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HIST362 Study Guide

Site: Saylor Academy
Course: HIST362: Modern Revolutions
Book: HIST362 Study Guide
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Date: Thursday, September 19, 2024, 12:06 PM

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Study Guide Structure

In this study guide, the sections in each unit (1a., 1b., etc.) are the learning outcomes of that unit. 

Beneath each learning outcome are:

  • questions for you to answer independently;
  • a brief summary of the learning outcome topic; and
  • and resources related to the learning outcome. 

At the end of each unit, there is also a list of suggested vocabulary words.

 

How to Use this Study Guide

  1. Review the entire course by reading the learning outcome summaries and suggested resources.
  2. Test your understanding of the course information by answering questions related to each unit learning outcome and defining and memorizing the vocabulary words at the end of each unit.

By clicking on the gear button on the top right of the screen, you can print the study guide. Then you can make notes, highlight, and underline as you work.

Through reviewing and completing the study guide, you should gain a deeper understanding of each learning outcome in the course and be better prepared for the final exam!

Unit 1: The Nature of Revolution

1a. Describe the nature and impact of revolution

  • What are the beliefs and unique perspectives of Karl Marx, Alex de Tocqueville, Crane Brinton, Chalmers Johnson, and Benedict Anderson regarding revolution?
  • What did Karl Marx mean by class conflict, the proletariat, the bourgeoisie, and communism?
  • What did Crane Brinton mean by social equilibrium, disequilibrium, and revolution?
  • What is the difference between a societal and political revolution?

In Latin, the word revolution means to turn around. Revolution refers to a change in how things are done to such an extent that the course of history is forever altered. Revolutions change the way people operate, think, and cooperate. Studying revolutions helps us examine history through the lens of change to understand the causes and impact of drastic changes in government, technology, economics, society, and culture.

Revolutions usually result from turmoil in some spheres of life. Political revolutions are significant, rapid changes in a society's government structure, often involving the overthrow of an existing regime and the establishment of a new governing order. They occur due to political unrest, instability, and discontent. The populace no longer recognizes the government or its leaders as legitimate. Examples include the American, Chinese, French, Haitian, and Russian Revolutions.

Social revolutions are significant changes in a society's structure, values, and norms, often involving widespread upheaval, reordering of hierarchies, and the emergence of new social structures or ideologies. They have changed and modernized academia and technology, production, study, and how people think about the world. Social and cultural changes, such as during the Enlightenment, often led to revolutionary changes in political thought. Examples include the Industrial and Scientific Revolutions.

Karl Marx (1818–1883), the German philosopher and revolutionary activist, is known for his views on social or class conflict within society. He advocated that the working class (the proletariat) should revolt against the upper classes (the bourgeoisie) to support better working conditions. Marx predicted society would become more stable and equal once capitalism failed. Communism is the solution that Marx predicts will result in property becoming publicly owned. According to his political philosophy, each individual will work as much as possible and be paid according to their need.

Alex de Tocqueville (1805–1859), a French political historian, believed that revolution would result when monarchies and other state agencies centralized all power and decision-making in their own hands. The elite, nobility, middle, and merchant classes will eventually protest to oppose these centralizing efforts that interfere with their liberties and privileges, such as excessive taxation and interference in their ability to own and control their private property.

Crane Brinton (1898–1968), an American historian, argued that revolution is simply part of the natural order of human development when intellectuals become alienated and stop believing in the political system. The intellectuals may merge with other groups, such as the middle, working, or peasant classes, to remove the old order through revolution but then fight among each other and fail to achieve lasting change. Growing societies may have to endure a revolutionary fever until a "normal" and "healthy" state of social equilibrium is restored, and then the next round of protests erupts, and the revolutionary cycle occurs yet again.

The American author Chalmers Johnson (1931–2010) argued that revolution results when the social equilibrium, social order, or sense of balance stable communities exhibit is disrupted. Revolution results from disequilibrium between the ruling elite and the populace when the elite does not adapt to pressures or external changes. Samuel Huntington (1927–2008), an American political scientist, presents a variant of this theory by saying revolution results when societies fail to cope with modernization and mass mobilization.

Benedict Anderson (1936–2015), an American sociologist, argues that governments often provoke revolution when they inflame nationalist sentiments to create a new nationalist identity. Modern ways of thinking undermine old universal belief structures, such as traditional ties to religion and multi-ethnic empires.

To review, see


1b. Explain how the Enlightenment affected the English Civil War

  • What conditions brought about the Enlightenment or the Age of Reason?
  • What was the importance of the Magna Carta and the Petition of Rights?
  • What concepts did Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant bring to the discussion of revolution?
  • How did the Enlightenment change the way philosophers viewed the role of the government and the people?
  • How did the English Civil War influence the Enlightenment?

The Enlightenment or Age of Reason (1715–1789) describes the period when philosophers and intellectuals emerged outside the traditional religious sphere to question the established social and political order. Primary philosophical concepts included skepticism of the political establishment, the pursuit of reason, religious tolerance, liberty, and empiricism (the theory that we derive knowledge from our sensory experiences). In line with the Renaissance, which preceded it, the focus of the Enlightenment philosophers was on man rather than God (see section 5f below).

Before the 1700s, people were seen as inherently unequal. Philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) and Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) began arguing for natural rights, where everyone deserves to be treated equally, with respect and dignity. While it formally began after the English Civil War, the Enlightenment was a movement that emphasized the need to limit the absolute authority of government and allow for the rights of the people. 

