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        | an explanation of how or why something happens |  | 
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        | the belief that reason is the chief source of knowledge |  | 
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        | orderly way of collecting and analyzing evidence |  | 
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        | proposed explanation of the facts |  | 
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        | law that applies to everyone and can be understood by reason |  | 
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        | agreement between rulers and the people upon which a government is based |  | 
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        | equal division of power among the branches of government |  | 
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        | system of rule in which monarchs held total power and claimed to rule by the will of God |  | 
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        | Term 
 
        | representative government |  | Definition 
 
        | system of government in which people elect leaders to make laws |  | 
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        | written plan of government |  | 
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        | idea that a government receives its power from the people |  | 
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        | a social government in France |  | 
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 | Definition 
 
        | the French middle class; part of the Third Estate class system |  | 
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