World History Grade 10: Enlightenment and Revolution PDF

World History Grade 10 The Enlightenment Key Terms Separation of powers Laissez-faire Social Contract The Enlightenment The Enlightenment was an eighteenth- century philosophical movement of intellectuals. The Enlightenment embodied 4 key principles, reason, natural law, hope and...

World History Grade 10 The Enlightenment Key Terms Separation of powers Laissez-faire Social Contract The Enlightenment The Enlightenment was an eighteenth- century philosophical movement of intellectuals. The Enlightenment embodied 4 key principles, reason, natural law, hope and progress. The enlightenment was influenced especially by John Locke and Issac Newton. Locke argued that every human being was born with a “tabula rasa” or a blank slate. Locke believed that humans were influenced by their surroundings and environment. Newton believed that the physical world operated on natural laws which could be understood and discovered through systematic investigation. Enlightenment Philosophy Most of the Enlightenments leaders were French, although English thinkers had provided the inspiration for the movement. Nearly all enlightenment thinkers were from the nobility and the middle class. Charles-Louis de Secondat, the Baron of Montesquieu was a French noble. His work The Spirit of the Laws (1748) studied governments. Montesquieu theorized that natural laws govern social and political realms of human society. Montesquieu stated that England’s government was comprised of three branches, executive (monarchy), legislative (parliament) and judicial (court system). Enlightenment Thought England’s government functioned through the separation of powers, meaning the systems of government operated independently, and controlled each other in a system of checks and balances. One of the most famous of the Enlightenment thinkers was Francois- Marie Arouet, who wrote under the alias Voltaire. Voltaire was born in Paris, to a middle-class family. His writings during the 18th century brought him great fame and wealth across Europe. Voltaire was known for his witty, sarcastic writing, and his sharp criticisms of the systems of power in eighteenth-century Europe. Enlightenment Thought Scottish philosopher Adam Smith was a key contributor to the modern idea of economics. The Physiocrats, a group of French thinkers, were interested in identifying the natural economic laws that governed society. They maintained that if all individuals were free to pursue their own economic self-interests, all society would benefit. Physiocrats advocated that the state should not interrupt the forces which governed the market, instead they should adopt a laissez-faire doctrine, meaning to “let the people do what they want”. Enlightenment Thought Of the late Enlightenment thinkers, Jean- Jacques Rosseau championed the idea of the “social contract”. The idea of the social contract was that society agrees to be governed by its general will. Individuals who wish to follow their own self-interests must be forced to abide by its general will. Unlike other enlightenment thinkers, Rosseau believed that emotions, as well as reason were important to human development, he sought to compromise both emotion and reason. Enlightened Absolutism and Balance of Power The philosophes believed that reforms needed to be undertaken across greater society, they also believed that people needed to be governed by “enlightened” rulers. The philosophes believed that people had the right to- freedom of speech, worship, press, own property and to pursue happiness. A new system of government “enlightened absolutism” took hold in a few European states during the later eighteenth century. Prussia, Austria and Russia all attempted to govern with enlightenment principles while keeping the system of monarchy. Prussia Two Prussian kings, Fredrick William I and Fredrick II, made Prussia a major European power in the eighteenth century. its I maintained a highly efficient bureaucracy of civil service workers. Besides the civil service, Fredrick William’s other major concern was the Prussian military, by the end of his reign in 1740, he had doubled the size of the Prussian army. Despite Prussia’s small size, it had the fourth largest military after France, Russia and Austria. Because of its size and prestige, the Prussian military was the most important institution in the kingdom. Prussia Members of the nobility, “junkers” who owned large private estates with many serfs, were the officers of the Prussian military. These officers had a strong sense of duty to the state. As Prussian nobles, they believed in duty, obedience and sacrifice. Fredrick II, commonly known as “Fredrick the Great” (r. 1740-86) was one of the best educated monarchs of his time. Fredrick II was well versed in enlightenment concepts and theory; Fredrick II further expanded the Prussian military and kept a strict watch over the Prussian civil services. Prussia For a time, Fredrick seemed willing to make enlightened reforms, he abolished torture except in the case of treason and murder, he granted limited freedom of the