Advanced Placement (AP) European History Practice Exam

In what way did the ideas of the Enlightenment challenge existing political structures?

1. They justified absolute power of monarchs

2. They encouraged feudal loyalty and tradition

3. They promoted ideas of individual rights and limited government

4. They supported the divine right of kings

The correct answer is: They promoted ideas of individual rights and limited government

The Enlightenment was a significant cultural and intellectual movement in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries that fundamentally challenged traditional political structures. The correct response highlights how Enlightenment thinkers advocated for individual rights, personal freedoms, and the concept of limited government. Their ideas questioned the legitimacy of absolute monarchies and proposed that governments should be based on the consent of the governed. This shift laid the groundwork for modern democratic thought and movements, as philosophers like John Locke emphasized the importance of natural rights, including life, liberty, and property. This promotion of individual rights and limited government was a stark contrast to existing political structures that often relied on monarchical power and the divine right of kings. The Enlightenment's emphasis on reason and empirical evidence encouraged societies to rethink the necessity of feudal loyalty and traditional hierarchies. By advocating for the idea that governments should serve the people rather than dominate them, Enlightenment thinkers set the stage for revolutions and the development of constitutional governance in the following centuries.