Unit 5: Revolutions Flashcards
This deck is designed to assist you in understanding the revolutions that occured in the time period 1750-1900 C.E.
What was The Enlightenment?
Occured in the 17th and 18th centuries; focused on the role of humankind in relation to the government
What did both the Protestant the Scientific Revolution have in common?
They essentially ganged up on the Roman Catholic Church by putting it’s authority and power in question.
How did monarchies help promote nationalism?
Monarchies helped promote nationalism, and they arose by uniting people under a banner of nationalism; divine right came to be a way that monarchs could maintain power; it’s kind of similar to the Mandate of Heaven in China, which states that the Chinese emperor was a descendant of the gods. Again, notice these sociocultural similarities.
Was there a religious power struggle between the pope and the monarchs?
Yes, a power struggle between the monarch and the pope occured; the divine right of the monarchs may be used to ally with the Protestants or ally with the Church, as in the case of Spain and France, in the Counter-Reformation.
What occured under the Mandate of Heaven?
Emperors would be given opportunity to rule only as they pleases heaven; it was used as a justification for rebellion
When did the social contract arise?
The concept of the social contract arose in the 17th century; this idea was that because individuals existed before governments did, governments arose as a way to meet the needs of its people, not out of divine right
Who was Thomas Hobbes?
Believed that people were perverse and violent by nature, and that the government’s role was to maintain peace, therby supressing its subjects’ urges
Who was John Locke?
Believed that people were good and deserved rights to life, liberty, and property; the government’s role in the social contract then was to ensure that these rights were given to all
Who was Jean-Jacques Rousseau?
Believed that all men were equal and that the nature of society should abide by the general consensus of its people
What did Voltaire support?
Religious toleration
What was the similarity amongst all the aforementioned Englightenment writers?
They didn’t presume that the government had divine authority
Who were the enlightened monarchs?
These monarchs reacted to the Enlightenment by taking up the responsibilities entailed by its implications on government rule, but they still ruled under divine right
What was the Neoclassical period, and when did it begin?
Was all about Greco-Roman architecture, hence why federal buildings in Washington, D.C. look like Greek templea; began in the mid-18th century
What happened in the mid-18th century in North America?
Also the Neo-Classical period; in this period, British colonists felt threatened by French territories in America (France and Britain were rivals since the Hundred Years’ War); enlisting the help of natives in the region, the French attacked the colonists, but in 1763, the English ultimately prevailed and pushed the French to the north and expanded their terriority to the Ohio River Valley
Why did the British increase the tax on items in America?
Because they felt as though the Americans did not share the burdens of the French and Indian War; to pay for war costs
What three acts fueled some part of the American Revolution?
Hint: they were common items
Revenue Act, Stamp Act, and Tea Act
What three acts fueled some part of the American Revolution?
Hint: they were common items
Revenue Act, Stamp Act, and Tea Act
Were the Americans represented in the Parliament when the three laws were passed?
No
What happened on April 19, 1775?
Marks the beginning of the War of the Independence; Battle of Lexington and Concord
Why did merchantilist policies drive Americans nuts?
It was these policies that extracted the colonial resources in the Americas and gave it all to England
Who was Thomas Paine?
Wrote “Common Sense”; urged the Americans to recognize that the British monarchy was taking away their natural rights at a time where Americans felt ambivalent over the matter of independence (they were born from the British)
In 1777, the French came along to help the Americans. Why?
I mean, they didn’t like England, so…
In 1781, what did French and American troops do?
Cornered the core of the British army and won the war
What wars were the French involved in that caused them major debt?
The War of Spanish Succession, the Seven Years’ War, and the American Revolution
Why did Louis XIV need to raise taxes in France?
Especially since the nobility were living needlessly lavish lifestyles that were expensive, and France couldn’t naturally provide that money given its war debt
Describe how French society was divided back then.
First Estate: the clergy, some rich and high-ranking, while others poor and parish priests
Second-Estate: noble families
Third Estate: 95% of the population, literallt everyone else including merchants
When the Estate General finally met in France, what did the representatives of each class want?
The representatives of…
The Second Estate- wanted even greater freedoms
The Third Estate- inspired by the American Revolution; wanted more freedoms
What was the National Assembly in France?
An assembly made up of the Third Estate; arose because the Third Estate did not believe they were being properly represented
When and why did peasants attack the nobility and feudal institutions in France?
Started in 1789; arose due to the fact that they weren’t going to be properly represented in the new constitution that the king was going to make
What was the Declaration of the Rights of Man?
Based on the American Revolution and Enlightenment ideologies, which supported equality and freedom, and was spread throughout Europe
What did the National Assembly do?
Abolished the feudal system; declared freedom of worship
What was the most important consequence of the French Revolution?
Established the nation-state as the source of sovereignty or political authority
Why was the constitution that the National Assembly made after the French Revolution poorly received?
This constitution instituted a constitutional monarchy, not a democracy
What was the main difference between the American and French Revolution?
A notable difference between the two was that the American revolution was a colony vs its motherland and was therefore an independence movement, and for the French revolution, it questioned French political structures and leadership
Why was the American Revolution important?
The United States was the first major colony to break away from a European colonial power since the Age of Exploration
Austrians and Prussians invaded France to restore the monarchy. But, what did French revolutionaries do?
Hold them back
A new ruling body emerged in response to the poorly made first constitution. What was it called?
The Convention; it proclaimed France a republic
But then, the Convention started worrying about foreign threats, so what did they do?
So, they threw out the committee and published the Committee of Public Safety, which ironically murdered multiple French citizens and aimed to kill anyone suspected of anti-revolutionary tendencies; it did help to enforce a strong military in France though, but too many murders were happening
After the Committee of Public Safety was shut down for its adamant persecution, what happened?
France quickly reorganized itself again, wrote a new constitution in 1795, and established a new five-man government called the Directory
Who was Napoleon Bonaparte?
Was part of the directory , which established a strong national military in France even though it wasn’t good at running France; Bonaparte eventually overthrew the Directory using his popularity and reputation
What else did Napoleon do?
He declared himself the First Consul under the new constitution (that’s four constitutions since the French Revolution began)
What were the Napoleonic Codes (1804)?
Equalized French rights for men; based on some Enlightenment ideas; is still used today; but was extremely paternalistic (women and children barely had rights)
What did Napoleon do?
Napoleon’s troops conquered Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, and the kingdoms within Italy. He dissolved the Holy Roman Empire and reorganized it into a confederacy of German states.
What happened in 1812 to Napoleon?
He tried to invade Russia but was pulled into a trap, a trap in which he was lured to Moscow, which was then burned by the Russians, and then winter came in and his army tried to retreat but were attacked constantly on their way to France; Napolean was forced into exile
Because the leaders who overthrew Napoleon were diagareeing with how to move on with the situation, what did Napoleon do?
Napoleon returned from exile and attempted to regain power.