press and speech as well as greater religious tolerance. Despite these reforms, Fredrick II kept the system of serfdom and kept the rigid social structures of greater Prussian society. Austria Austria was one of the “great powers” in eighteenth century Europe, with a large territorial expanse and large population. However, the diverse ethnic and religious background of the Austrian Empire made it a very hard empire to rule. Empress Maria Theresa, who took the throne in 1740, worked to centralize the power of the state, putting more power in the hands on the monarchy. While initially open to calls for reform, she did not work to improve the conditions of the serfs Austria When her son, Joseph II took the throne, he implemented widespread reforms throughout the Austrian Empire. Joseph believed that “philosophy was the lawmaker of the empire.” Joseph II abolished serfdom and the death penalty. He established religious equality and equality before the law. Joseph’s reforms ended in failure, abolishing serfdom alienated the powerful noble class, meanwhile reforms did not even please the serfs due to the sudden changes and lack of communication between the state and the serfs. Joseph’s successors undid nearly all reforms that were enacted under his rule. Russia Following the rule of Peter the Great, the successive rulers were weak and constantly deposed by internal coups. Catherine II, or Catherine the Great (r. 1762-96) was familiar with the concepts of the enlightenment and favored the ideas of the enlightenment. Despite being open to the ideas of the enlightenment, Catherine did not enact any reforms, this was because Catherine needed the support of the Russian nobility. Russia Catherine’s policy of favoring the landed nobility led to worsening conditions for the Russian serfs. These conditions eventually caused open rebellion from the serfs. Led by illiterate Cossack (a minority group from southern Russia and Eastern Ukraine) Yemelyan Pugachov, the rebellion spread across southern Russia but was eventually defeated by the Russian military. Catherine took even stronger measures against the peasants. Reforms were halted, and serfdom was further spread throughout the empire. Russia Catherine further spread Russian territory during her reign. Russia spread further south into the Black Sea region, defeating the Ottoman Empire in the first Russo- Turkish War (1768-74). Russia also expanded westward, annexing half of the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth, with the rest of Polish territory divided between Prussia and Austria. Enlightened Absolutism- Takeaways Despite the premise of “enlightened” absolutism, only Joseph II in Austria implemented actual reforms in-line with enlightenment principles. Fredrick the Great in Prussia and Catherine the Great in Russia governed in the interests of keeping stability and power, placating the powerful class of the nobility. The monarchs of the eighteenth century were largely concerned with the greater balance of power in Europe. The “balance of power” was the idea that states should have equal power to prevent one nation from dominating the European Continent. Monarchs across the continent invested in large armies and expensive and costly wars. Fredrick the Great summed up the philosophy of the absolutist states of the time “The fundamental rule of governments is the principle of expanding The War of The Austrian Succession In 1740, war broke out over who would succeed the vacant Austrian throne. When Maria Theresa succeeded the previous ruler Charles VI, Fredrick II took advantage of the transition of leadership by invading Austrian Silesia, hoping to annex it into Prussia. France entered the war on the side of Prussia, and in turn, Great Britian entered on the side of Austria. The War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48) was fought across the world. Three major theaters would be the focus of fighting- Europe, North America and Asia. In the European theater, France occupied some Austrian territory and Prussia successfully annexed Silesia. In Asia, France seized Madras (modern day Chennai) in India from Britian. In North America, the British seized territory from the French. By 1748, the war had exhausted the European powers, leading to the treaty of Aix- la-Chappelle, the treaty restored all previously seized territory to their original owners, except for Silesia. The War of the Austrian Succession Austria refused to accept the loss of Silesia, and Maria Theresa spent the interwar era rebuilding the Austrian army and strengthening it for future conflict against Prussia. Austria also used shrewd diplomatic negotiations to isolate Prussia from its main ally France. The Franco-Austrian rivalry had been a geopolitical fact since the sixteenth century, however France turned it’s political and military focus towards Great Britian, which it now saw as a much bigger threat. Meanwhile Prussia and Austria continued to feud over ownership of Silesia. The Seven Years War By 1756, war broke out again across Europe, Asia and North America again. The Seven Years War was divided by two major