Multiple Choice Questions: The Enlightenment and Revolutions
Choose the best answer for each question and mark the corresponding letter on your scantron. 75 points.
1. The Enlightenment influenced
3. The American Revolution was motivated
revolutionary thought by
by the Enlightened idea
a. Encouraging the poor to take up
a. Of a distinct class system
arms
b. That all men are created equal
b. Stressing the importance of the
c. Of the rightful rule of a monarch
monarchy
d. That government needs central
c. Designing a common
authority
revolutionary strategy
d. Instilling a belief in the natural
rights of man
4. The revolutionaries who wrote the 1789
Declaration of the Rights of Man wanted
liberty for the people of France. This
2. The Declaration of Independence states,
document embodied the Enlightenment idea
“That whenever any form of government
that
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the
Right of the People to alter or abolish it.”
These words describe the enlightened idea
of a
a. The French Revolution was
justified
b. Reason should guide human
affairs
a. Need to ensure a representative
government
b. Return to a society that has no
central authority
c. A constitutional monarchy should
exist
d. Hereditary and tradition should
guide government
c. Social contract between
government and the people
d. Revolutionary intent to overthrow
the current government
5. He believed that every person was born
with a tabula rasa, or blank slate.
a. Locke
b. Voltaire
c. Montesquieu
d. Frederick the Great
Multiple Choice Questions: The Enlightenment and Revolutions
6. Under Spanish rule, Latin American
“The person of the king is sacred, and to
society was strictly divided into a class
attack him in any way is an attack on God
system determined by birth. Among the
itself. Kings represent the Divine Majesty
aristocracy were individuals born in Europe
and have been appointed to Him to carry
or ancestors of European immigrants. This
out His purposes. Serving God and
rigid social class system contradicted the
respecting kings are bound together.”
- Bishop Jacques Bossuet
Enlightenment idea of
a. A two class system
b. Equality among men
9. Which group directly challenged the
c. The importance of birth order
political philosophy expressed in this
d. Constitutional guarantee of rights
statement?
a. Advocates of divine right
7. The American Revolution and French
b. Writers of the Enlightenment
Revolution were similar in that both
c. Absolute monarchs of Europe
a. Were encouraged by
d. Leaders of the Catholic Church
Enlightenment idea of natural
rights
b. Sought to limit the participation
of people in government
c. Supported the theory of divine
right
d. Increased the influence of
10. This philosophe separated the
government into three branches of
government and argued for separation of
powers.
a. Voltaire
b. Montesquieu
religious institutions in
c. Locke
government
d. Diderot
8. This class was unaffected by the
11. John Wesley founded this form of
Enlightenment…
religion during the Enlightenment.
a. Nobles
a. Catholicism
b. Bourgeoisie
b. Methodism
c. Clergy
c. Christianity
d. Lower class and peasants
d. Buddhism
Multiple Choice Questions: The Enlightenment and Revolutions
“If man in the state of nature is free, and
14. Which of the following identifies one of
lord of his own possessions, why will he
the ways Enlightenment ideas influenced
give up his freedom? The answer is that
the actions of colonial leaders in Latin
right in the state of nature are constantly
America?
exposed to attack by others. Hence each
man joins in society to preserve his life,
liberty, and property. Whenever the ruler
endeavors to take away the property of the
people, or reduce them to slavery…they are
removed from any further obedience and
left to…rise up with force and violence.”
-John Locke,
a. They strengthened the power of
the Catholic Church
b. They shared their wealth with the
lower classes
c. They demanded self-government
from Spain and Portugal
d. They abolished slavery
throughout Latin America
The Second Treatise of
Government (1690)
15. Colonists in North America protested
12. The ideas expressed by Locke in this
against the taxes imposed on them by the
passage helped inspire the
British following the French and Indian War.
a. Theory of Divine Right
What was the main reason the colonists
b. American Revolution
were upset about these taxes?
c. Separation of church and state
d. Industrial Revolution
a. Colonists believed that because
they lived so far from Britain,
they did not have to pay taxes on
13. Enlightenment thinkers contributed to
anything
changes in relationships between citizens
b. Colonists were not represented
and governments through their belief that
in the British Parliament and for
a. Most changes in government are
dangerous
b. Absolute monarchy is the most
effective form of government
c. Governments are instituted to
protect citizens’ rights
d. Popular liberties should be
that reason believed the taxes
were unjust
c. Colonists drank less tea than
people living in Britain, so the tax
was an unfair burden on them
d. Colonists had already paid a
great deal to fund the British
limited by the need for social
effort in the French and Indian
order
War.