The Enlightenment was caused by gradual shifts in the power structure between the ruling elite and the populace. Beginning with the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215, the concept that governments were constrained by a social contract with the people began to emerge. The Magna Carta (1215) was the first charter to support the rule of law and civil liberties in Europe: it declared the King was not above the law and could not deprive anyone of their land, castles, liberties, or rights without "the lawful judgment of his peers". The Petition of Right (1628) reinforced the legal principles of the Magna Carta and added that the King could not impose his will on parliament, invoke taxes without parliamentary approval, or support a standing army.

To review, see

 

1c. Explain how the English Civil War influenced future revolutions in Eurasia and the Americas

  • How did the English Bill of Rights change the relationship between the government and people and contribute to the concept of human rights?
  • What is a constitutional monarchy?
  • What principles did the levellers and diggers champion during the English Civil War?
  • Why was John Locke's belief in religious toleration and the separation of church and state important at this time?

The English Civil War, also called the English Revolution or the Glorious Revolution, describes the period of armed political and social conflict that occurred from 1642 to 1660 and promoted the creation of a constitutional monarchy. In early 1640, intellectuals met to discuss the ideas of liberty and individual rights. The conflict saw a radical shift in social relationships that came to support a free-market capitalist system (away from feudalism). In 1648, the army purged Parliament of its conservative members, executed King Charles I (1600–1649), and installed Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) to rule over Parliament from 1653–1658.

Although the monarchy was restored in 1660 with Charles I, the English Civil War realized the rise of parliamentary supremacy over the Crown, the idea that careers are open to talent not guaranteed by heritage, the protection of private property (which supported the rise of mercantilism and capitalism), religious tolerance, and aggressive internationalism. The levellers and diggers supported public freedom. The levellers and diggers were groups advocating for political freedom and equality during this time. They disseminated their ideas through pamphlets, championing concepts of social justice and democratic governance.

The English Bill of Rights (1689) reinforced the principles of the two founding documents of England's constitutional monarchy: the Magna Carta (1215) and the Petition of Right (1628). With its passage, Parliament supported the rule of law and civil rights and declared that it alone (not the Crown) had the authority to levy taxes, raise an army, and wage wars. The King and other government officials were answerable to the people. The Bill also required regular parliamentary meetings, free elections, freedom of speech in Parliament, prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment, and declared that judges would be independent of the monarchy.

The Toleration Act of 1689 supported freedom of worship for Protestants but excluded Catholics, antitrinitarians, and atheists from its provisions. John Locke (1632–1704), the English philosopher, feared Catholicism would take over England and argued for religious freedom in his Letter Concerning Toleration (1689). In the letter he argued that the government should promote external, not spiritual welfare, and not dictate religious choice. Locke paved the way for the American idea of the separation of church and state, which was important because the church often used its power to exclude nonbelievers, restrict scientific thought and creativity, and hamper commercial enterprise.

With the English Bill of Rights (1689), the English Parliament proclaimed the government a constitutional monarchy where the monarch's powers are limited by the country's written and unwritten constitution. The farmers of the U.S. Constitution would incorporate many of these same principles and elements in the American founding documents 100 years later.

To review, see



1d. Explain how the Enlightenment philosophers contributed to our understanding of revolution

  • Can you explain the main ideas of Max Weber, Emmanuel Kent, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Nicolas de Condorcet?
  • How did the Enlightenment redefine the relationship between people and the state?
  • What is the concept of the divine right of kings?
  • How did the Enlightenment directly inspire political and social revolution?
  • Why were many modern revolutions attracted to the ideals of the Enlightenment?
  • Who were some key Enlightenment philosophers?
  • What was the impact of Immanuel Kant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Nicolas de Condorcet?
  • What is the Social Contract?

The Enlightenment influenced how philosophers, intellectuals, and political activists viewed the role of the citizen in the state and the relationship between the government and its people. European governance had been based on the divine right of kings, the belief that God had ordained the monarch with absolute authority. During the Enlightenment, philosophers began to question the legitimacy of monarchy and vested more importance in the power of the people. This shift prompted revolutionary leaders to challenge the state's authority, overthrow it, and form new governments. 

Enlightenment thinkers impacted the development of Europe and the Americas in six ways:

  1. They weakened the hold of traditional religion as a public institution;
  2. They promoted a secular code of ethics;
  3. They developed a critical spirit of analysis that did not accept routine tradition and hierarchies;
  4. They were curious about history and believed in progress;
  5. They differentiated absolutism from despotism; and
  6. They disrespected monarchy and heaped abuse on unjustified privilege.

The Thirty Years War (1618–1648) led many members of the nobility and upper classes to support the monarchy and absolute rule in exchange for a restoration of public order, protection against popular insurrection and peasant uprisings, and the recognition of noble privilege. However, the English and Dutch parliaments refused to be ignored. These countries had a growing, influential, commercial middle class, many property owners, a strong urban population, a small nobility, and a decentralized police force and army. They resisted the power of the Catholic church based in Rome in favor of local control.

The 1700s witnessed the rise of capitalism, industrialization, secularization, and fundamental changes in class structure. Throughout this period, exploration and colonialism allowed capital to accumulate in Western Europe to help fuel investment in the industrial revolution. By the end of the 18th century, thought had transformed, and "historical ways of understanding" replaced the "classical explanation of the order of things in terms of taxonomies".

Max Weber (1864–1920) argued that before the rise of the modern state, the king had to share a legitimate use of violence or force with the church; one of the defining features of the modern state is that it alone can exert legitimate coercive force. This legitimacy of violence functions within the geographical territory of the nation-state.

