Unit 5: Revolutions (c. 1750–1900) Flashcards
Enlightenment
An 18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, liberty, progress, and secular government. Enlightenment thinkers questioned monarchies and the church, fueling revolutions across the Atlantic world.
Event: Voltaire, Rousseau, and John Locke’s ideas influenced both the American and French Revolutions.
📝 Use to support ideological roots of revolutions and modern government formation.
John Locke
English philosopher who argued that all men have natural rights to life, liberty, and property. His idea of the “social contract” inspired revolutionaries to challenge absolutist monarchies.
Event: Quoted directly in the U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776).
Declaration of Independence
(1776)
Document by American colonists asserting their right to self-rule based on Enlightenment ideas. It challenged the legitimacy of British rule and justified revolution.
Event: Sparked the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).
📝 Use as specific evidence of Enlightenment thought leading to political action.
French Revolution
Triggered by Enlightenment ideals, economic hardship, and inequality in the Three Estates system. Led to radical political change, including the abolition of monarchy and a temporary republic.
Event: Storming of the Bastille (1789) marked the revolution’s beginning
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
(1789)
French revolutionary document proclaiming equality under the law and national sovereignty. It undermined the divine right of kings and sparked debates on citizenship and rights.
Event: Issued during the first phase of the French Revolution.
Reign of Terror
1793–1794)
A radical phase of the French Revolution where tens of thousands were executed as “enemies of the revolution” under Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety.
Event: Execution of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette.
📝 Use as evidence of internal conflict and revolutionary extremism
Haitian Revolution
(1791–1804)
The only successful slave revolt in history, led by Toussaint Louverture, which overthrew French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue and created the first Black republic.
Event: Declaration of Haitian Independence (1804).
📝 Use to show the global impact of Enlightenment and resistance to slavery.
Toussaint Louverture
Leader of the Haitian Revolution who was inspired by Enlightenment ideals and led enslaved Africans to victory against French forces.
Event: Defeated Napoleon’s troops in 1802–1803 before being captured
Latin American Independence Movements
Revolts led by Creole elites who resented Spanish colonial control and were inspired by Enlightenment and other Atlantic revolutions.
Event: Simón Bolívar’s campaigns in Venezuela, Colombia, and Peru (1810s–1820s).
Simón Bolívar
Venezuelan military leader and Enlightenment-inspired revolutionary who helped liberate much of South America from Spanish rule.
Event: Authored the Jamaica Letter (1815) outlining his vision for independence and republicanism
Jamaica Letter
Authored by Simon Bollivar to lay out his vision for Latin American independence
Nationalism
The belief in loyalty to a shared culture, language, or history, which fueled both independence movements and unifications.
Event: Drove German and Italian unification and anti-colonial uprisings.
📝 Nationalism is a powerful cause of both state formation and conflict in this period
German Unification
(1871)
Prussia, under Otto von Bismarck, unified German-speaking states through war and diplomacy. Nationalism created a new powerful European empire.
Event: Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) led to the proclamation of the German Empire
Italian Unification
(1861)
Led by Giuseppe Garibaldi and Count Cavour, Italy unified into a constitutional monarchy. Fueled by nationalist and liberal ideals.
Event: King Victor Emmanuel II declared ruler of a unified Italy in 1861.
Industrial Revolution
The transition from hand-made to machine-based production, starting in Britain in the 18th century, transforming economies, societies, and environments.
Event: Steam engine improvements by James Watt (1765) revolutionized power production.
📝 Use to connect economic changes to demographic shifts, imperialism, and reform.
Factory System
Industrial production centralized in factories using machines and wage labor. It replaced the cottage industry and led to urbanization and labor exploitation.
Event: Expanded rapidly during the Second Industrial Revolution (c. 1870–1914)
Laissez-Faire Capitalism
Economic theory promoted by Adam Smith advocating limited government interference in markets. Supported industrial growth and was the dominant economic model in the 19th century.
Event: Described in Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776).
Karl Marx and Communism
German philosopher who co-wrote The Communist Manifesto (1848), arguing that capitalism exploited workers and predicting a proletarian revolution.
Event: Inspired socialist movements and revolutions in the 19th and 20th centuries.
📝 Use to show responses to industrialization and capitalism
Labor Unions
Workers organized to demand better wages, hours, and working conditions. Governments initially opposed them, but they helped push social reforms.
Event: British Factory Acts (1830s–1840s) began limiting child labor and improving safety
Abolition of Slavery
Driven by Enlightenment ideals and economic shifts, slavery was gradually abolished across empires.
Event: British Abolition Act (1833) outlawed slavery in most of the British Empire.
📝 Use alongside the Haitian Revolution or industrial labor to show changing labor systems
Women’s Rights Movements
Women began organizing for suffrage, education, and legal equality.
Event: Seneca Falls Convention (1848) issued a declaration demanding equal rights for women in the U.S.