Multiple Choice Questions: The Enlightenment and Revolutions
16. This type of ruler allowed religious
18. The application of science and reason to
toleration, freedom of speech and the press,
understanding the world resulted in the
rights to own private property and nurtured
1700s being known for the
the arts, sciences and education. They also
a. New Deal
obeyed their own laws and still maintained
b. Enlightenment
absolute power.
c. Progressive Movement
a. Tyrant
d. Reformation
b. Absolutist
c. Enlightened despot
19. The members of the Third Estate took
d. President
revolutionary action because they
a. Were suspicious of the liberal
17. The Declaration of the Rights of Man
ideas coming out of the French
and of the Citizen includes several
legislature
Enlightenment ideas. Which of the following
b. Believed that a king should rule
is not one of the Enlightenment ideas
by divine right, not the will of the
incorporated into the document?
people
a. Citizens should have a voice in
c. Disagreed with the ideas behind
the decisions the government
the Declaration of the Rights of
makes on their behalf
Man and of the Citizen
b. People give rights to their
d. Had fewer rights, owned less
governments to limit their
land and paid more taxes than
governments’ power
the wealthier members of the
c. All citizens possess basic human
French population
rights (ie. freedom of speech)
d. People are incapable of ruling
20. Which of these enlightened rulers made
themselves because they are
enlightened reforms which completely
inherently disorganized and
failed?
chaotic
a. Frederick the Great
b. Joseph II
c. Catherine the Great
d. Louis XVI
Multiple Choice Questions: The Enlightenment and Revolutions
21. Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet,
23. The discoveries of Isaac Newton had a
Common Sense, is based on Enlightenment
major influence on Enlightenment thinkers.
ideas. Which of the following ideas is the
In what way was this influence so
primary basis for Common Sense?
significant?
a. Human society is disorganized
a. Enlightenment thinkers
and chaotic, and for that reason,
attempted to base their
governments are required to
philosophies on religious
maintain order
tradition
b. People have the natural right to
b. Enlightenment thinkers studied
rule themselves because they
Newton’s writings about the
are capable of using their
freedom of human beings and
powers of reason to understand
the proper role of kings and
their world
governments
c. The scientific method can unlock
the mysteries in the natural world
d. Government should operate in
c. Enlightenment thinkers
employed Newton’s scientific
method when exploring
separate branches: one to write
questions about human nature
the laws, one to carry them out,
and the responsibilities of the
and one to interpret them.
citizen
d. Enlightenment thinkers looked to
22. John Locke believed that the
the works of Copernicus and
government had an obligation to the people
Galileo, as Newton had, when
it governed to protect their natural rights. If
seeking answers about the
the government failed to do this, then the
nature of art and religion
people had the right to
a. Move to another country
b. Refuse to vote in the next
election
c. Overthrow the government
d. Continue to be persecuted
Multiple Choice Questions: The Enlightenment and Revolutions
24. During the early Revolutionary period,
26. Montesquieu believed that to prevent
American colonists used many methods to
tyranny in government there should be a
show their opposition to British taxation.
separation of powers. Which of the following
Which method did they use to show their
best illustrates this idea?
opposition to taxes imposed by the British
government?
a. American colonists boycotted
British goods, such as sugar and
tea
b. American colonists carried out a
plan to overthrow King George III
c. American colonists demanded
a. Absolute power in the executive
branch
b. Splitting power among three or
more countries
c. Total power in the legislative
branch
d. Dividing power among three
branches of government
seats in Parliament, which led to
the creation of the National
27. Which of the following is not an idea
Assembly
from the Enlightenment?
d. Americans distributed copies of
the Declaration of the Rights of
Man and of the Citizen among
the 13 colonies
a. People have natural
rights
b. Problems can be solved
by using reason
c. Kings ruled by divine right
25. These are the three locations in which
the Seven Years War was fought.
