| A | B |
|---|
| scientific revolution | a major change in European thought, starting in the mid 1500s, in which the study of the natural world began + be characterized by careful observation and questioning of accepted beliefs |
| heliocentric theory | the idea that the earth and the other planets revolve around the sun |
| scientific method | a logical procedure for gathering information about the natural world, in which experimentation and observation are used to test hypotheses |
| enlightenment | an 18th century European movement in which thinkers attempted to apply the priniples of reason and the scientific method to all aspects of society |
| social contract | the agreement by which people define and limit their individual rights, thus creating an organized society or gov't |
| natural rights | the rights that all people are born with according to John Locke, the rights of life, liberty, and property |
| philosophe | one of a group of social thinkers in France during the Enlightenment |
| separation of powers | the assignment of executive, legislative, and judicial power to different groups of officials in a gov't |
| salon | a social gathering of intellectuals + artists, like those held in the home of wealthy women in Paris and other European cities during the Enlightenment |
| Baroque | relating to a grand, ornate style that characterized European painting, music, + architecture in the 1600s and early 1700s |
| neoclassical | relating to a simple, elegant style (based on ideas + themes from ancient Greece and Rome) that characterized the arts in Europe duting the late 1700s |
| Enlightened despot | one of the 18th century European monarchs who were inspired by Enlightenment ideas to rule justly and respect the rights of their subjects |
| Declaration of Independence | a statement of the reasons for the American colonies' break with Britain, approved by the second Continental COngress in 1776 |
| checks and balances | measures designed to prevent any one branch of gov't from dominating the others |
| federal system | a system of gov't in which power is divided between a central authority and a number of individual states |
| Bill of Rights | the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, which protect citizens' basic rights + freedoms |
