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7th grade Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas about rights and government worksheet

6 printable versionsBuilding Confidence10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

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Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas about rights and government

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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
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7th grade Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas about rights and government worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas about rights and government. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can name Locke (consent of the governed, natural rights), Montesquieu (separation of powers) and Rousseau (the general will), date their books, and work out the years between them.
  • I can match Locke's and Montesquieu's own words to their ideas, and then to Articles I–III of the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
  • I can read Rousseau's lines and Locke's "chief end" of government, link them to "We the People" and "the consent of the governed", and make careful claims about influence.

Standard: D2.Civ.8.6-8 (partial)

Common mistakes

Your child chose a claim that says more than the evidence shows. Keep the claim as small as the evidence.

Your child treated a debated idea as settled. When scholars disagree, a careful answer says so.

Your child chose something the card does not say. Read the box again.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with enlightenment thinkers and their ideas about rights and government?

Your child chose a claim that says more than the evidence shows. Keep the claim as small as the evidence.

Are these 7th grade social studies worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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