Midterm Review Flashcards
What type of government was used before the Enlightenment?
monarchy
What institution was even more powerful than the royalty during the Dark Ages?
Catholic Church
How was science treated at the time?
Because they went against official church teachings, any science that the church didn’t agree with was criticized, tortured, or killed.
what is the enlightenment?
The enlightenment is a time period of immense change. It contained an explosion of ideas that focused on individual happiness and rights through logic and reason.
What are the three largest effects of the Enlightenment?
- Less religious outlook
- Belief in Progress
- Importance on the Individuals
What undermined the power and influence of the Catholic Church?
scientific advances
During the Dark Ages, whose happiness was the most important? Afterwards?
Kings and Queens, The common people
What is the social contract?
An agreement between the citizens and the government to follow rules in return for safety
What are the three Natural Rights?
Life
Liberty
Property
According to John Locke, what is a government’s main concern?
To protect the natural rights of its citizens
How was the French and Indian War important in bringing about the American Revolution?
The war left the English in debt, which made them try to erase by taxing the colonists. The Colonists were upset about paying taxes AND not have representation.
What is Mercantilism?
The policy of linking national security to national wealth. This made the English view the colonies as nothing more than money makers
Why did the British occupy Boston, and pass the rest of the Intolerable Acts?
This was done in response to the Boston Tea Party, and were meant as a punishment for the colonists
What were the Intolerable Acts?
- Occupying Boston and shutting down its harbor
- Disbanding the colonial government and installing a dictator
- Forcing colonists to house and feed the English troops
- Allowing loyalists to be tried for crimes in England
Explain how the Enlightenment ideas inspired the American Revolution.
John Locke thought that a government was only supposed to be around to protect natural rights, and if it didn’t it should be overthrown. England was only trying to make itself richer, and wasn’t protecting our rights (the Navigation Acts, the Stamp Act, not allowed us to govern ourselves, forcing us to house their troops, etc.)
In what ways can you still see the impact of the Enlightenment on the United States government?
We have a government that focuses on protecting its citizens’ happiness. Voting rights, freedoms of speech religion, press, etc. 3 branches of government, trial by jury, no illegal search and seizure, capitalism
What things did the first and second estates (France) have in common?
All had political power, paid no taxes, were wealthy, and there were very few of them
What is the only quality that all 3rd estate members shared?
All lacked political power, and paid taxes
How large was the 3rd estate, and what kind of people did it encompass?
97% of the population. Included everyone from rich business owners, merchants and artisans to peasants and poor unskilled city workers and the homeless
Describe the living conditions for the peasants. Give specific examples.
Were small farmers who grew just enough food to survive on, gave half to the king. Lived in a one room house, with no windows or heat, ate anything they could find. Were very close to starvation all the time. Had no rights, were used only to make the king richer and more powerful
What are four economic problems that France had before the Revolution?
- Raising taxes on the citizens caused an economic collapse
- Droughts killed crops and made food too expensive to buy
- France spent too much money help the colonists in the American Revolution
- General overspending by the king and queen on themselves
In what two ways did the American Revolution help to bring about the French Revolution?
- France spent so much money helping us, that they ruined their own economy
- The successes of our revolution, and the government that followed were an inspiration to France
How did Enlightenment ideas helped bring about the French Revolution?
John Locke thought that a government was only supposed to be around to protect natural rights, and if it didn’t it should be overthrown. French peasants were only used to make the king richer, and the government was taking away the rights of the peasants. (Taking their food, no freedoms of speech or religion, executing peasants without a trial for small crimes.)
Which Estate took power in the French Revolution?
3rd
How did the Declaration of the Rights of Man change the government of France?
- Got rid of estates, making all men equals
- Made a parliament with the king still having power in the government
- Government would focus on protecting the rights of its citizens
Why was all of Europe scared of the French Revolution?
They were afraid that the French peasant uprising would inspire peasants in other countries, and revolt against their kings
What is the Great Fear?
Peasants were scared of the Austrian invasion, thinking they were going to punish the lower classes for overthrowing the king. Peasants formed into roving militias that killed, burned, and stole from anyone they could. There was no government to stop the bands of thieves for weeks.
How would the new Jacobin-led government be different from the past?