coalitions: Great Britian and Prussia against Austria, France and Russia The initial stages of the war saw Prussian victory over the combined armies of France, Russia and Austria. Despite initial successes on the battlefield, Prussian armies were eventually worn down by constant offensives from the armies of the France, Austria and Russia. The Seven Years War -Facing impending defeat, Prussia was saved by Russia’s withdrawal from the conflict. Peter III, the new Russian tzar, greatly admired Fredrick and negotiated Russian exit from the war. -Without the Russian armies, the Austro-Franco armies were drawn into a stalemate, leading a settlement to end the war in 1763. All occupied territories were once again returned to their original owners, except for Silesia, which was finally recognized by Austria as Prussian territory. The Seven Years War While the European continent led to Status Quo antebellum, the war had much more decisive results, in India. France was forced to withdraw from India in 1763. The largest non-European theater of war was in North America. While the French colonies in North America were set up more as trading posts, with limited populations Great Britian’s colonies had much larger populations and effective colonial infrastructure.  Most combat in the North American theater focused on the Gulf of St. Lawrence waterway in Canada and the Ohio River Valley in the modern- day United States. The early stages in this theater saw a string of French victories that put The Seven the British Empire on the defensive, however with investment of both financial support and increased military focus ordered by British Prime Years War Minister William Pitt the Elder, Britian would shift the tide of war in North America. In 1759, the British defeated the French army guarding Quebec at the Plains of Abraham, Britian would seize Montreal, the Great Lakes region and the Ohio River Valley in successive military campaigns. The Seven Years War With this string of Defeats, France was forced to make peace with Britian and signed the Treaty of Paris in 1763. In this treaty, France ceded all Canadian territory and lands east of the Mississippi to the British. Spanish Florida was transferred to the British in exchange for the French Louisiana territory being transferred to Spain. With this massive territorial gain, Britian became the worlds most powerful colonial power. The American Revolution- Key Terms Popular Sovereignty Federal System The American Revolution- Background In 1688, the Glorious Revolution resulted in a Bill of Rights that ensured Parliament’s rights to make laws, which resulted in a power sharing agreement between the Monarchy and Parliament. In North America, the thirteen colonies on the Eastern coast of the modern-day United States and Canada all were under British rule at the conclusion of the Seven Years War in 1763. While these colonies were in theory controlled by the British Board of Trade, the Royal Council and Parliament, North American colonies held a great deal of autonomy, with legislatures that often acted independently.  After the Seven Years War, Britian The American was saddled with enormous war debts. The British hoped that the Revolution- American colonies would be able to generate revenues to begin to Beginnings pay off the debts of the Seven Years War. Britian argued that since British armies had protected the colonists from the French armies in North America, these colonists should pay taxation to pay off these debts. In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act, this act required printed materials such as legal documents and newspapers to carry a stamp that showed tax had been paid to Britian. The American Revolution- Beginnings The Stamp Act led to widespread anger in the colonies, protest would occasionally result in violence and rioting in the colonies. While the Stamp Act was repealed in 1766, the crisis was not resolved. Multiple forms of taxation would be levied against the colonies, leading to major tensions between the American colonies. In September 1774, The first Continental Congress was formed in the Thirteen Colonies. During this congress members urged colonists into open rebellion against the British Crown. The American Revolution Fighting broke out in the thirteen colonies in 1775 at the towns of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. With these battles, the American Revolution would officially begin. The Second Continental Congress was formed after these battles to set up an army, the Continental Army was formed, with George Washington appointed as the commander-in-chief. The American Revolution- Early Years Though revolution had officially broken out in the thirteen colonies, public opinion was not uniformly in favor of the revolution. Many colonies, especially in the American South had a large population of “loyalists”, those still in favor of British Rule. Enlightenment thoughts fueled the intellectual arguments in favor of the Revolution. In 1776 Thomas Paine, a Virginia Lawyer wrote the pamphlet “Common Sense” which argued that the British Crown was “tyrannical”, and that