Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Political philosopher who argued that government should represent the general will of the people.
Baron Charles de Montesqueiu
Advocated for a government where power is separated into judicial, executive, and legislative branches as a way to protect against tyranny.
John Locke
Argued that government exists to protect people's natural rights of life, liberty and property and that if the government will not or cannot protect these natural rights, the people have the right to change the government.
Voltaire
Argued for free speech, freedom of the press and religious tolerance. Influenced the American Bill of Rights.
William Wilberforce
English politician who led the fight to end the European slave trade, and to abolish slavery in Great Britain.
Adam Smith
Wrote The Wealth of Nations, which was the first in-depth study of the capitalist system and how it is supposed to work. In the book, he argued that government should take a Laissez-Faire, or "hands off," approach to the economy.
Communism
Economic system in which there is no private property, everything is owned in common, and there are no social classes as everyone is equal.
Socialism
Economic system in which the government may own some industry in order to provide certain services to the citizens, but people are still free to own private property.
Capitalism
Economic system marked by competition, where people have the right to own private property, and some people, entrepreneurs, risk money in business in order to make a profit.
Industrial Revolution
Period marked by a move toward mass production of items in factories, and people moved from working at home or on farms to working in the factories.
James Watt
Invented steam engine, which made the Industrial Revolution possible.
Urbanization
The movement of people from rural areas into the cities.
Karl Marx
Co-wrote The Communist Manifesto, and became the main inspiration for communist societies.
Popular Sovereignty
The people are the ultimate source of power behind the government.
William Blackstone
English judge who wrote about the Common Law system of England, and greatly influenced Western legal systems.
The Enlightenment
At the core of this intellectual movement was a questioning of traditional institutions, customs and morals. It changed the way people thought about government.
The Scientific Revolution
This intellectual movement included a questioning of traditional church teachings in favor of direct observation of nature. It also focused on the use of observation, hypothesis and experimentation as a way to answer questions about natural phenomenon.
Heliocentric Model
The idea that the sun is in the center of the solar system and the planets revolve around it. Nicholas Copernicus and then Galileo Galilei offered this explanation in contradiction to church teachings.
French Revolution
Ended in a series of governments, creating instability and allowing for the rise of Napoleon.
American Revolution
Ended in the formation of a stable democratic-republic.