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
   • Rousseau, the thinker from Geneva
   • John Locke, the English thinker
   • Montesquieu
3. 2.

   Which book did Rousseau publish in 1762, Jun asks?

   • The Social Contract
   • The Spirit of Laws, a book on liberty
   • Two Treatises of Government
   • The Sidereal Messenger
4. 3.

   What did Locke argue government needs, Kira asks?

   • Nothing from the people
   • The consent of the governed
   • A general will that no one can define
   • The power of one king with no limits
5. 4.

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

   • Each town makes its own coins
   • Different people make, carry out and judge laws
   • The king splits his land among his children
   • One person makes, carries out and judges laws
6. 5.

   What does consent of the governed mean, Milo asks?

   • Judges agree to stop working
   • The ruler agrees to rule forever
   • The people agree to be governed
   • Traders agree on prices
7. 6.

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

   • Rights a king may hand out and take back at will
   • Rules for a game
   • Rights to use rivers and forests
   • Rights people have just by being people
8. 7.

   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
9. 8.

   Which of the three books came first, Tala asks?

   • Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws, from 1748
   • They came out in one year
   • Rousseau's Social Contract, from 1762
   • Locke's Two Treatises
10. 9.

    Why would separating powers protect people, Zee asks?

    • One ruler could act faster with all the power
    • No one holds every power
    • It would end the need for laws
    • Judges would make all the laws themselves
11. 10.

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

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