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), the German philosopher, encouraged individuals to think for themselves rather than exhibit blind obedience to political authority. Kant wrote that Enlightenment is built on man's ability to use his own reason, which takes courage. He argued that most people reject Enlightenment out of cowardice and laziness: they are unwilling to break away from the domination of others, particularly church leaders, government officials, and educators. Domination by these powerful people restricts one's individual freedom. Kant believed he did not live in an enlightened age but an age moving toward Enlightenment and that people would gradually learn to think for themselves over time.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), the Swiss philosopher, wrote The Social Contract, which argued that humans are born free but coerced into economic and social dependence. Political and social covenants should restore this lost freedom. Rousseau believed that legitimate civil authority is only derived from civil contracts, which both sides enter freely. In other words, to be legitimate, citizens must enter a civil contract with a government willingly. In this civil society, each individual works for their own best interest. Collectively, these individual wills support and benefit the general will, which Rousseau called "the sovereign". In this system, the will of the majority rules. Each person who enters this social contract agrees to abide by laws the government passes, even when they disagree with them.

Nicolas de Condorcet (1743–1794), the French philosopher and mathematician, believed continual progress led toward the perfection of humankind. He argued that the progress the Enlightenment promoted, especially in science and social thought, would lead to an increasingly perfect human state. Understanding health, wealth creation, and industry would eventually eliminate disease, poverty, and suffering. Through knowledge, humans are capable of unlimited progress.

To review, see

 

1e. Compare revolts, coup d'états, mass uprisings, and revolutions

  • How do mass uprisings, coup d'états, rebellions, revolts, and revolutions differ and how are they similar?

A mass uprising occurs when a local population protests or resists their government, in a relatively spontaneous manner, often in violence. Participants are less concerned about planning changes to the societal structure than other types of political rebellion. Examples of mass uprisings include the German Peasant Rebellion from 1524 to 1525 and the Sioux Ghost Dance of 1890.

Social elites typically initiate coup d'états. These highly-organized affairs may or may not have popular support. For example, during a military coup, chosen military staff may suddenly replace political leaders with a violent revolt, such as the coup d'état in 1952 when Mohammed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew Egypt's King Farouk.

Rebellions combine aspects of mass uprisings and coups. They involve large numbers of participants and a high degree of planning and organization. The leaders typically have a clear vision for the future and enlist action from a large percentage of the population. Examples include the Russian Revolution in 1917 and the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1956. 

Revolutions can begin as rebellions, coup d'états, or mass uprisings. However, not all rebellions, coups, or mass uprisings are revolutions. Often, mass uprisings are brief, sometimes violent, and can lead to minor changes; they usually do not result in lasting political change. Rebellions are similar; they can and sometimes do inspire change, but they do not overhaul or change a system as a revolution does. Coups are started and executed by elites for the express purpose of seizing power. They often result in regime changes but do not have the same political, social, or cultural impact as a revolution.

Revolutions can take on many forms, from political to cultural to scientific, technological, and social. During social revolutions, such as the agricultural, industrial, and scientific revolutions, new ideas and discoveries challenge prevailing thought, traditions, and behaviors. These revolts often take much longer to play out than political revolutions. Nevertheless, they can still disrupt the fabric of society with fundamental structural change brought about by class struggle, scientific advancement, and technological change.

To review, see


Unit 1 Vocabulary

This vocabulary list includes terms you will need to know to successfully complete the final exam.

  • Age of Reason
  • Alex de Tocqueville
  • Benedict Anderson
  • Chalmers Johnson
  • class conflict
  • communism
  • constitutional monarchy
  • coup d'états
  • Crane Brinton
  • diggers
  • disequilibrium
  • divine right of kings
  • English Bill of Rights
  • English Civil War
  • Enlightenment
  • Immanuel Kant
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • John Locke
  • Karl Marx
  • Letter Concerning Toleration
  • levellers
  • Magna Carta
  • mass uprising
  • Max Weber
  • Nicolas de Condorcet
  • Oliver Cromwell
  • Petition of Right
  • political revolutions
  • rebellions
  • revolts
  • rule of law
  • Samuel Huntington
  • Social Contract
  • social equilibrium
  • social revolutions
  • Thirty Years War
  • Toleration Act of 1689

Unit 2: The American Revolution

2a. Identify the immediate and long-term causes of the American Revolution

  • What were the primary causes of the American Revolution?
  • What was salutary neglect, and how did it lead to the American Revolution?
  • How did British policy change toward the American colonies after the Seven Years' War?
  • What were some significant events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the battles of Lexington and Concord, and the Treaty of Paris?

The American Revolution consisted of a series of revolts between 1765 and 1793 when the 13 American colonies declared independence from Great Britain and formed the United States. The American colonists changed from solid British citizens to revolutionaries in just ten years due to various grievances and tensions between them and the British government, leading to a desire for independence and self-governance. Many Americans fought proudly in the Seven Years' War from 1756 to 1763 (also known as the French and Indian War). Still, British government policies transformed their pride into hostility and resentment.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the British parliament practiced salutary neglect, a laissez-faire (French term for "let do" or "leave alone") system of governance that left the colonies to govern themselves. This peaceful arrangement changed when Great Britain raised taxes to force the northern colonies to pay the Seven Years' War debt. Frustrations also mounted when Britain failed to consult the colonists on major policy issues. The colonists lacked a clear way to redress their immediate grievances. Internal factors, such as population pressures, increased consumerism and commercialism, new relationships based on contracts rather than familial ties, and new ideas about political representation (Republicanism), prompted the Americans to look for new solutions. The Americans had established a new sense of national identity.