They used the fear and lack of control in the countryside to convince people to give them power to stop the problems
What was Maximilien Robespierre able to do because he was the head of the Commission of Public Safety?
Execute anyone who opposed the revolution, or eventually who was his own enemy
How does the French Revolution provide an example of the dangers of democracy?
Democracy is not an easy government to type to run. This one let fear and ignorance overrule reason and education. Another thing it teaches is the danger of not protecting minority groups and people who have opposing views as the government.
What was life like before the Industrial Revolution?
Most people lived on small family farms, grew enough food to eat, most work was done by hand
How does industrialization change daily life?
- Most of the work begins to be done by machine power
- Work begins to be done outside the home in factories
What are two ways that the Agricultural Revolution helped to produce the Industrial Revolution?
- Increased food production
- Increased urban population
Where did Industrialization first start?
england
What are eight reasons that helped England industrialize?
- Plenty of fuel for machines
- Stable Economy
- Natural Resources
- Stable Government
- Rivers for transport
- Trade routes already established
- Large harbors
- Large urban workforce without options or skills
Which industry was the first to industrialize?
textiles
What are 3 improvements in Transportation, how does each one contribute to helping society?
- Railroads - Allowed goods to be shipped faster and cheaper, created jobs, moved people to the cities
- Steamboats - Goods could be shipped upstream, goods could be shipped faster and cheaper
- Better drained roads - Allowed goods to be transported quickly
How do telegraphs and telephones change life during industrialization?
They sped up communications to minutes/secs vs. months
Why wouldn’t England let certain people out of their country?
The English wanted to keep the secret of industrialization to themselves
What places in the world are in the process of becoming industrialized?
China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, etc.
Where has industrialization not started yet on a large scale?
Africa
What are 8 specific things that were wrong with the tenement housing or working conditions?
-Low pay and long hours
-No police protection
-Very dangerous conditions
-Rooms too crowded
-Frequent disease outbreaks
-No running water
-No education
Literally anything else that we’ve talked about
How did industrialization contribute to global inequality?
Countries that industrialized first were able to make a lot more money and weapons, which allowed them to take over non industrialized countries, and take their stuff.
How did the government help to cause the poor state of the working class?
They did not pass any laws that would hurt businesses, so companies took advantage of their workers
What are 7 short term changes that happened during the industrial revolution?
Lack of government rules No education for lower classes Poor working and living conditions Disease Factory owners grew richer Child Labor Poor became even more poor
What are five long term effects of Industrialization?
More individual wealth Better health and life expectancy Growth of a middle class Better education Building codes and business regulations enacted and enforced
What does laissez-faire mean?
Hands off
Whose hands does this mean, and what are they keeping off of?
Government’s hands off of the businesses
Who owns the businesses, resources, and make decisions in capitalism?
Individuals
At what scale is capitalism efficient?
Local factory or farm level
How does the “invisible hand” work?
the collective decisions of all consumers informs owners of what to make without the need for government involvement
Explain how capitalism rewards hard work and new ideas?
The harder you work, or the better your invention, the more money you will make
Describe David Ricardo’s theory. Why didn’t it come true?
As population grew, wages would decrease. Our wages have risen due to unions and new government regulations
What is social Darwinism?
Survival of the fittest applied to humans
What are the problems with Social Darwinism?
It justifies extreme poverty and racism, both being based off of bad science. Social Darwinism is totally discredited today.
What was necessary according to Thomas Malthus?
War
Disease
Famine
What would happen without these events?
Everyone would be miserable and poor
What is the main idea of Socialism?
Government would take an active role in improving lives of citizens by controlling industries considered too important to the health of the nation
Give three examples of the “major businesses.”
Energy
Transportation
Banking
If a business isn’t considered important to national health, who owns and operates the business?
Individuals
What book laid out the idea of Communism?
Communist Manifesto
According to Communism, how many classes did capitalism have, and what were they?
2, Haves and Have-nots (owners vs. workers, rich vs. poor )
Why and how would the lower classes take control, according to the Communist Manifesto?
They would rise up violently and kill the rich class when the conditions and wealth inequality were bad enough
In Communism, who owns the businesses?
government
What is the goal of Communism?
equality
When is communism efficient?
national scale
What are two problems with Communist theories?
provides no rewards for working hard
not efficient at the local scale
What is a union?
