An economic system in which the means of producing and distributing goods are privately owned and operated for profit in competitive markets.

A politically independent community consisting of a city and its surrounding territory.

A system of social, economic, and political organization in Europe from the ninth to about the fifteenth century in which a politically weak monarch shared power with the nobility. The nobility required work and services from the common people, known as serfs, in return for allowing them to live on and make use of the noble's land and benefit from the noble's protection.

Ideas, beliefs, and practices that have their historical roots in Judaism and Christianity.

As currently used, a country; the standard unit of political organization in the world. The nation-state received its name from the idea of a people, or "nation," organizing itself politically for self-rule. Many countries today, however, are composed of two or more distinct peoples.

An individual's ideas about right and wrong to be practiced in one's personal life. These are derived from religious, philosophical, familial, and other sources, including individual conscience.

The values and principles of right and wrong pertaining to public policies and actions.

Bacon was an English empirical philosopher who focused on sensation as the primary method of acquiring knowledge. One of first advocates of modern scientific method to study the world, he also urged theologians to study science. He advocated reading the Bible and other texts in original languages.

Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian political philosopher and diplomat. A central figure in the political Renaissance, he wrote The Prince and discourses on Livy. He is most famous for The Prince, which describes how political leaders can get, keep, and expand political power. Machiavelli believed that political ends justify whatever means—including cruelty—are required to achieve them. He famously observed that it is safer for a prince to be feared than loved.

A Polish astronomer and mathematician, Copernicus advocated the view that Earth rotates on an axis and makes a yearly revolution around a stationary sun. This view marked the beginning of the scientific revolution. The Catholic Church rejected his scientific theories.

More was an English barrister and politician who was imprisoned for advocating a decrease in proposed appropriations for King Henry VII. He later helped King Henry VIII repudiate Martin Luther. As speaker of House of Commons he also helped establish the parliamentary privilege of free speech. Convicted of treason in 1534 for failing to recognize King Henry VIII as head of Church of England, More was imprisoned again and then beheaded. He was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1886 and declared a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1935. More coined the word utopia for his controversial novel of that title, published in 1516.

A German monk and theologian considered to be founder of Protestantism, Luther argued that the Bible, not the pope, was the source of all religious authority and that individuals can attain salvation through faith alone, unmediated by the church. Luther translated the Bible into vernacular German, making it accessible to laypeople. He also wrote hymns that developed the tradition of congregational singing and set the pattern for Protestant clerical marriage.

The second monarch of the house of Tudor, Henry severed the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church and established the king as head of the Church of England. Famous for six marriages, Henry made the royal court a center of scholarly and musical innovation.

Calvin was a French Protestant theologian who also trained as lawyer. He was a devout Catholic before converting to Protestantism sometime between 1528 and 1533. Calvin published Institution Christianae Religionis in 1536 (republished as Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1541) as an introductory textbook of Protestant faith. He attacked the teachings of Roman Catholicism.

The third monarch to follow Henry VIII, she was his daughter and re-established the Protestant church in England after her half-sister Mary had taken the kingdom back to Catholicism. Elizabeth was a long-lived and immensely popular monarch, who sought and took advice to make England one of the most prosperous and powerful countries in the world. Science and culture also flourished during her reign.

Galileo was a Tuscan mathematician, astronomer, and physicist who championed Copernicus and his view that Earth revolves around the sun. His empirical approach to science broke tradition with Aristotle. Albert Einstein called him the "father of modern science." Galileo spent his later years under house arrest on orders of the Italian Inquisition, a Catholic Church tribunal created to protect the church from heresy.

A German mathematician and astronomer, Kepler believed that God created the world according to a plan knowable through natural reason. He formulated theories of planetary motion and "laws" built on Copernicus's theories and laid the foundation for Newton's theory of gravity in the next century. Kepler served as imperial mathematician to Emperor Rudolph II and was allowed to practice the Lutheran faith.

Thomas Hobbes, a philosopher of materialism, fled to France during English civil war (1642-1651, which pitted Parliament against the Crown), where he wrote Leviathan. This book argued that humans without government live in a "state of nature," which is a "state of war" of against all. Life in such conditions is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Thus in a state of nature all fear violent death, and violent death is what people fear most. To avoid violent death, they agree to set up a state with strict authority and the power to protect life. People agree to leave this state of nature through "social contract" and to give all power to the Leviathan state, which Hobbes characterized as a "mortal god." Hobbes was accused of atheism for the views he expressed in Leviathan, where Hobbes pilloried various theological ideas. The English Parliament asserted that Leviathan helped cause the plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666. The book was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Catholic Church because it undermined the theory of divine right of kings.

This French mathematician, who invented analytic geometry, was also a scientist and philosopher–he was considered to be the father of modern philosophy. Descartes sought to discover truth through systematic doubt. He believed that if one were "a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life to doubt, as far as possible, all things." Descartes gave us the famous Latin phrase, "cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am).

John Locke, a physician and philosopher, worked with famous scientists, including Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke. In contrast to Hobbes, Locke used state of nature and social contract theory to justify limited government and the preservation of individual rights, particularly life, liberty, and property. Locke is sometimes called "America's philosopher" because his Second Treatise of Government (1690) was widely read by the colonists and important ideas found in it (as well as in works of English republican writers) are found in the Declaration of Independence, especially his theories of natural rights and his defense of violent revolution after "a long train of abuses" of power by rulers. Two verbatim phrases of Locke's are found in the Declaration.