In October 1765, several representatives formed the Stamp Act Congress to oppose Britain's new tax laws. The Boston Massacre in 1770 and the Boston Tea Party in 1773 escalated the tension. The Boston Massacre of 1770 and the Boston Tea Party of 1773 were violent confrontations between British soldiers and American colonists, escalating tensions and pushing for independence, respectively, despite British taxation policies. In April 1775, several major confrontations sparked a revolution, including the first major clashes in Lexington and Concord. In the spring of 1776, battles followed in North Carolina, New York, and Canada. The Americans declared independence on July 4, 1776. By 1783, representatives of King George III and the United States signed The Treaty of Paris to end the American Revolutionary War.

The American Revolution differed from other revolutions during this period because it revolted against colonialism. Colonialism is a system where a country controls territories, often overseas, establishing settlements and exploiting resources for economic gain. It often leads to political, economic, and cultural domination, exploitation, and inequality. The Revolution was also anti-monarchy, opposition to or practice of a single ruler since it replaced the British monarchy with a republican form of government that supported capitalism.

To review, see

 

2b. Compare the Federalist and Republican visions of society and the state

  • How were the ideologies of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists similar and different?
  • How did the Federalist Papers influence the development of the U.S. government?
  • What is the legacy of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist visions of government?

America's Founding Fathers are the political leaders, statesmen, and thinkers who played key roles in the American Revolution and the drafting and adoption of the United States Constitution. They had conflicting ideas about the balance of power between the state and central authority. During the American Revolution, the United States had established itself under the Articles of Confederation, a constitution that gave the states the most power. The central government was a unicameral congress, a legislative body consisting of a single chamber or house that lacked the authority to raise taxes or enforce laws. When this system fell apart in 1787, the state representatives called a convention to revise the Articles. However, when the participants convened in 1787, they rewrote these government rules rather than simply revised them.

During the five-month convention (May–September 1787), the Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804), James Madison (1751–1836), and John Jay (1745–1829), outlined their support for a strong central government, a bicameral legislature (comprised of two houses, the Senate and House of Representatives), and a new U.S. Constitution. In 1788, they honed and strengthened their talking points by writing and publishing 85 articles and essays (the Federalist Papers) in the New York newspapers. The Federalist Papers campaigned to ratify the U.S. Constitution, laying the foundation for America's current political ideology.

By contrast, the Anti-Federalists, led by Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) and Patrick Henry (1739–1799), promoted state sovereignty, a limited federal government, and increased local control. They feared a strong central government would lead to tyranny. However, they failed to rally support for their arguments because they had not attended the Constitutional Convention. They eventually supported the ratification of the new U.S. Constitution, provided the Federalists added a U.S. Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments), which they modeled on the English Bill of Rights.

To review, see


2c. Describe some key ideas from the writings of the American revolutionaries

  • What claims did Thomas Paine make to support the fight for independence from Britain in his pamphlet Common Sense?
  • What were Paine's ideas about religion and representation in government?
  • What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Federalist Papers (1778), the U.S. Constitution (1788), and the U.S. Bill of Rights (1791)?
  • How does the Declaration of Independence demonstrate the "logic of resistance"?
  • How does the Declaration of Independence define and envision equality? Which groups of citizens did the framers include in their vision of equality? Who did they exclude, and in what ways?

The American founders published articles, bills, essays, presidential addresses, and war documents to promote their cause. They penned the U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776) to articulate their grievances against the British and justify revolution. The Constitution (1788) established the basic structure of government, and the U.S. Bill of Rights (1791), the Constitution's first ten amendments, outlined the rights of American citizens. The Federalist Papers and Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776) were important founding documents.

Thomas Paine (1737–1809), one of the most influential voices of the American Revolution, drew on the ideas of the Enlightenment in his book Common Sense. He argued that all men deserve equal representation and the right to vote regardless of socioeconomic status. Paine also advocated for a rational, secular government based on the separation of church and state (see Unit 1).

Thomas Jefferson echoed the ideals of the Enlightenment and many of Paine's arguments in the Declaration of Independence. He agreed it was the right and duty of the people to replace an authoritarian government with a democratic one. His proclamation that "all men are created equal" denounced the principle of the divine right of kings. He believed citizens should periodically refresh their government via revolution.

Note that each of these founding documents articulated the notion of equality. Still, the Founding Fathers disenfranchised a significant part of the American population – women, 500,000 enslaved people, indentured servants, and non-property owners – who were not allowed to vote in elections.

To review, see


2d. Describe the legacies of the American Revolution

  • What do historians mean by the "American experiment"?
  • How did the American Revolution inspire future revolutions?
  • How was the American Revolution elitist, and why was it so significant?
  • How did the Declaration of Independence inspire future revolutions?
  • What was revolutionary about the American Revolution?

The American Revolution marked the first time a group of colonies united to replace a monarchical colonial system with a representative republican government. Many call the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution the American experiment. Future revolutionaries in France, Haiti, Latin America, Texas, India, Vietnam, and others followed their lead and quoted the Declaration of Independence in their founding documents.

However, many historians consider the American Revolution an elitist movement because most revolutionary leaders were wealthy landowners who had considered themselves full British citizens. They limited political participation to the white male landowners, such as themselves. Many were enslavers and denied enslaved people their equal rights as American citizens.

To review, see


2e. Explain how the Enlightenment influenced the American Revolution

  • How did the Enlightenment inspire the American Revolution?
  • How did Jefferson adapt the ideas of John Locke?
  • Why did the American revolutionaries question the authority of the British government?
  • How did the Constitution's framers build on the ideas of the Enlightenment and other sources when creating it?

The ideals of the Enlightenment directly inspired the American revolutionaries. They cited the ideas of the philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke:

  • The social contract
  • The consent of the governed
  • The inherent equality of citizens to the monarch

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson quotes John Locke's iconic sentence: " All men are created equal…endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, among these life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".
 