Group of workers who fight for better conditions at work
What is a strike?
Refusal to work until an agreement is reached between the union and the employer
Why did European countries want to own colonies?
Natural Resources Markets to sell goods to Nationalism Social Darwinism (to civilize the natives) To control trade routes Spread Christianity Worldwide naval bases
Who took over in India after the fall of the Mughals?
British East India Company
Who did the English hire to conquer India?
British officers and Indian soldiers
What is a sepoy?
An Indian soldier that is fighting for the East India Company
What rumor caused the sepoy rebellion?
The new bullet casings were greased with pork and beef fat
Muslims don’t eat pork, and Hindus don’t eat any meat, especially beef
Who defeated the sepoys after the East India Co. left?
The British Government
What were the problems that Europeans had in trying to conquer Africa before industrializing?
Terrain was impassable (mountains, deserts, etc)
Rivers were dangerous
Both sides had the same weapons
Malaria and other diseases
What inventions were created to that allowed the Europeans to take over Africa?
Railroads
Steamboats
Maxim Gun
Quinine
Describe how Africans were living before Europeans invaded?
There were hundreds of smaller tribes and ethnic groups, and they were used very little modern technology/were not industrialized.
What was the purpose of the Berlin Conference?
To split up Africa without going to war with each other
What determined how much of Africa each country got at the Berlin Conference?
The amount of military and economic power the country had
What did Europeans consider when deciding which areas to claim?
Natural Resources
What did they ignore when carving up Africa?
Tribal boundaries and ethnic groupings
What is a cash crop?
A crop grown to sell for profit
What are four examples of cash crops?
coffee
cacao
peanuts
Rubber, cotton, opium, indigo, etc.
What was different about Menelik II’s method of fighting the Europeans?
He was able to fight the Europeans with their own kind of weapons
How did African tribes react to colonization overall?
Sustained violent resistance
What were four positives of imperialism in Africa?
less local warfare
Better health, sanitation, and medicine
Better life expectancy and literacy rates
Better technology
What were five negatives of imperialism in Africa?
Lost independence and were used for forced labor
Many people died from new diseases, resistance movements, and famine
Africans never got the economic benefit of its resources
Totally destroyed African leadership, and put nothing in place when Europeans left
Dividing lines between tribes torn apart some ethnic groups, forced enemies to become allies, and set up the modern problems in africa
Describe the Ottoman Empire at its peak.
It was the center of power, culture, and science for hundreds of years during the Dark Ages
Why did the Ottomans begin to fall behind the Europeans?
Lack of progress due to infighting and corruption
Why did the Europeans want control of the Middle East?
Control of trade routes that connect the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as oil eventually
Define Geopolitics?
An area is seen as important because its location has strategic value to another country
Who joined the Ottomans, and why would they do that?
France and Britain, so they could be the ones to take over the Crimean Peninsula instead of Russia
What was the major difference in the European armies compared to the Russian army?
England and France had a smaller but industrialized and modern army, while Russia’s was old and huge
What did the Crimean War prove to the rest of the world?
That countries need to industrialize or be taken over by the Europeans
How did the Egyptians try to modernize their country?
Built the Suez Canal
Started to plant cash crops and irrigation systems
Updated communication and transportation networks
How much did that cost? Where did they get that money?
500 million dollars, European bank
How did the British use the debt to take over?
Britain used Egypt’s inability to pay its debt to force their way into the Egyptian government
Why did the US want colonies?
To use as markets, for cash crops, and as a trading post
John Locke
Natural rights, government’s duty is to protect those rights
Voltaire
Freedom of thought, expression, and religions
Montesquieu
separation of powers in government
Adam Smith
founded of capitalism
Louis XVI
last king of France
Maximilien Robespierre
Leader of the Jacobins and the “Reign of Terror” during the French Revolution
Herbert Spencer
Social Darwinism
Karl Marx
founder communism
Thomas Malthus
Fast growing population will grow faster than our ability to feed ourselves, and will result in war
David Livingstone
Scottish Minister who was the first European to explore the interior of Africa.
Menelik II
Ruler of Ethiopia who beat the Italians when they tried to invade
