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The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement that led to the creation of modern government and society by focusing on reason and fact-based inquiry to improve society. It brought secularism to Europe by stressing reason and science over faith and superstition and the separation of Churc...

The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement that led to the creation of modern government and society by focusing on reason and fact-based inquiry to improve society. It brought secularism to Europe by stressing reason and science over faith and superstition and the separation of Church and state. It reshaped people's understanding of individual rights, liberty, and equality. It adopted the scientific method, which uses observation, experimentation, and measurement to acquire new knowledge. The Enlightenment embraced the concept of progress. Enlightenment thinkers came to believe that they had gone far beyond the intellectual achievements of the past and that intellectual progress was possible which led to a belief in both the possibility and desireability of human progress. They also embraced skepticism. Because traditional and religious beliefs were extremely varied and some had been proven false, a growing number of people began to believe that nothing can ever be known beyond all doubt.  Enlightenment Ideals Though not a unified movement, it promoted three general principals that would shape modern government and society. All mankind can be improved through education. Society can be perfected through good government. Humans should be guided by reason, not faith.  John Locke’s justifications for personal liberty and the right of political revolt would be the primary inspiration for the American Revolution. The individual’s basic natural rights are the protection of their life, liberty, and property. People therefore have the right to overthrow a government that violates those rights. The powers of government should be strictly limited. Only people who own property should be allowed to create government. Liberal political ideas also appealed to members of the nobility who resented the abuse of monarchial power. In The Spirit of the Laws (1748) Baron de Montesquieu theorized that there is no single form of government suitable to all times and places, but an arrangement of checks and balances is essential in every type of government as a guard against tyranny. Whereas Locke stressed individual rights, Jean-Jacques Rousseau championed the collective rights of the people and articulated two fundamental concepts: the general will and popular sovereignty. He believed that the general will was sacred and absolute because it reflected the common interests of the people, thus popular sovereignty should replace the monarchy and the people themselves, not government, should make the laws. He also argued that it is private property that creates inequality and the need for government enforced laws. America’s Constitution was based on Enlightenment ideals. After gaining independence from England the new government created a constitution which: embodied Locke’s social contract: the right to life, liberty, and property; proclaimed a new doctrine of popular sovereignty that invoked Rousseau’s general will: “we the people,” and created a modern republican government with Montesquieu’s balance of power.  The French Revolution, 1789-1799 The revolution overthrew the monarchy, abolished the aristocracy and the decayed remnants of feudalism, instituted representative government, and asserted the innate human rights of liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law, the beginning of a new era of enlightened independence.  The French Revolution was most heavily influenced by Rousseau’s conception of popular sovereignty. It declared a new France as a community of free, equal, and virtuous citizens, obedient to the law because it reflected the will of the whole community.  The Estates General: the clergy, the nobles, and the common people France was still ruled by the medieval estate system. The First Estate was the Church representing 100,000 clergymen. The Second Estate represented the 400,000 nobles of the aristocracy. The Third Estate represented the remainder of French society, some 26 million people. The first two estates were exempt from taxation and their wealth came from the production of the peasantry. In the traditional voting system, members of each estate voted for or against a proposal but in the finally tally each house collectively had one vote, giving the Church and the nobility the ability to control the outcome if they voted the same.  Three Stages of the French Revolution National Assembly (May, 1789-August 1792) Third Estate – Constitutional Monarchy National Convention (September, 1792-July 1794) Jacobins – Democratic Republic The Directory (1795-1799) Oligarchy - Dictatorship  The Napoleonic Code The Civil Code of 1804 enacted by Napoleon modernized French law and government. Insured equality under the law, universal male suffrage, and the protection of private property. Created a national system of public education as well as military and vocational schools. Replaced feudal and local customs with a national law code and created a fair and comprehensive tax code.  