The founders adopted Montesquieu's recommendation to create three separate legislative branches, with a system based on popular sovereignty (the idea that government authority is based on the consent of the governed), republicanism (where elected officials hold power), and the will of the people. They also looked to their Native American neighbors for inspiration. They invited members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six Native American (or First Nations) tribes, to join the Constitutional Convention and borrowed several ideas from their founding documents.

These ideas included the separation of powers (where different government agencies have equal authority), checks and balances (where one government entity can check the authority of another), and the process of impeachment (where one government entity can remove another for misconduct). The formation of the U.S. government on the Enlightenment philosophy and the Haudenosaunee helped the framers create a government that has lasted through modern times.

To review, see

 

Unit 2 Vocabulary

This vocabulary list includes terms you will need to know to successfully complete the final exam.

  • American experiment
  • Anti-Federalists
  • Articles of Confederation
  • bicameral legislature
  • Boston Massacre
  • Boston Tea Party
  • checks and balances
  • colonialism
  • Common Sense
  • Federalist Papers
  • federalists
  • Founding Fathers
  • Haudenosaunee Confederacy
  • impeachment
  • laissez-faire
  • popular sovereignty
  • republicanism
  • salutary neglect
  • separation of powers
  • Seven Years' War
  • Stamp Act Congress
  • Thomas Paine
  • Treaty of Paris
  • U.S. Bill of Rights
  • U.S. Constitution
  • unicameral

Unit 3: The French Revolution and Its Legacy

3a. Identify the immediate and long-term causes of the French Revolution

  • What were the primary causes of the French Revolution in 1789?
  • How was the class system structured in the ancien régime, and what were the social stratifications in French society on the eve of the revolution?
  • What role did the nobility, bourgeoisie, peasantry, and church play in the early phases of the revolution?
  • Why did the lives of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI in Versailles anger the French population?

The Enlightenment philosophers and American revolutionaries inspired the French with their calls for equality, reason, and justice. French society was divided into social classes or estates:

  • the First Estate included the monarchy and clergy;
  • the Second Estate included the landed aristocracy; and
  • the Third Estate included everyone else.

Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were ineffective monarchs who were out of touch with the people's needs. While the Third Estate suffered in poverty, the monarchs and nobility lived in luxury and enjoyed leisurely lives. The French government was bankrupt after participating in many European wars, including the Seven Years' War from 1756 to 1753. The government demanded the Third Estate pay for these wars, and the people rebelled.

This ancien regime (traditional social and political system) and estates class system (hierarchical structure) did not survive the Third Estate's increasing demands for equality. The French Revolution (1789–1799) abolished the monarchy and transformed France's political system into a republic, where elected officials held power. The people literally and metaphorically toppled the medieval concept of the divine right of kings – the idea that God chooses the monarch to rule over the people – by beheading their monarchs.

While smaller rebellions occurred in 1788, historians believe the French Revolution began after members of the Third Estate signed the Tennis Court Oath on June 20, 1789. They vowed to stick together and boycott the Estates-General (the French legislature) until the government adopted a written constitution. To many, the start of the French Revolution occurred on July 14, 1789, when revolutionaries stormed the Bastille, the central prison in Paris, which symbolized the King's power and abuses.

To review, see:


3b. Describe how the French Revolution affected 19th-century Europe

  • How does the French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789) compare with the English Bill of Rights and the American Bill of Rights?
  • What were the main principles of the Admission of Jews to Rights of Citizenship (1791) and The Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791)?
  • How did the French Civil Code represent the relationship between men and women?
  • How does it compare to Olympia de Gauges' vision of women's rights in her Declaration of the Rights of Woman?

Many believe the French Revolution's most lasting innovation was its support for radical social change, progress, and modernity. However, its violent, revolutionary zeal also invoked reduced respect for tradition, promoted political instability, and disregarded the work of previous generations.

The French Revolution's legacies include the demise of feudalism, the end of absolute monarchy (where the government is led by a monarch for life and is ordained by God or birthright), support for modernization, a rise of nationalism, disestablishment of the church, promotion of human rights, and support for democracy.

The French revolutionaries went beyond the ideals of the English and U.S. Bill of Rights when they proclaimed human rights were universal in the Declaration of the Rights of Man (asserts fundamental liberties and equality for all citizens), the Declaration of the Rights of Woman (advocates for women's rights on par with men), and the Admission of Jews to Rights of Citizenship (affirms Jews equal status in society). These are the founding documents of modern liberal thought, a political philosophy based on liberty and equality.

In 1814, France restored its monarchy after the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna. King Louis XVIII ruled France until 1824 but created a constitutional monarchy and preserved many revolutionary liberties. However, rebellion and ideological conflicts returned in France and several other European countries in 1848. The rise of nationalism prompted citizens to give their loyalty to the nation-state rather than to a ruler or institution, such as the monarchy or church.

The French Revolution inspired revolutionaries in Haiti. Napoleon's incursions into Spain weakened the Spanish Empire, giving Latin Americans an opening to fight for their independence. The rise of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna redrew national boundaries in Europe and led to nationalistic fervor throughout the continent

To review, see:

 

3c. Explain how the French Revolution devolved into chaos and terror

  • What was the Reign of Terror and Thermidorian Reaction?
  • How would you contrast the arguments of Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine regarding revolution?
  • What are the distinctions between economic, political, cultural, and sociological causes of revolutionary change?

The National Assembly, the new French government, began meeting in June 1789. They approved the new Constitution of 1791 and imprisoned King Louis XVI as a traitor to France (they executed him and his wife Marie-Antoinette in 1793). Infighting and mistrust prevented the revolutionaries from creating a new functional government and led to the Reign of Terror, where more than 300,000 people were arrested, and 17,000 were executed from 1793 to 1794. While Maximilien Robespierre, the leader of the French Republic, initially tried to institute democratic change, the country soon devolved into chaos and terror.