people should rule their affairs separate from a King. American Revolution- Early Years On July 4th, 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration included many stances inspired by enlightenment thought, including concepts of personal liberty, the pursuit of happiness and “popular sovereignty” , the idea in which government is formed through the will of the people. The Declaration of Independence also included that if governments failed to uphold the principles of liberty, they could be justifiably overthrown. This principle would inspire later revolutions in Latin America and France. The American Revolution The early years of the War for American Independence was mixed for the Continental Army. Despite some military successes, Britian maintained a military advantage in the first years of the war. Geopolitical realities in Europe helped the American cause for independence. France, Great Britian's long-standing rival, sent money, weapons and officers to help the Continental Army. After an American victory at Saratoga, New York in 1778, France recognized the United States of America as an independent nation. Spain and the Dutch Republic would also enter the War against Britian, compounding an increasingly difficult military situation American Revolution With final British defeat at Yorktown in 1781, Britian came to the negotiating table for American independence, in 1783, the Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the United States. This treaty granted the United States control of the former British territories from the Appalachians mountains to the Mississippi River. After overthrowing British Rule, the United States, fearful of creating a powerful central government, created the Articles of Confederation (1781). These Articles, left the federal government weak and unable to effectively deal with the various problems facing the nation. The Constitution The new governing document for the United States would be the United States Constitution. The Constitution created a federal system. Under the federal system, national and state governments would share power. Based on the ideas of Baron Montesquieu, the federal government was separated in 3 branches- executive, legislative and judicial, with checks and balances to keep stability. The Constitution also included the “Bill of Rights” 10 amendments that outlined laws guaranteed to the citizens of the United States. Among these rights included freedom of speech, religion, press and due process under the law. The French Revolution – Key Terms Estate Bourgeoise Sans-culottes taille French Revolutions- Causes Before the revolution, French society was very unequal, with French society split into 3 separate estates: the nobles, the clergy and the peasantry. The First Estate, the clergy numbered around 130,000 (out of a population of 27 million). The first estate owned about 10% of French land. Within the first estate came a large economic and social divide- the higher clergy, such as bishops and cardinals came from noble families and were very rich, while lower clergy such as the parish priests were very poor and from the peasant class. The French Revolution- Causes The Second Estate was the Nobility, numbering around 350,000. The Second Estate owned 25-30% of French land. By the 1700’s the nobility played a key role in French politics and society. They held positions of power in the government, military, court and church. Despite their immense wealth, neither the Clergy or Nobility were subject to the taille- the chief tax. The French Revolution- Causes Unlike the first two estates, the Third Estate was divided by occupation, education level and wealth. Peasants made up 85-90% of the third estate and owned 35- 40% of land. Middle class members of the estate owned the rest. Nearly half of French peasants had little to no land to live on. Peasants owed certain duties to the nobles, a relic from medieval times when feudalism was the economic system. The French Revolution- Causes Examples of these duties included peasants paying a fee to the nobles to grind flour- due to the nobles owning the flour mill. When harvest times came, peasants were also required to work a certain number of days harvesting the crops of the nobles, these duties bred resentment towards the nobility in the peasant class. Another sector of the Third Estate was the Bourgeoise- the Bourgeoise consisted of merchants, bankers and industrialists, the “middle class” of French society. The French Revolution- Causes The Bourgeoise was about 8% of France’s population- over 2 million people. They owned 25% of French land. The middle class was upset with the privileges held by the nobles. While the bourgeoise did not advocate for the abolition of the nobility, they wanted to improve their own status in French society. Some bourgeoise managed to become nobles by being appointed to public offices that conferred noble status- around 6,500 nobles were created during the 1700’s. The French Revolution- Causes The bourgeoisie and nobility shared common goals; both had grown increasingly frustrated with the old, rigid system of the