d. Government should serve
the people
a. Europe, North America and India
b. North America, South America,
and India
28. The major contribution of the
Enlightenment philosophers was the
c. Europe, India, and Africa
introduction of new ideas about
d. India, Africa, and Japan
a. Government
b. Economics
c. Religion
d. Science
Multiple Choice Questions: The Enlightenment and Revolutions
29. The new intellectual movement that
33. Upon whose ideas is our Bill of Rights
stressed reason and thought and the power
based?
of an individual to solve problems was the
a. Montesquieu
a. Scientific Revolution
b. Locke
b. Enlightenment
c. Hobbes
c. Great Awakening
d. Voltaire
d. Geocentric theory
34. Brilliant French satirist who frequently
30. The willingness of people to hand over
targeted the clergy, aristocracy, and the
their rights to a ruler in exchange for law
government was
and order in society was called the
a. Thomas Hobbes
a. Scientific method
b. Baron de Montesquieu
b. Magna Carta
c. Voltaire
c. Enlightenment
d. John Locke
d. Social contract
35. An influential French writer who wrote
31. The philosopher who believed that all
that “Power should be a check to power”
people are born free and equal, with the
was
rights to life, liberty, and property was
a. Louis XIV
a. John Locke
b. Voltaire
b. Thomas Hobbes
c. Thomas Hobbes
c. Galileo Galilei
d. Baron de Montesquieu
d. Baron de Montesquieu
36. French philosophe Jean Jacques
32. The group of social critics in
Rousseau believed that the best form of
Enlightenment France were called
government would be a
a. Satirists
a. Direct democracy
b. Philosophes
b. Constitutional monarchy
c. Stoics
c. Dictatorship
d. Revolutionaries
d. Republic
Multiple Choice Questions: The Enlightenment and Revolutions
37. Women’s contributions to the
39. This was the period under Maximillien
Enlightenment included all of the following
Robespierre when revolutionary courts were
EXCEPT
set up to prosecute enemies of the French
a. Urging women to enter male-
Revolution.
dominated fields
a. The Reign of Terror
b. Writing about the inequalities
b. The Directory
between men and women
c. The Enlightenment
c. Running for office
d. The National Assembly
d. Holding social gatherings called
salons for influential people
40. This was the name for the lower class
that ran the Paris Commune.
38. Enlightenment philosophes such as
a. Paris Communists
John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau
b. The Directory
wrote that the relationship between citizens
c. The sans culottes
and their government was a social contract.
d. The philosophes
Which statement describes the impact of
the idea of government as social contract on
41. What is a coup d’etat?
the French Revolution in 1789?
a. A revolution
a. The king granted women the
b. A salon
right to vote
c. An overthrow of the government
b. French citizens claimed their
d. The Paris Commune
natural rights
c. The king raised taxes to pay off
public debt
d. French citizens supported the
king against the nobles
42. When power is shared between the
state and federal government it is called
what?
a. A federal system
b. A coup d’etat
c. Separate, but equal
d. Nationalism
Multiple Choice Questions: The Enlightenment and Revolutions
43. What was one idea that the leaders of
45. In exploring the relationship between
the American Revolution shared with
governments and people, Thomas Hobbes
Enlightenment thinkers?
argued that governments resulted from a
a. Colonies exist to provide raw
social contract to maintain and orderly
materials and markets for mother
society. John Locke, another philosopher of
countries
the Enlightenment, inspired American
b. The people have the right to
revolutionaries by arguing that a new social
overthrow their government if it
contract could be instituted under what
abuses its powers
circumstance?
c. Governments may restrict
a. If a government failed to compel
freedom of speech and of the
press during times of crisis
obedience
b. If a government violated people’s
d. Factories and businesses should
be owned by the government
natural rights
c. If a government failed to protect
rather than by individuals
people from economic inequality
d. If a government entered into
44. What action by the leaders of the
alliances with foreign
French Revolution demonstrates that they
governments
were influenced by Enlightenment ideas?
a. They called for the fall of the
absolute monarchy
b. They encouraged the conquests
of Napoleon
c. They fought to maintain France’s
46. Where was Marie Antoinette from?
a. France
b. Britain
c. Canada
d. Austria
colonial empire
d. They supported the combination
of church and state
47. This philosophe studied government
and devised the idea of a separation of
powers.
a. Voltaire
b. John Locke
c. Montesquieu
d. Rousseau
Multiple Choice Questions: The Enlightenment and Revolutions
48. Many Latin American nations gained
50. Enlightenment philosophes such as
their independence early in the 19th century.