An English mathematician and physicist, Newton was one of greatest thinkers of his or any generation. He was influenced by Descartes, laid the foundation for differential and integral calculus, and is considered the founder of modern physical science. His most notable contributions were in optics and universal gravitation, although he did not invent this idea. Newton opposed attempts by King James II to make universities Catholic institutions.

(Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brede et de Montesquieu) Montesquieu was a French lawyer, nobleman, author, and political philosopher. He is recognized as one of greatest thinkers of the Enlightenment. Montesquieu first gained fame for a satire, The Persian Letters, in 1721, which pointed out the absurdities of modern European, especially French, life. He also published Considerations of the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and of their Decline (anonymously) in 1734. His masterpiece, The Spirit of the Laws (1748), greatly influenced political thought in Europe and America and was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by Catholic Church because of its "liberal" views.

A Scottish economist who popularized the theory that rational economic self-interest in a free market leads to overall economic well-being. Smith's early works focused on ethics and charity, which Smith argued were part of self-interest. In An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations Smith wrote, "Man has almost constant occasion for the help of his brethren, and it is in vain for him to expect it from their benevolence only." Smith also argued that the American colonies were too expensive for the British Empire to keep.

The "Father of the Constitution" was born to a wealthy Virginia family. He was taught at home and in private schools, then graduated from the College of New Jersey. While deciding whether to become a lawyer or minister, Madison became involved in the revolutionary cause, thereby entering state and local politics. His poor health kept him from serving in the military. In 1780, Madison was chosen to serve in the Continental Congress, where he played a major role. He was one of the most influential voices calling for a constitutional convention. He came to the Philadelphia Convention with a plan for the new government, took extensive notes on the proceedings, spoke more than 150 times, and worked tirelessly on various committees. As one of the authors of The Federalist, Madison was also a key figure in the battle for ratification. Following the convention, Madison served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, helping to frame the Bill of Rights and organize the executive department. Under Jefferson, Madison served as secretary of state. He then succeeded Jefferson as president. In retirement, Madison continued to speak out on public issues.

A petition by the Northern Company of Adventurers, comprised of the surviving members of the Plymouth Company, to create a new settlement and local government in northern Virginia, in the area they designate as New England.

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In Leviathan, Hobbes set out his doctrine of the foundation of states and legitimate governments--based on social contract theories. He argues that chaos can be avoided by a strong central government, as in a monarchy, and the work gave birth to the famous description of life without civil society: "the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

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The Star Chamber was a court that heard criminal and civil cases against prominent Englishmen, who, it was believed, would not receive a fair trial in the regular courts. In 1641, it was abolished by Parliament with the Habeas Corpus Act of 1640, after controversial incidents with religious dissenters and having become known for its secrecy, misuse and abuse of power.

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Act passed by the British Parliament in 1689 enumerating rights of British subjects and residents. A restating of the Declaration of Right presented to William and Mary a year prior, it guarantees the right to petition the monarch, bear arms for defense, and outlines some requirements for the monarch to seek consent of the people through Parliament.

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Adam Smith's view on the state of economics during the Industrial Revolution as well as his thoughts on free market economies. He advised against the common practice of monarchies chartering multinational corporations and writing laws to benefit them, saying that removing such laws would benefit both the state and the individual.

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Luther used these theses to display his displeasure with some of the Roman Catholic clergy's abuses, most notably the sale of indulgences. Luther felt that pious people were parting with money for what was their right as a gift from God. He produced a list of principles and posted the document at the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. This document ultimately gave birth to Protestantism.

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Machiavelli's early work on the benefits and structure of a republican government, widely considered to be the first important work on republicanism in the early modern era.

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The last years of the reign of Henry II of England were troubled by rebellions and wars. In return for what assistance was rendered him he gave a charter to the tanners of Rouen who had supported him against his rebellious sons. The particular advantages obtained by this craft were a grant of a monopoly in the industry within the district of Rouen, and special protection to be afforded them by the king in the future.

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Contract between two parties regarding stone quarrying work.

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From Wikipedia: Released in English in 1627, this utopian novel was Bacon's creation of an ideal land where "generosity and enlightenment, dignity and splendor, piety and public spirit" were the commonly held qualities of its inhabitants. In this work, he portrayed a vision of the future of human discovery and knowledge. The plan and organization of his ideal college, "Solomon's House," envisioned the modern research university in both applied and pure science.

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Hume's essay on the ways politics and economics overlap. In times of peace, workers in agriculture and manufacturing produce arts of luxury, increasing the convenience happiness of a society. In times of war, these workers are employed as soldiers. That which makes a nation prosperous--both domestic production and foreign trade--also have the potential to strengthen its martial power.

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From Wikipedia: Federalist No. 37 is an essay by James Madison, published on January 11, 1788 discussing some of the political questions raised at the Constitutional Convention, such as the question of the authority of the state versus the liberty of the people. Among other problems faced at the convention, including representation of small and large states, the balance between federal and state authority and geographical concerns, Madison points out how wonderful it is that delegates could overcome them.

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The Maryland Toleration Act, passed by the assembly of the Maryland colony, mandated tolerance for Christians who did not practice Anglican Christianity, as the colony was founded in hopes of creating a refuge for Catholics in the New World. The act marks the earliest legal provision for freedom of religion and against hate speech, though it did make blasphemy punishable by death and was repealed in 1692.

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From Wikipedia: The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American Colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.

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