The Enlightenment

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The Enlightenment

Multiple Choice

Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

In the 1600s and 1700s, what caused many scholars to challenge long-held beliefs about science, religion, and government?

a.	a variety of natural disasters
b.	a series of contests organized by the major religions
c.	discoveries made during the Scientific Revolution and on the voyages of discovery
d.	the feeling of hopelessness following several horrible wars

Instead of using religious teachings as the foundation to explain how the world worked, these new scholars relied on

a.	their instincts.	c.	reason, or logical thought.
b.	the teachings of eastern philosophies.	d.	mathematics.

Which of the following is not one of the great goals scholars hoped to achieve through human reason?

a.	equality	c.	freedom
b.	knowledge	d.	happiness

The period of Enlightenment is also known as the

a.	Renaissance.	c.	Era of Happiness.
b.	Age of Reason.	d.	Peaceful Period.

Which two empires provided the intellectual guidelines that Enlightenment thinkers followed?

a.	the Aztecs and the Maya	c.	the Chinese and the Japanese
b.	the Egyptians and the Sumerians	d.	the Greeks and Romans

From Aristotle and other Greek philosophers, the Enlightenment thinkers learned that

a.	logic and reason could not be applied to government matters.
b.	it was human nature to develop religious traditions.
c.	people could use logic to figure out new facts.
d.	all logic came from a higher being.

Building on Greek ideas, the Romans developed the idea of natural law. What is natural law?

a.	a law that forbids people from disagreeing with their governments
b.	the idea that a law governed how the world operated
c.	the idea that people seek order in the world
d.	the idea that scientific principles can be applied to government policies

I [may] disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

Voltaire

To which goal of the Enlightenment was Voltaire referring?

a.	knowledge	c.	freedom of thought
b.	religious freedom	d.	happiness

The Enlightenment concept of progress—humans are capable of improving their world—developed from

a.	Renaissance Humanist ideas.	c.	Charles Darwin.
b.	the Bible.	d.	Thomas Aquinas.

10.

Which of the following is not an idea of the Enlightenment?

a.	Governments should reflect natural laws and encourage education and debate.
b.	Reason can free people from ignorance, superstition, and unfair government.
c.	Like the natural world, human behavior is governed by natural laws.
d.	Only with reason and strong religious faith can one explain the natural world.

11.

Secular means

a.	to divide into sections.	c.	based on teachings in the Bible.
b.	not religious.	d.	logical.

12.

What was the importance of the Scientific Revolution to the Enlightenment period?

a.	Scientists proved the existence of God.
b.	People grew tired of scientific debates and instead turned to politics and government.
c.	Scientists used scientific methods of study to discover laws that governed the natural world.
d.	The most influential scientists were also the most important political figures.

13.

What two Enlightenment ideas challenged church authority?

a.	reason and natural law
b.	freedom of religion and natural law
c.	taxation without representation and reason
d.	censorship and natural law

14.

What was a salon?

a.	a place where men and women gathered
b.	a bookstore
c.	a French tavern, or inn
d.	a social gathering held to discuss ideas

15.

British writer Mary Wollstonecraft argued that

a.	Britain should drop all taxes.
b.	the British monarchy should be made illegal.
c.	women should have the same rights as men.
d.	the freedom of the press is the most important right people have.

16.

In the 1600s the leaders of countries in Europe were

a.	kings, queens, and emperors.	c.	religious officials sent by the pope.
b.	democratically elected representatives.	d.	communist dictators.

17.

How did the European monarchs justify their positions?

a.	They asked for votes of confidence from the citizens.
b.	They thought that God had given them the right to rule as they chose.
c.	They asked the pope for his acceptance.
d.	They sought approval from a council of European leaders.

18.

Which of the following best describes the members of the nobility?

a.	They were elected officials who answered directly to the people who elected them.
b.	They were civil servants who passed exams in order to get their positions.
c.	They held special privileges, paid few taxes, and had important roles in government.
d.	They were skilled craft workers and artisans.

19.

Monarchs who tried to make the lives of commoners better were called

a.	despots.	c.	dictators.
b.	clergymen.	d.	enlightened despots.

20.

Which of the following people did not contribute ideas to the creation of modern democracy?

a.	John Locke	c.	Charles Louis Montesquieu
b.	King Louis XIV	d.	Jean-Jacques Rousseau

21.

According to John Locke, what is the purpose of government?

a.	to defend, feed, and provide shelter for the people
b.	the peace, safety, and public good of the people
c.	to educate and provide meaningful work for the people
d.	to provide law and order and an honest justice system

22.

Locke believed that the rights of life, liberty, and property were

a.	natural rights.	c.	temporary rights.
b.	God-given rights.	d.	government-granted rights.

23.

The idea that government should be divided into separate bodies, or branches, that must share power is called

a.	separation of powers.	c.	popular sovereignty.
b.	parliamentary government.	d.	federalism.

24.

Which of the following best summarizes Rousseau’s idea of popular sovereignty?

a.	People should submit to the divine monarchs.
b.	Individual rights should never be denied.
c.	The majority rules.
d.	Government should express the will of the people.

25.

How did the British government raise money to pay for the years of war with the French?

a.	It sold portions of the colonies to the French.
b.	It created new taxes in the colonies.
c.	It increased production of industries in the colonies.
d.	It invaded smaller European countries in order to take over valuable resources.

26.

Why did the colonists protest the new taxes?

a.	They thought that the taxes were unfair because people in England didn’t have to pay them.
b.	They wanted to create their own taxes.
c.	They thought the taxes were too low and would not raise enough money.
d.	Most colonists were poor and could not pay the taxes.

27.