French monarchy. These groups also had become drawn to the ideas of the enlightenment. While the philosophes did not advocate revolution, the ideas of the enlightenment had spread to the literate middle class and noble elites. When revolution began, revolutionary leaders quoted the enlightenment writers. French Revolution- Causes While enlightenment ideas fueled revolutionary thought, the spark that set off the French revolution was the collapse of the French budget. Bad harvests in the late 1780’s, slowdown in manufacturing and a large amount of debt from French involvement in the American Revolution led to a collapse of the French economy and food shortages. Despite the struggles of the working class in France, the monarchy continued to spend enormous sums of money on wars and extravagance. The French Revolution The extravagant spending of the monarchy caused popular anger towards the French monarchy. With the French economy in crisis, Louis XVI was forced to call a meeting of the Estates General, The French Parliament, which hadn’t met since 1614. The Estates General met on May 5th, 1789. In the Estates-General, Each estate had one vote, meaning that 2/3 majority was what decided a dispute. The first and second Estates had 300 representatives each, while the third had 600. Most of the third estate wanted to set up a constitutional government, which would make the clergy and nobility pay taxes too, but this idea was overruled by the first and second Estates. The Estates-General The meeting of the Estates-General was fraught with tension and argument. The Third Estate argued that each representative should have one vote, instead of each Estate. Under this system, the Third Estate would have a chance at reforms however, this idea was refused by Louis XVI. On June 17, 1789, the Third Estate declared that it was now the “national assembly” and would draft a new constitution. Louis XVI threatened to use the army on the break-away third estate, on July 14th, 1789, 900 Parisian stormed the Bastille, a prison/armory. After a few hours of fighting, the royalist garrison was beaten. The French Revolution Louis XVI was told by his advisors that large parts of the French army would refuse his orders to fire on French protestors- the authority of the monarchy had now totally collapsed. Revolt spread from Paris to neighboring towns and villages, the “old order” of French society was now on the brink of defeat. Fall of the Old Regime News of possible foreign intervention and peasant rebellion forced the National Assembly into action. On August 4th, the National Assembly voted to abolish the legal privileges of the nobility and clergy. On August 26th, the National assembly drafted the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.” This document took inspiration from the English Bill of Rights and the American Declaration of Independence. Reflecting enlightenment ideas, the document stated, “all men are equal and free before the law.” Fall of the Old Regime Despite initial refusal to acknowledge the dire political situation, on October 5th, a group of armed protestors reached the Royal Palace at Versailles. Louis XVI was finally forced to concede to the demands of the protestors, accepting the new laws drafted by the Assembly, as well as being forced to move back to Paris, making them in all practicality, prisoners of the National Assembly. The New Constitution of 1791 set up a limited monarchy. There was still a king, but the legislative assembly would make the laws. Revolutionary France By 1791, the “Old Order” of France had been demolished. However, the new government of France faced two major problems- those in the lower classes of French society wanted more reforms, and the monarchists and the King himself detested the loss of power they once had. In the fall of 1791, the French royal family attempted to flee Paris and take refuge in Austria. They were captured and returned to Paris; their fate would be decided by the National Assembly. Revolutionary Wars (1791- 1802) Over time, the neighboring European powers grew fearful of the French Revolution spreading across Europe. The Kings of Prussia and Austria threatened to restore Louis XVI to power by force. Fearing attack, the French government launched a pre- emptive attack on Austria. French armies faced crippling defeats in the early stages of the war, leading to internal crisis. Map of the War of the First Coalition The Paris Commune (1792) In the spring of 1792, food shortages and a failing war effort led to widespread anger within France. In August, Paris radicals declared themselves a commune- a worker run city council and launched attacks on the Royal Palace in Paris and the National Assembly. Members of the Paris commune captured Louis XIV, they forced the National Assembly to suspend the monarchy and force a National convention for more radical reforms. Many members of the Paris commune called themselves “sans-culotte” which means “without breeches”. Wearing long pants and not the knee length breeches of the nobility. Paris Commune While the depiction of the sans-culottes are often depicted