revolutionary era/enlightenment Flashcards
Principia Mathematica
published by Newton in 1687, marks start of Enlightenment (calculus)
Gottfried Leibniz
philosopher who invented calculus independent to Newton
Rise of Napoleon
1804, marks end of Enlightenment
scientific revolution
period where many modern sciences and maths emerged, emphasis on logic and reasoning, challenged ancient technologies from the Greeks
Enlightenment ideas
emphasized evidence and reasoning rather than Biblical or ancient knowledge, humanism, natural rights and the role of government
humanism
the belief that people are the center of things, not a god; and the value and wellbeing of humans is more important than divine intervention
Adam Smith
Scottish, wrote “The Wealth of Nations,” theorized about a capitalist society, believed in self-interest and the “invisible hand” where businesses were regulated by themselves and supply/demand, not the government
John Locke
English, wrote about natural rights and social contract, believed governments must exist to protect rights that came into existence when societies were created, “tabula rasa,” rule of law, life + liberty + property
tabula rasa
belief of John Locke that people are born a blank slate and society shapes them
rule of law
laws are decided by the people
Rene Descartes
French, “cogito ergo sum,” Cartegian plane
cogito ergo sum
“I think, therefore I am,” belief of Descartes that although we do not know what really exists, as long as we have thought, the one certainty is our own existence
Cartegian plane
xy axes, represents mathematic equations as shapes on a plane to understand formulas
Voltaire
French, civil liberties, free speech, religious rights for minorities
Rousseau
French, social contract, republicanism, state of nature vs. civil society (governments must preserve the rights that naturally exist in nature while providing the benefits of a civilized society)
Deism
religious philosophy that describes God as a “clockmaker” (clock that runs perfectly forever without needing to be fixed) who created the universe and is no longer involved in everyday affairs, not using religion to explain world, secular, American founders were Deists
Great Awakening
revivalism in English colonies to turn America back to a more religious government, mostly comprised of marginalized people, opposed materialism and supported individualism
materialism
desire for worldly things like money and physical possessions, people during the GA believed churches were too focused on this
individualism
split from traditional churches that people during the GA believed were corrupt from materialism, opposed sermons that benefited powerful churches and supported people taking control of their own religious beliefs and creating their own church groups
regions of GA
mid-Atlantic (Virginia-NY) and Southern colonies rather than New England (Connecticut and up)
itinerant preachers
wandering preachers during the GA who did spontaneous, less organized sermons throughout the English colonies with large groups of strangers (supported Puritan-like religious fervor) (George Whitefield)
New Lights
more radical group during GA, wanted to completely change church system and criticized materialism heavily (Jonathan Edwards)
Old Lights
more conservative group during GA, accepting of some materialism and thought New Lights were too radical
George Whitefield
popular and engaging itinerant preacher, founded Methodist movement
Jonathan Edwards
wanted to show parishioners (people who attended his church) the condition of their soul, promoted predestination and freaked everyone in his congregation out
predestination
Calvinist belief that God can’t be surprised about whether you go to heaven or hell; it is predetermined whether you will be good or bad and people aren’t deserving of heaven (God’s grace keeps you from hell despite people not being worthy)
Thomas Jefferson
educated renaissance man, philosopher, had children with Sally Hemings and owned his own children, dug up Native American graves to figure out how they lived (Enlightenment selfish exploration), feared slave revolt
Children follow the condition of the mother
inherited slavery; if one of your parents was enslaved you would be enslaved with no way out
Query 18
from TJ’s “Notes on the State of VA,” said slavery is bad because it makes white people tyrants and would cause a slave revolt, children who grew up seeing slavery would become tyrannical like British and get overthrown
Benjamin Franklin
believed in importance of literacy so people could understand his chart of virtues, disappointed in his church because it didn’t focus on morality, believed you must get into good habits instead of just knowing right from wrong, his virtues were about moderation and a few moral faults are normal
Crevecoeur
“Letters from an American Farmer” believed in importance of owning land in America which was what set it apart from Europe and allowed even poor farmers to keep their own crops, your country = the country that serves you, America is very diverse and people are shaped by their environment, didn’t approve of hunter/gatherers because they lived too much like Natives and he was racist
Thomas Paine
Common Sense, America should break from Britain because it causes tensions with it and other countries for trade and alliances, America isn’t all British people, called for all of mankind to speak up against British taking rights from Americans because it’s a worldwide issue, Britain isn’t mother country because America is so diverse and doesn’t need Britain anymore
Fed 1- Hamilton
intro to Fed Papers, called for people to think logically about what is best for country rather than being swayed by fear spread by Antifeds, claimed Antifeds wanted to keep power in states and were selfish
Fed 10- Madison
creating factions is a right that can’t be taken away, large republic is best way to control negative effects of factions because they will outcompete each other/not be able to organize properly to get anything done, in a large republic there are more people who must approve representatives so they will likely have their best interest in mind, in a small republic the majority always wins
Trasatlantic slave trade early history
in 1400s, West Africa had power over Portuguese and voluntarily engaged in slave trade with them from the already-existing African trade, only about 800 slaves per year
Native American labor
colonizers used Native Americans for labor first but they kept dying so they turned to African slavery
total African slave count to Americas
9-10 million
Chattel slavery
inherited; hard, physical work; slaves treated as property rather than people; race-based; chattel = like animals
sugar cane
Caribbean and Brazil, not on mainland Americas, very profitable because of growing European middle class during Industrial Revolution (chocolate for women, coffee/tea for managers/brains behind factories
sugar cane plantations
most physically difficult work for slaves, harvested all day and processed all night, life expentancy of 3 years, not self-sustaining because so many people died
English Parliament involvement in slave trade
Parliament supported it and knew what was happening, spread from Barbados in 1650s to Jamaica and US
slave populations in US vs Caribbean/South America
slaves made up much more of the populations in Caribbean and South America because sugar required so much work
conspicuous consumption
buying things for the purpose of being seen buying them; upper middle class in Europe did this with things like chocolate
abolishment of transatlantic slave trade
1807 by Britain and enforced by British navy
slave narratives
promoted abolitionism, targeted middle class, Christian, female northerners because southerners were very unlikely to think slavery was bad/vote against their economy, often began with minister vouching for legitimacy of person’s writing and experiences
Cornerstone Speech
slavery is the cornerstone of a morally right society, Alexander Stevens
Olaudah Equiano
wrote slave narrative detailing differences between African house slavery and transatlantic slavery, “written by himself” because white people assumed his unintelligence, taken to slave ships by Africans with European connections, called out white people who called themselves Christians for their treatment which bothered them more than their actual treatment of slaves