John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau
The relationship between the people and
challenged the idea of the divine right of
their government changed. Slavery existed
kings. They wrote about a government’s
under colonial governments, but some of
obligations to uphold people’s rights and
the new nations, such as Haiti, did not
how the government should be based on
permit slavery. The abolition of slavery was
the consent of the governed.
based on Enlightenment ideas of
a. Liberty as a natural rights of man
b. Separation of government
powers
c. Personal rights as less important
than civil order
d. The authority of absolute
monarchs
These new ideas encouraged people to
a. Remain firm in their support of
absolute monarchs
b. Look for leaders who would
exercise dictatorial powers
c. Engage in revolutions to
establish democratic
governments
49. Natural law was a fundamental idea of
the Enlightenment.
d. Call for church leaders to create
theocracies and replace the
monarchies.
Which concept is an application of natural
law to the government’s role in the
51. ______________________ is the only
economic lives of its citizens?
system of government in which monarchy is
a. Free markets based on supply
and demand
b. Government control to achieve a
favorable balance of trade
c. Agriculture based on tenant
farming and serfdom
d. Lower taxes on the most
privileged groups in society
the only source of power
a. Absolutism
b. Dictatorship
c. Democracy
d. Commonwealth
Multiple Choice Questions: The Enlightenment and Revolutions
52. In Latin American society, this class of
people are the most important and have the
most rights.
a. Creoles
b. Mestizos
c. Mulattos
d. Peninsulares
54. According to the concept of absolutism
a. there is no absolute authority in
society
b. people have absolute power in
government
c. people have the right to overthrow
absolute monarchies
d. authority had absolute power and
53. During the Enlightenment, a number of
could not be disobeyed
writers explored the relationship between
governments and the people they governed.
For example, Rousseau wrote The Social
55. Enlightened thinkers believed society
Contract, in which he examined ideas about
was governed by
majority will and the common good.
a. religion
b. a social contract
How did these ideas influence the American
c. scientific inquiry
and French Revolutions?
d. political philosophers
a. They encouraged loyalty to
established governments
b. They supported movements for
56. Isaac Newton was a mathematician and
a scientist. Newton’s discovery of the laws
social and political change
of motion and universal gravitation helped to
c. They encouraged the formation
advance the scientific revolution of the time.
of American and French
Newton and other enlightened thinkers
constitutional monarchies
believed truth could be found through
d. They supported the efforts of
a. the study of philosophy
governments to maintain control
b. the application of reason
over their subjects
c. strict obedience to authority
d. the study of religious doctrines
Multiple Choice Questions: The Enlightenment and Revolutions
57. Earth-centered theory of the universe…
62. In social gatherings called ___________,
a. geocentric theory
wealthy hostesses of Paris helped spread
b. heliocentric theory
the ideas of the Enlightenment to educated
c. scientific method
Europeans.
d. Aristotle’s Theory
a. salons
b. sans culottes
58. A new way of thinking about the natural
c. philosophes
world based on careful observation and a
d. neoclassical
willingness to question accepted beliefs
a. geocentric theory
63. Early proponent of women’s rights
b. heliocentric theory
a. Voltaire
c. scientific method
b. Montesquieu
d. Scientific Revolution
c. Mary Wollstonecraft
d. Catherine the Great
59. A logical procedure for gathering and
testing scientific data.
64. Intellectual movement that stressed
a. geocentric theory
reason and thought and the power of
b. heliocentric theory
individuals to solve problems
c. scientific method
a. individualism
d. Scientific Revolution
b. Enlightenment
c. Intellectualism
60. Russian empress who was considered
d. Salons
an enlightened despot
a. Catherine the Great
65. Thomas Hobbes called the agreement
b. Mary Wollstonecraft
by which people create a government the
c. Votaire
___________
d. Queen Elizabeth I
a. salon
b. Enlightenment
61. Which of the ideas does not belong?
a. natural rights
b. checks and balances
c. social contract
d. Bill of Rights
c. checks and balances
d. social contract