

• It inspired later revolutions such as the American and French Revolutions

• It reaffirmed the power of European monarchs

• It provided a rationale and justification for European Imperialism

• It reaffirmed that people should accept the teachings of the Christian church on faith alone

“I do not agree with a word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Voltaire

This quote represents which of the following Enlightenment ideals:

• The market should determine the cost of goods

• Separation of Powers

• Social Contract

• Freedom of Speech

Many Latin American nations gained their independence early in the 19th century.  The relationship between the people and their government changed.  Slavery existed under colonial governments, but some of the new nations, such as Haiti, did not permit slavery.  The abolition of slavery was based on Enlightenment ideas of:

• Liberty as a natural right of man.

• Separation of governmental powers.

• Personal rights as less important than civil order.

• The authority of absolute monarchs.