to stop something from happening or end something

system of government where one person has absolute control

the person or group of people that a message is for

(1689-1755) French Enlightenment thinker who wrote The Spirit of Laws and believed that to keep one person or group from gaining too much power a government should be separated into three branches: judicial, legislative, and executive.

a resident of a town or city, especially one entitled to civic privileges such as voting

people who work for a church; In the Catholic Church these include the Pope, bishops, and priests

(1815) meeting of representatives from powerful states in Europe to redraw the map of Europe to restore it to pre-Napoleon conditions and to establish a balance of power that will prevent future wars

permission for something to happen or an agreement to do something

to join together or combine

the set of basic laws and principles by which a nation, state, or other organization is governed

a form of government in which a king or queen's powers are restricted by a document (constitution) usually written by representatives of the people who are governed by the king or queen

(1789) document written by the National Assembly which outline the ideals of the French Revolution

is the belief that an absolute monarch's authority to rule came directly from God

Influenced by the writings of the Enlightenment philosophers who supported natural rights, the separation of power in a government, the consent of the governed, social contract, and the freedom of expression.

(mid-1600s to the late 1700s) a period of time in Western Europe when philosophers and writers applied the scientific idea of reason to answer political questions; The Enlightenment is sometimes known as the Age of Reason

the state of being equal

(1789-1799) a political revolution during which the lower and middle class in France, frustrated over social, economic, and political problems in the country and inspired by Enlightenment ideas overthrew King Louis XVI and tried to institute a more democratic government

to rule or lead

the group of people that has power to make laws and important decisions for a community, state, or nation

(1791-1804) a successful slave revolt and revolution that led to Haiti's independence from France

having to do with characteristics that are passed on from parent to child

a system for ranking groups of people

the events that led to an event; includes the time period and larger historical trends as well as causes

an attempt by one group to become independent from another

an organization founded for a religious, educational, social, or similar purpose like a government

a well-educated person

(1712-1778) French Enlightenment thinker who wrote about the social contract

(1632-1704) an English Enlightenment thinker who wrote Two Treatises of Governmentand believed that the role of government is to protect people's natural rights (life, liberty, and property), and that government can only get its right to rule from the consent of the governed

the freedom to do what you would like to do

(1754-1793) king of France who was overthrown and executed during the French Revolution

(1759-1797) English writer and philosopher who was an advocate for women's rights and wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

(1758-1794) leader of the Committee of Public Safety and the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution who was executed

king or queen

(1769-1821) military leader and later emperor of France who brought order and stability towards the end of the Revolution. He attempted to conquer all of Europe, but failed and was eventually exiled to a remote island for the rest of his life

(1804) law code established by Napoleon Bonaparte that served as an example for the law codes of other countries

(1803-1815) a series of major wars in Europe during which Napoleon Bonaparte I attempted to conquer the continent, after his final defeat Napoleon was exiled to an island in the Atlantic Ocean and European powers redrew the borders in the continent at the Congress of Vienna

strong feelings of support for one's nation

right that all people are born with and that John Locke believed the government should protect including the rights to life, liberty, and property; sometimes called "natural laws"

to treat in a way that is cruel or not fair

a person in the lower class

one who thinks about, questions, and studies the nature of life, truth, knowledge, and other important human matters

an opinion; a claim

something someone owns

the power of the mind to think, understand, and make sense of world

(Sept 5, 1793- July 28, 1794) a period of intense violence in the French Revolution led by Maximilien Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety

Montesquieu's idea that government power should be divided into judicial, legislative, and executive branches and that each section of the government should have the ability to check the power of the others

an agreement, the social contract, in which we promise to follow the "general will" of the members of the society as expressed by the laws made by the government. In exchange, we receive the liberty to do what we want as long as we do not break those laws.

(1743-1803) an ex-slave and leader of the Haitian Revolution

a government in which a single person rules absolutely in a cruel way

an attempt to bring social, political, and economic rights to women

a legislative body made up of representatives from each of the three estates from all of France; called into order by Louis XVI to settle debt issues

(1789-1791) the elected legislature in France during the first part of the French Revolution

(June 20, 1789) a promise by the members of the National Assembly to meet until a constitution was written and enacted