Conservative thinker Edmund Burke believed revolutions cause more problems than they solve. Society should introduce change gradually and avoid revolutionary ideas that abandon generations of knowledge and experience. Political activist and revolutionary Thomas Paine disagreed and supported the French revolutionaries. He argued people have a right and obligation to revolt when their government fails to protect their natural rights.

The Thermidorian Reaction was the liberal-conservative counter-revolution that followed the Reign of Terror, which officially ended when Robespierre was executed on 9 Thermidor (July 27, 1794). The leaders of the Jacobin Club purged the government of revolutionary political forces and attempted to restore the political, social, and economic values of 1789. Following several military successes, Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), the statesman and military leader, became France's authoritarian leader in 1799. He declared himself Emperor of France in 1804

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3d. Explain why Napoleon was able to rise in power and his impact on Europe

  • How did Napoleon rise to power, and what caused his downfall?
  • What positive reforms did Napoleon initiate? What were the negative consequences of his reign?
  • How did Napoleon impact Europe in the short and long term?

The French Revolution ended with the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. To solidify his power, Napoleon partnered with the Catholic Church, a counter-revolutionary protest against the secular nature of the 1789 revolution. Napoleon instituted several lasting reforms: he centralized the administration of the départements and created a higher education system, a tax collection system, a central bank, codes of law, and road and sewer systems. He created a set of civil laws, the Napoleonic Code or French Civil Code, that combined several legal principles (supported during the revolution) into one document. For example, his legal code formalized equality under the law and the right to property and abolished the feudal system.

Napoleon aimed to consolidate a French empire during the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). His military successes upended the traditional feudal systems in northern Italy, Germany, and Belgium, leading to revolutions in Latin America.

In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia, whose size and climate strained supply lines and decimated his forces. Napoleon suffered a crushing defeat when Prussia and England allied against him at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Napoleon abdicated the throne and was exiled to the Island of Elba and later to Saint Helena, where he died in 1821. France restored its monarchy at the end of the Napoleonic Wars after the Congress of Vienna in 1814. King Louis XVIII (1755–1824) created a constitutional monarchy and preserved many of the liberties of the French Revolution during his rule from 1814 to 1824.

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3e. Explain the causes of the partitioning of Poland and its effects on the development of modern Europe

  • Why was Poland partitioned?
  • What were the short- and long-term consequences of the partitioning of Poland?

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, established in 1569, included the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and covered a large part of eastern Europe, including Latvia, parts of Ukraine and Estonia, and Belarus. Established as a semi-federal, confederal, aristocratic government, the Commonwealth shared authority between the central and local governments. It combined ideas of democracy and a constitutional monarchy. Like England's Magna Carta, the aristocracy limited the monarch's power.

Although the Commonwealth was a partnership, Poland maintained most of the power. Historians call the first century of the Commonwealth its Golden Age. The Parliament was powerful and kept the Commonwealth out of Europe's Thirty Years War. The ideas of the Enlightenment – constitutionalism (the idea that government power is limited by the will of the people and the rule of law), human rights, and universal education – were popular among intellectuals.

The Khmelnytskyi Uprising of 1648, the largest Cossack uprising in history, weakened the stability of the Commonwealth. The Russians supported the Cossacks by moving into Ukraine and supplanting Polish authority. In 1655, the Swedes allied with Transylvania to launch an invasion, further weakening the Commonwealth. An alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor and involvement in the Great Turkish War led to more chaos. These external pressures caused internal instabilities, and the Commonwealth devolved into near-anarchy.

The Four-Year Sejm of 1788–1792, a historic period in Polish-Lithuanian history, tried to pass several reforms to preserve the Commonwealth. The Constitution of 1791 was its last attempt to maintain the political entity, but the partitions by Russia, Prussia, and the Habsburg Monarchy had already occurred. Partitions are a series of events in the late 18th century whereby the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was divided and annexed by neighboring powers. By 1795, the three foreign powers carved up their territories, and the Poland-Lithuanian Commonwealth ceased to exist. Poland and Lithuania remained absorbed by their neighbors until the end of World War I – the two nations became independent nations again in 1918.

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3f. Explain how the Congress of Vienna and Napoleon's conquest of Europe gave rise to European nationalism

  • How was France organized politically and administratively after the Congress of Vienna in 1815?
  • Which European and American powers participated in the Congress of Vienna?
  • What were some criticisms of the Congress of Vienna?
  • How did historians change their perception of the Congress of Vienna in the 20th century?
  • What were the short- and long-term consequences of the Congress of Vienna?
  • How did the Congress of Vienna inspire nationalism and revolution in Europe?

The diplomats who attended the Congress of Vienna (a diplomatic conference) reorganized Europe's boundaries after Napoleon's defeat. Britain, Russia, Austria, Prussia, and France made the major decisions, although inferior powers like Spain and Portugal were invited to attend. At first, the negotiators excluded France, but they eventually allowed Talleyrand-Périgord, a French statesman, to assert his presence. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, an ally of Britain during the War of 1812, also sent representatives. 

To many, the Congress of Vienna was a conservative backlash to revolutionary liberalism. The Conservative Order championed contradicted French and American human rights ideals, promoted the interests of the major powers, and ignored the civil rights of those who lived in the states it reorganized. However, more recent historians credit the diplomats with preserving the peace for 100 years until World War I.

