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?

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

   What did Locke argue government needs, Kira asks?

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

   Luz reads the words separation of powers. What do they mean?

   • One person makes, carries out and judges laws
   • Each town makes its own coins
   • The king splits his land among his children
   • Different people make, carry out and judge laws
5. 4.

   What does consent of the governed mean, Milo asks?

   • The ruler agrees to rule forever
   • Judges agree to stop working
   • The people agree to be governed
   • Traders agree on prices
6. 5.

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

   • Rules for a game
   • Rights a king may hand out and take back at will
   • Rights to use rivers and forests
   • Rights people have just by being people
7. 6.

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

   • 2 years
   • 14 years
   • 3,510 years
   • 140 years
8. 7.

   Which of the three books came first, Tala asks?

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

   Why would separating powers protect people, Zee asks?

   • It would end the need for laws
   • One ruler could act faster with all the power
   • Judges would make all the laws themselves
   • 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 a law passed by Congress
    • It was read in English translation
11. 10.

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

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