Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas about rights and government

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   John Locke

   Who made it: historians writing today. When: today. Where: Europe. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what research has found. Summary in our words, not a quotation: John Locke, an English thinker, published Two Treatises of Government in December 1689 (its title page says 1690). He argued for natural rights and for government by the consent of the governed. Source card "Montesquieu". Who made it: historians writing today. When: today. Where: Europe. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what research has found. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Montesquieu, a French thinker, published The Spirit of Laws in 1748; Thomas Nugent's English translation followed in 1750. He is the main source of the idea of the separation of powers. Source card "Jean-Jacques Rousseau". Who made it: historians writing today. When: today. Where: Europe. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what research has found. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Rousseau, a thinker from Geneva, published The Social Contract in 1762. He argued that only the general will of the people has the right to make laws.

2. 1.

   Which thinker is the main source of the separation of powers, Esme asks?

   • Rousseau, the thinker from Geneva
   • Louis XIV of France
   • John Locke, the English thinker
   • Montesquieu
3. 2.

   What did Locke argue government needs, Kira asks?

   • The consent of the governed
   • Nothing from the people
   • A general will that no one can define
   • The power of one king with no limits
4. 3.

   What does consent of the governed mean, Milo asks?

   • The people agree to be governed
   • The ruler agrees to rule forever
   • Judges agree to stop working
   • Traders agree on prices
5. 4.

   Noah reads the words natural rights. What are natural rights?

   • Rights people have just by being people
   • Rules for a game
   • Rights a king may hand out and take back at will
   • Rights to use rivers and forests
6. 5.

   How many years after The Spirit of Laws was The Social Contract published, Pia asks?

   • 2 years
   • 140 years
   • 14 years
   • 3,510 years
7. 6.

   Locke's book is dated 1690. How many years later did The Spirit of Laws appear, Ren asks?

   • 5 years
   • 14 years
   • 3,438 years
   • 58 years
8. 7.

   Which of the three books came first, Tala asks?

   • They came out in one year
   • Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws, from 1748
   • Rousseau's Social Contract, from 1762
   • Locke's Two Treatises
9. 8.

   Why would separating powers protect people, Zee asks?

   • Judges would make all the laws themselves
   • One ruler could act faster with all the power
   • It would end the need for laws
   • No one holds every power
10. 9.

    Why did Montesquieu's book matter in America, Ari asks?

    • It was written by an American in America
    • No one in America could read it
    • It was read in English translation
    • It was a law passed by Congress
11. 10.

    Bo's friend says all three thinkers had the same idea. Which reply fits the cards?

    • Disagree: they wrote about farming
    • Agree: each wrote about separation of powers
    • Not quite: each card gives a different idea
    • Agree: the three wrote the same book