The Congress of Vienna fostered the development of nationalism, which led to the outbreak of World War I. Reorganizing the state boundaries changed Europe's power structure and encouraged Russia, Britain, and France to become more assertive. Their power struggles led to the Crimean War (1853-1856), pitting Russia against Great Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire.

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Unit 3 Vocabulary

This vocabulary list includes terms you will need to know to successfully complete the final exam.

  • absolute monarchy
  • Admission of Jews to Rights of Citizenship
  • ancien regime
  • Bastille
  • Battle of Waterloo
  • Congress of Vienna
  • Conservative Order
  • constitutionalism
  • Crimean War
  • Declaration of the Rights of Man
  • Declaration of the Rights of Woman
  • Edmund Burke
  • estates class system
  • feudalism
  • First Estate
  • French Civil Code
  • French Revolution
  • Jacobin Club
  • Khmelnytskyi Uprising of 1648
  • King Louis XVIII
  • Louis XVI
  • Marie Antoinette
  • Maximilien Robespierre
  • Napoleon Bonaparte
  • Napoleonic Code
  • Napoleonic Wars
  • nationalism
  • partitions
  • Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
  • Reign of Terror
  • republic
  • Second Estate
  • Talleyrand-Périgord
  • Tennis Court Oath
  • The Four-Year Sejm
  • Thermidorian Reaction
  • Third Estate

Unit 4: Revolution in Haiti, Mexico, Latin America, and the Philippines

4a. Identify the immediate and long-term causes of revolution in Latin America

  • What were the root causes of the Latin American independence movements in the 1800s and 1900s?
  • How would you compare these causes with the American and French revolutions, including colonialism, the lives of the peasants, economic factors, and the social structure?
  • How did developments in Europe and Latin America affect the Mexican Revolution?

France enforced a mercantile policy in Saint Domingue (today's Haiti), which forced local businesses to trade exclusively with France, which reaped most of the profits from the country's cash crops. The local aristocracy was not allowed to serve in the government. When France published the Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789, the Saint Domingue residents expected the new French government would convey the rights it proclaimed to them. However, the French restricted these rights to wealthy white plantation owners and free Black individuals and excluded the rest of the population. In 1791–1792, the enslaved people of Saint Domingue rose in protest.

Toussaint L'Ouverture (1743–1803), a formerly enslaved person, joined the rebellion in 1792 after the Night of Fire (Aug. 22, 1791), when more than 100,000 enslaved people set their plantations on fire and mounted an armed resistance. The death toll included 24,000 White and 100,000 enslaved people. In 1803, Napoleon sent 43,000 troops to regain control of Saint Domingue. They captured L'Ouverture, who was sent to die in a French prison, but Jean-Jacques Dessalines (1758–1806), the first ruler of independent Haiti, defeated the French forces and declared Haiti an independent nation in 1804.

France recognized Haiti, but Haiti faced challenges securing trading partners and diplomatic relations with other countries, such as the United States, which refused to ally itself with a country whose enslaved people had overthrown their oppressors. Edmund Burke declared the Haitian Revolution a dangerous precedent that threatened the institution of slavery.

In 1810, a Catholic priest, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811) led the Mexican war for independence. Spain relinquished its control of Mexico with the Treaty of Córdoba in 1821. The new Mexican government restructured Mexican society and outlawed slavery. Independence movements in Guatemala, Haiti, Columbia, and Argentina followed. Mexico experienced 50 governments in 30 years. None of the leaders were as impactful or controversial as Antonio López de Santa Anna (1794–1876), who controlled several of these governments as president and military dictator. During this instability, Mexico's northern colony of Tejas (Texas) rebelled against Mexico's 1821 decision to abolish slavery and Santa Anna's moves to centralize government power and criminalize gun ownership. The Texans declared independence in 1836, leading to the Mexican-American War in 1845. After it defeated Mexico, the United States annexed Tejas and most of Mexico's territory north of the Rio Grande River.

Porfirio Diaz (1830–1915) seized political power in 1876 and created a dictatorship (the Porfiriato) from 1876 to 1911. During his 34-year dictatorship, Diaz created a centralized government and pursued an aggressive policy to build a modern capitalist and industrialized state with substantial investment from the United States and other foreign countries. The Mexican Constitution of 1857 lasted until the Revolution of 1910, with the onset of the Mexican Civil War (1910–1920). This revolution brought an end to the Porfiriato. 

The Revolution in South America was led by Simón Bolívar (1783–1830), a wealthy aristocrat. Bolívar dedicated his fortune to the independence movement. Bolívar became a temporary dictator in Venezuela, Peru, and president of the newly formed Gran Colombia. Gran Colombia was a short-lived republic in South America that existed from 1819 to 1831.

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4b. Describe how the ideas of the Enlightenment influenced revolution in Latin America

  • How did The Enlightenment inspire Latin American revolutionaries?
  • How did the ideals of rights and limited government influence the revolutions of Latin America?

The ideas of the Enlightenment influenced revolutions in Haiti, Mexico, and other parts of Latin America. For example, in Saint Domingue, the independence supporters had read the French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789), which proclaimed universal human rights, limited democratic government, and the idea that government should be based on the people's will. Civil war erupted across the country when the French Revolutionary government only extended these rights to certain groups.

These Enlightenment ideals are evident in the writings of Father Hidalgo of Mexico, the Texas revolutionaries Simon Bolivar of South America, and Fidel Castro of Cuba.

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4c. Explain the role the United States played in the revolutions of Latin America

  • How did the American Revolution inspire the revolutions in Latin America? How did the interests of the United States cause it to switch its policies and perspective?
  • What was the U.S. role in the events and outcome of revolutions in Latin America?