Who were the two colonial leaders who were important in voicing the colonists’ complaints?

a.	Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson
b.	George Washington and Patrick Henry
c.	John Adams and John Locke
d.	Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton

28.

How did the British parliament react to Franklin’s “taxation without representation” argument?

a.	Parliament asked Franklin to be the official representative of the colonies.
b.	Parliament increased the taxes Franklin was protesting.
c.	Parliament repealed, or canceled, the Stamp Act.
d.	Parliament put Franklin in jail and charged him with treason.

29.

Thomas Jefferson was a farmer, scientist, and scholar. What can you infer about him from this?

a.	He was a man of many talents and interests.
b.	He focused on only one pursuit at a time.
c.	He failed in many pursuits.
d.	He wanted to do many different things to help represent citizens.

30.

The representatives of the English Parliament were led by whom in the English civil war of 1642?

a.	King Charles I	c.	King James II
b.	William of Orange	d.	Oliver Cromwell

31.

Was Oliver Cromwell bad for England?

a.	No; Cromwell was a strong leader who strengthened the country.
b.	Yes; he became a dictator and the years he ruled were troubled and violent.
c.	No; Cromwell and his followers eliminated the unpopular monarchy.
d.	Yes; the great majority of the people supported the king.

32.

How did the English people restore order to their country in 1660?

a.	They formed an alliance with France and drove Cromwell from power.
b.	They demanded a countrywide election in which Cromwell was voted out of power.
c.	They destroyed Parliament and had Cromwell executed.
d.	They invited Charles II to return to England to rule.

33.

On what condition was Charles II allowed to return to England as king?

a.	He had to promise to allow Parliament to keep powers it had won in the civil war.
b.	He would have to submit to yearly approval votes.
c.	Parliament could replace him at any time.
d.	He had to admit that he did not have divine right to rule.

34.

Why was James II such an unpopular king?

a.	He raised taxes many times.
b.	He was in favor of disbanding Parliament.
c.	He was Catholic and he tried promoting his beliefs in a Protestant country.
d.	He led the country to several long and costly wars.

35.

Parliament replaced James II by

a.	voting him out of power.
b.	convincing the people to revolt against him.
c.	inviting William of Orange, James’s son-in-law, to invade and take over England.
d.	passing a law officially making the monarchy illegal.

36.

Approved in 1689, the new set of rights for Parliament and the English people were set down in the

a.	Magna Carta.	c.	Laws of William and Mary.
b.	Orders of Parliament.	d.	English Bill of Rights.

37.

Which of the following best summarizes the principles of the Magna Carta?

a.	It protects the monarchy’s divine right to govern.
b.	It limits a ruler’s power and recognizes some rights for the people.
c.	It outlines the Parliamentary form of government.
d.	It establishes the concept of separation of church and state.

38.

In what way did the English Bill of Rights affect power in England?

a.	The king had to rule according to laws passed by Parliament.
b.	William and Mary had complete control of the English government.
c.	The leader of Parliament was just as powerful as the monarchy.
d.	The new laws weakened Parliament.

39.

At the First Continental Congress, what important decision did the American colonists make?

a.	They decided to officially accept the new British laws and taxes.
b.	They decided to resist the British.
c.	They decided to elect their own king and establish an American monarchy.
d.	They decided to ask to become colonies of France.

40.

Which of the following ideas in the Declaration of Independence best expands upon John Locke’s concept of natural rights?

a.	All men are created equal.
b.	As Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War.
c.	People are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.
d.	Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

41.

Which of the following is not a branch of the U.S. federal government?

a.	the legislative branch	c.	the military branch
b.	the executive branch	d.	the judicial branch

42.

In the Articles of Confederation, the founders created a weak central government. Why?

a.	They wanted all the power to be held by local town governments.
b.	They did not think the new country would last long.
c.	They did not want a large country but rather a lot of small independent countries.
d.	They thought that a strong central government would be too much like a monarchy.

43.

Who was the main author of the U.S. Constitution?

a.	James Madison	c.	Thomas Jefferson
b.	George Washington	d.	Benjamin Franklin

44.

In what way does the U.S. Constitution put into practice the ideas developed by Montesquieu?

a.	Power is divided among three government branches.
b.	Strong state governments can control the central government.
c.	One leader, the president, is given complete power.
d.	Only landowners have the right to vote.

45.

In France, the government in power was called the

a.	National Assembly.	c.	estate.
b.	regime.	d.	republic.

46.

Which of the following groups of people were members of the Third Estate in French society?

a.	military leaders
b.	priests and other officials of the church
c.	peasants
d.	government officials

47.

What happened in 1789 when King Louis XVI refused to sign a constitution limiting his power?

a.	Violence broke out and a mob stormed the Bastille Prison, starting the French Revolution.
b.	Louis XVI was executed by guillotine.
c.	The National Assembly was first organized.
d.	The Estates General called for a new meeting.

48.

Which of the following happened last?

a.	the U.S. Declaration of Independence
b.	the English Bill of Rights
c.	Magna Carta
d.	the French Declaration of the Rights of Man

49.

How did the revolution leaders finally put an end to the French monarchy?

a.	They changed Louis XVI’s title from king to president.
b.	They burned and destroyed all the royal palaces.
c.	They executed King Louis XVI and created a republic form of government.
d.	They exiled Louis XVI to England.

50.

What was the Reign of Terror?

a.	a period of unrest during which thousands of people were executed for questioning the new French government
b.	a policy of removing members of the First and Second Estates from government positions
c.	a period of time during which neighboring countries invaded and destroyed much of France
d.	the last few months of Louis XVI’s reign, during which he executed thousands of peasants