Napoleon’s personal legacy is actually greater than that of the Revolution. He dismantled absolutist regimes and built the blueprint for modern Europe, with the abolition of feudalism, the Napoleonic legal code, an education system and an equitable tax system. His European takeover sped the spread of liberalism as people throughout Europe experienced life under the Napoleonic Code free from the Old Order which did much to sow the seeds of liberal revolution in the years to come. In order to occur, the Industrial Revolution required three primary developments. Improvements in agricultural production. The growth of cities. The creation of a new labor force. Essential to the promotion of these trends were governments seeking ways to expand their economies and people seeking a higher standard of living.  What were the social consequences of industrialization on Western societies? The creation of new occupational groups led to a new interpretation of social relationships in which individuals were members of economically determined classes that had conflicting interests. The idea of conflicting classes developed in part due to the growth of class-consciousness: an individual’s sense of class differentiation. A greater sense of class-consciousness of the gap between business owners and their workers.  separate spheres New sexual division of labor that constituted a major development in the history of women and of the family. With the collapse of family employment a gender division of labor occurred that held a woman’s proper role was at home as a wife and mother and the husband as the wage earner. Women who did work for wages were generally confined to low-paying, dead-end jobs. Thus, the new sexual division of labor continued traditional patterns of gender segregation and inequality.  After 1800, Western Europe moved ahead of the rest of the world in a process historians have termed “the Great Divergence.” By the middle of the 19th century the gap between Western industrial production and standards of living and those of the non-West had grown significantly and would surpass those of India and China. Dramatically increasing the speed of production and distribution of manufactured goods at a reduced cost, led to European control of other countries first economically and then politically which brought about the economic dependence of non-Western nations, meager wages for their largely impoverished populations, and increasingly aggressive Western imperial ambitions.  modernization The text defines modernization as “the changes that enable a country to compete effectively with the leading countries at a given time.” In terms of a state and its people, it meant a radical reform of their cultural traditions, economic-social-political systems, and military capabilities and those required urbanization, industrialization, and the creation of a secular, representative government. The Industrial Revolution created economic, social, and political challenges that would lead to a restructuring of state and society.  ideology A system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.  The Birth of Modern Politics, 1815-1848 The political ideals of the French Revolution and the economic changes set off by the Industrial Revolution reinforced each other to create a dual revolution that transformed Europe by stimulating the growth of new ideas and powerful ideologies. The most important of these were a conservatism based on established traditions and three modern ideologies of change: liberalism, socialism, and communism. The interaction between these ideologies created the basis for modern government and society. The liberal fire set by the French Revolution and spread by Napoleon was contained by conservative reactionaries at the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) A political conference of diplomats called for by Prince Metternich of Austria, for the purpose of restoring the monarchies of Europe and redrawing the borders of European states, to maintain peace following the Napoleonic wars. It created a new balance of power between the nations of Europe by redrawing their borders and introducing constitutional government under royal leadership. Creating numerous states of relatively equal military and economic potential, discouraged them from attacking one another.  conservatism Political philosophy based on tradition and stability that prefers established institutions over individual rights and gradual development to abrupt change. In the 19th century it supported the institutions of the Old Order – the monarchy, the Church, and the aristocracy - and limiting the people’s ability to change the world or govern themselves. In addition to the institutions of the Old Order its support came mainly from the military, and rural populations.  liberalism Political ideology based on Enlightenment ideals of reason and progress and the belief that civil liberties, equality under the law, and a free-market economy will lead to prosperity and harmony. Initially drew most of its support from the bourgeoisie but by seeking to liberate individuals from inequality, injustice, and intolerance it also appealed to those outside of the elite.  socialism An ideology that favors cooperation (over competition), community (over the individual), and the public ownership of the means of production (over free-market capitalism). Socialism emerged in the 1820s and 1830s as a potential replacement for liberal capitalism. Socialists believed that the primary problem for society was that profit-seeking capitalism encouraged selfish individualism and the pursuit of capital had become detached from the process of producing useful economic value.  Conservatism vs Liberalism vs Socialism Conservatism valued tradition, the stabilizing role of religion, and social continuity. It recognizes rights but also responsibilities toward society, which is more important than the individual. Liberalism regards the primary function of government as the promotion of individual freedom, rather than order, and believes a good society is achieved by leaving people alone to act freely. Socialism advocated reorganizing society to overcome the new tensions created by industrialization and restore social harmony through communities based on cooperation.  