The American Experiment inspired many Latin American revolutionaries to rebel against the European colonial powers. However, the United States used its Monroe Doctrine and Roosevelt Corollary to assert itself as a protector of the Western hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine, introduced in 1823, prohibited European colonization of the Western Hemisphere and aimed to prevent European expansion in the Americas. The Roosevelt Corollary, introduced in 1904, extended this doctrine, allowing the US to intervene in Latin American countries to maintain stability and protect American interests, often through military force or economic coercion. The U.S. government warned European powers against interfering in its commercial and political interests. During the Spanish-American War of 1898, the United States said it supported the Cuban and Filipino independence movements. Still, it had its imperialistic ambitions when it stepped in to replace Spanish control of Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

President Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) said the United States would speak softly and carry a big stick. The Roosevelt Corollary meant the United States would serve as a police force in the Americas and protect its interests as a world power with force. Roosevelt's "big stick" policy impacted several revolutions in Latin America.

In Panama, the U.S. government helped Panamanian insurgents gain independence from Gran Colombia, which opposed the U.S. plan to build a canal through the Isthmus of Panama. The Panama Canal would support the U.S. Navy and commercial shipping interests. The United States agreed to create an independent Panama (provided it supported the United States). This support solidified U.S. involvement in Latin American politics and divided the American continents into north and south.

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4d. Describe the role the United States played in the revolutions in the Philippines

  • Why did the United States refuse to grant the Philippines independence after the Spanish-American War?
  • How did the United States' actions in the Philippines lead to the Philippine-American War?

The United States refused to grant independence to the Philippines after the Spanish-American War in 1898 and used its newly acquired territory to expand its naval presence in Southeast Asia. The Filipino people believed the United States would honor their desire for independence in keeping with the ideals of the American Revolution. A Filipino independence movement later tried to expel the United States during the Philippine-American War (1899–1902). The United States maintained colonial control of the Philippines until Japan took control of the islands during World War II.

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4e. Discuss the role the United States played in the Cuban Revolution

  • What role did the United States play in the Cuban Revolution?

Unlike the Philippines and several other territories, the United States granted independence to Cuba. In 1959, leaders Fidel Castro (1926–2016) and Che Guevara (1928–1967) overthrew Cuba's capitalist system, which had become beholden to United States commercial interests, and replaced it with a communist system that remains today. Cuba has been governed as a one-party socialist state with a centrally planned economy. The events in Cuba served as a proxy war for the Cold War (1947–1989), where the United States and the Soviet Union (today's Russia) engaged in a constant struggle between capitalism and communism.

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4f. Explain the development of socialist ideas in Latin America and their effects on revolution

  • What were the primary causes of the Mexican Revolution?
  • Why were the Mexicans so receptive to the socialist ideas?
  • What rights did the Mexican Constitution of 1917 proclaim for Mexican citizens?

The Mexican Revolution occurred from 1910 to 1920. It marked the end of the porfiriato, the rule of Porfirio Diaz, the authoritarian Mexican president, from 1876 to 1911. In October 1910, Francisco Madero, an advocate for social justice and democracy, called on Mexicans to oppose the Diaz dictatorship. He was supported by Emiliano Zapata, who had inspired an agrarian movement (Zapatismo) in the state of Morelos when he called on the peasants to demand water rights and land reform.

Power and wealth were concentrated in the central government, foreign (usually American) investors, and members of the wealthier upper classes, often of Spanish heritage. A small but growing middle class objected to the concentration of wealth in the upper class and foreign investors. Mexican intellectuals aligned themselves with European-style liberalism. The peasants, villagers, and Mexican working class were often of mixed race (Mestizos) or members of the indigenous population (Zapotecs, Yaquis, and Maya). The Mexican industrial workers began to unionize, and the rural and urban poor also demanded equal opportunity.

In May 1911, Díaz was forced to resign and flee to France when the Federal Army suffered several military defeats by Madero's forces. In October 1911, Madero was elected president. However, Madero soon disavowed the support he had received from Zapata's forces and denounced the Zapatistas. Venustiano Carranza was elected president from 1917 to 1920 and oversaw the creation of the Mexican Constitution of 1917. This constitution recognized the rights of organized labor, established the basis for a free, mandatory, and secular education, and limited the power of the Catholic Church. Carranza was assassinated in 1920, and his opponent, Obregon, was elected president, marking the end of the Mexican Revolution.

Since the 1917 Constitution was the first constitution to discuss social rights, many historians view it as the first socialist constitution. It would influence future socialist revolutions and constitutions, including the Weimar Constitution of 1919 in Germany and the Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Constitution of 1918 in Russia. This socialist and Marxist revolutionary tradition was evident in 1910 Mexico and would resurface in Chile, Ecuador, and Cuba.

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Unit 4 Vocabulary

This vocabulary list includes terms you will need to know to successfully complete the final exam.

  • Antonio López de Santa Anna
  • Che Guevara
  • Cold War
  • Emiliano Zapata
  • Fidel Castro
  • Francisco Madero
  • Gran Colombia
  • Isthmus of Panama
  • Jean-Jacques Dessalines
  • Maya
  • mercantilism
  • Mestizos
  • Mexican Civil War
  • Mexican Constitution of 1857
  • Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
  • Monroe Doctrine
  • Panama Canal
  • Pancho Villa
  • Philippine American War
  • Porfiriato
  • Porfirio Diaz
  • Roosevelt Corollary
  • Saint Domingue
  • Simón Bolívar
  • Spanish-American War of 1898
  • Tejas
  • Theodore Roosevelt
  • Toussaint L'Ouverture
  • Treaty of Córdoba
  • Yaquis
  • Zapatismo
  • Zapotecs