as poor workers, many were well off merchants or artisans. The Radical Revolution- Key Terms Coup D'état The Radical Revolution In September 1792, the newly elected National Convention began meeting. The convention had been called to draft a new constitution, but also to serve as the new government of France. The National Convention was dominated by the upper-middle class. Most of the members were Lawyers, professionals and property owners. The National Convention had a nearly unified distrust of the monarchy, their first act as a ruling body was abolishing the monarchy on Sept 21st, 1793. The National Convention Within the convention was two separate factions- the Girondins and the Mountain (Montague in French). The Girondins were the more moderate wing of the revolution, they tended to represent areas outside of Paris, who feared the radicalism within Paris. The Mountain contained many Paris radicals, of which many were members of the Jacobin club. The Jacobins favored execution of the King to prevent him from being a rallying point for those who opposed the new French Republic. The Radical Revolution In early 1793, the Jacobins convinced the national convention to pass a measure condemning Louis XIV to death for treason. On January 21st, he was executed via Guillotine. The execution of King Louis XIV stoked tensions at home and abroad, while the radicals ruled Paris, peasants in western France as well as many in France’s other major cities did not accept the authority of the National convention. After the execution of the king, Austria was now joined by Prussia, Spain, Portugal, and the Dutch Republic in declaring war on the French republic. The Reign of Terror By the Spring of 1793, the first coalition was poised to invade France, the revolution now looked on the brink of collapse. As crisis worsened, the Convention gave emergency powers to a committee known as the Committee of Public Safety. The committee came to be ruled by Maximilien Robespierre, a radical Jacobin. To ensure “domestic security” the committee set up revolutionary courts to prosecute “counter- revolutionaries and traitors.” The Reign of Terror During these trials, up to 40,000 French citizens were executed, most executions occurred in towns that opposed the convention. Revolutionary armies were dispatched across France to put down opposition to the committee, The city of Lyon was used to make an example of those who opposed the committee, 1,800 citizens were executed for treason. Violence continued to spiral, Clergy and nobles made up only 15% of the victims of the reign of terror, with the rest being members of the third estate. The Reign of Terror The Committee attempted to establish the “republic of virtue”; a democratic republic made of “good citizens.” Primary education was mandated as mandatory, and slavery was abolished in the French overseas colonies. Price controls on food, fuel and clothing were also set, this measure however failed due to lack of enforcement by the government. The Committee set about a secularization campaign in France, stripping the church of power and attempting to establish “the temple of reason.” The War of the First Coalition In less than a year, the new French government raised a huge army. By September 1794, the French army had over a million men. At the time, The French Revolutionary army was the largest army Europe had ever seen. French armies pushed Coalition forces over the Rhine river, into Prussia and conquered the Austrian Netherlands. The French army was a new kind of army, the French army was made up of volunteers and The War of the First Coalition and The Directory By Summer 1794, the French armies had mostly crushed the foreign threat to the French Republic. Despite this fact, the reign of terror continued. Robespierre was obsessed with purging France of the elements he thought of as “corrupt”. Many in the Convention grew tired and worried of Robespierre’s campaigns and voted to put him to death. Robespierre would be executed on July 28th, 1794. The Directory With the death of Robespierre, moderate, middle-class leaders took control of the French government. The reign of terror came to a halt, the committee of public safety was curbed, the 1791 constitution was abolished, and a new constitution was created. The Constitution of 1795 set up two legislative houses. The Council, the lower house of the French government made up of 500 members, made laws while the Upper House, the Council of Elders, approved or rejected them.  The Directory lasted for four years (1795-99), during these four years, corruption ran rampant, many took advantage of government contracts to steal money from the government. Political problems also plagued the directory. Conservatives and radicals The Directory alike both detested the Directory. Conservatives wanted to restore the monarchy, while the radicals' wanted a regime like that of Robespierre’s. To stay in power, the Directory relied on the power of the military to enforce its rule, however, in 1799, successful and popular general Napoleon Bonaparte would stage a coup d’etat, installing himself in power.