Frustrated by the slow pace and self-serving nature of liberal reform, the urban poor began to organize and demand swifter and more sweeping reforms. In 1838 the London Working Men’s Association drafted a “people’s charter,” a petition they circulated from city-to-city collecting over 6 million signatures. These “Chartists” were the first working class political movement and made essential demands that provided a model for European labor protests.  In 1848-1849 liberal revolutions occurred in every industrialized country, except England, which had already experienced labor unrest. These revolutions failed because the liberals could not come to terms with the urban workers’ demands and the monarchies retained the support of the aristocracy, the military, the church, and the peasants. However, they made clear the severity of the economic and social problems created by the Industrial Revolution which posed a great challenge to both the conservative Old Order and the free market capitalism of the liberals. Both would now be forced to make compromises in order to gain the support of the people through economic regulation and government sponsored social welfare.  The most serious challenge of the working class to the Old Order and the bourgeoisie would come in the form of the third modern political ideology, communism. A political ideology advocating the creation of an economic system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed, the elimination of private property, and an end to nationalism, and religion. The writings of philosopher-historian Karl Marx inspired communism by arguing that the bourgeoisie unfairly extracted the majority of the profit created by the labor of industrial workers. Just as the bourgeoisie had replaced feudalism with capitalism, he predicted that industrial workers would now overthrow the bourgeoisie.  Marxist historical materialism All human conflict is at its root a conflict over material things, which in modern societies leads to the pursuit of wealth and for modern states the pursuit of power. Different social classes are also formed according to the economic structure of the state. Economic matters, therefore, are the fuel that drives history forward. Clashing ideas and values are real, but secondary, and in fact are usually little more than rationalizations for the conflict over wealth and power.  Conservative elites still controlled Europe at the middle of the 19th century, but they had to contend with the growing appeal of liberal reforms, socialism and communism. As a result, over the second half of the 1800s they adopted degrees of liberalism, socialism and nationalism into their regimes in order to maintain their power. France, Italy and Germany were united into conservative nation states that succeeded in gaining the support of urban middle class and working class interests. They did so through realpolitik (politics of reality): politics based on strategic and tactical realities, instead of idealism.  The New Conservatism Under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck, the German people were united by a “new conservatism” combining militant patriotism, semi-authoritarian nationalism, and state socialism which sought the active support of the working classes. Gave all white males the right to vote satisfying the liberals. Imposed a protective tariff on manufactured goods and wheat which satisfied both the powerful industrialists and the wealthy landowners. Took away the need for socialism by introducing state medical insurance, unemployment compensation, disability insurance and old-age pensions which were then nonexistent in other industrialized nations.  nationalism The idea that each people has a specific unity, which comes from a common language, history, and territory led to a desire for an independent political state. Nationalists believed that individual freedom was rooted in the unity and independence of the nation and regarded the building of a powerful state as the necessary means to creating a nation and providing security for the nation’s citizens.  A modern nation state consists of people who share not just an allegiance to a vision of the past but also a vision of the future. Nationalism succeed in gaining wide support by promoting the idea that the people were the ultimate source of good government. It also fostered a belief in the creativity and nobility of all people. And it brought people together using emotionally charged symbols.  Competing Views of Nationalism To conservatives, the nation meant the political, religious, and social traditions that bound people together under the paternal care of the Old Order. To liberals, the nation was an egalitarian gathering of people under a constitution recognizing rights, protecting claims to property, and promoting individual freedom. To communists the nation was a fiction created by capitalists to control industrial production and to promote the interests of the bourgeoisie.  citizenship A form of group identity (nationality) that is not determined by race, religion, or ethnicity. Citizenship is a legal status and relation between an individual and a state that entails specific legal rights and duties. Citizenship fulfilled the promise of nationalism by creating a sense of unity and better communication within the complex society created by urbanization and industrialization.