Flashcards
Chapter 17: The Enlightenment and the American Revolution
Cards in this deck (22)
- 1Scientific Revolution in the Age of Reason1.Revolutionized how people looked at world
2.Edward Jenner vaccination for Small Pox
3.Natural Law- rules discoverable by reason and could help explain aspects of humanity
4.Used reason to explain human behavior and society - 2Thomas Hobbes and John LockeBoth wrote about society and the ideal form of governing it
Hobbes thought people needed strict control to rein in their naturally brutish tendencies
Hobbes presented an idea of a social contract where people gave up certain rights to live in society
Locke thought people were moral at heart and were entitled to certain natural rights (rights you are born with), which governments were obliged to protect
Locke’s ideas influenced Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison - 3The PhilosophesA group of French philosophers who wrote about government, law, and society were known as the philosophes
Baron de Montesquieu
Voltaire
Denis Diderot
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
During the Enlightenment, some women stood up for their inclusion in the new societies that were being imagined - 4Baron de MontesquieuWrote the Spirit of Laws
Baron de Montesquieu believed in employing three branches of government that could balance each other’s powers
Believed in a system of checks and balances - 5Voltairefought the slave trade and religious prejudice with his witty writings
Attacked governments that were unjust
was a proponent of freedom of speech - 6Denis Diderotcollected Enlightenment articles in an Encyclopedia that helped to spread ideas throughout Europe and the Americas
His encyclopedia had articles from famous philosophers - 7Jean-Jacques Rousseauthought people were basically good and should be much more free from governmental controls
Wrote the Social Contract
Despised social conflict
Advocated the will of the majority and common good - 8WollstonecraftWrote The Vindication of the Rights of Women
Equal education for boys and girls - 9New Economic ThinkingEconomists also applied reason to their study of economics during the Enlightenment
Adam Smith and a group of French thinkers called physiocrats urged economies that operated with little government control
Physiocrats rejected mercantilism which calls for government regulation of economy to regulate trade
Physiocrats believed in Laissez Faire which allowed business to operate with little government interference - 10New Ideas And Challenges to SocietyWhile churches and monarchies tried to stop the flow of Enlightenment ideas through censorship, Enlightenment thinkers found new ways of spreading their ideas, such as through novels and salons
Salons are informal social gatherings
Voltaire and Montesquieu used fiction to spread new ideas - 11Art and literature reflect New IdeasThe Enlightenment saw the birth of new styles in art, music, and literature
Moved away from Baroque or huge colorful paintings that reflected Greek and Roman tradition
Painters moved away from religion and embraced the lighter and more informal rococo composers, moved away from the baroque and into rococo and classical music
This was evidenced in the works of Handel, Haydn, and Mozart
In literature, the novel was king as audiences devoured long stories about their own times
Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Cruso - 12Enlightened Despots Embrace New IdeasSome absolute rulers of the time adopted limited reforms inspired by Enlightenment ideas
Enlightened Despots or absolute ruler who used their power to bring about political and social change
Frederick II of Prussia, Catherine the Great of Russia, and Joseph II of Austria all showed religious tolerance
Still the monarchs were not willing to share their power - 13Fredrick the GreatRuled Prussia from 1740-1786
Had tight control over his subjects
Openly praised Voltaire
Reduced torture and allowed for free press
Recognized freedom of religion - 14Catherine the GreatExchanged letter with Voltaire and Diderot
Believed in equality and freedom
Abolished torture and established religious freedom in Russia
Criticized institution of serfdom - 15Joseph IISon of Maria Theresa
Ruled Austria
Supported religious equality
Ended censorship
Provided for poor
Abolished serfdom - 16Britain Becomes a Global PowerAt the time of the American Revolution, Britain was a world superpower
It had begun to build its empire and already controlled trade with much of North America, the West Indies, and India
George III came to power in 1760 and was determined to assert - 17The Colonies in the Mids-1700’sIn Britain’s American colonies, economic life was booming by 1750
Although Britain tried to regulate trade and other aspects of life in the colonies, there was a sense of semi-independence on the part of the colonists, who tried to control their own affairs
Navigation Act was passed to regulate colonial trade and manufacturing - 18Colonial Express DiscontentWhen King George III imposed taxes on the colonies to help pay for wars, the colonists rebelled
Stamp Act taxed newspapers and pamphlets
“No taxation without Representation”
Declatory Act said it had complete authority over the colonist
March of 1770 Boston Massacre occurred followed by the Boston Tea Party
As tensions increased representatives from each colony met in Philadelphia for Continental Congress - 19Colonial Express DiscontentDuring the Second Continental Congress colonials declared independence from Britain
Thomas Jefferson of VA wrote the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration was based on Locke’s ideas of popular sovereignty (all governments power comes from the people) - 20American Revolution ContinuesCause looked bleak for Americans
Did not have the army, the navy, the weapons or resources of the British
The colonies were suffering massive losses
They turned to the French, Dutch and Spaniards for help
The British enlisted the help of the Indians and slaves
With their passion, with their knowledge of the countryside, and with help from France, the Netherlands, and Spain, the colonists defeated the British - 21Key Events in the WarBattle of Saratoga was turning point in war because French joined war and provided men, weapons and supplies to Colonial Army
Valley Forge- Washington's troops suffered heavy casualties because of abnormally cold winter
Siege of Chesapeake Bay- The French laid siege to CB and forced British to surrender
Yorktown, VA is where the British General Cornwallis surrendered
The Treaty of Paris ended the war and recognized the independent United States of America - 22A New ConstitutionWhen the Articles of Confederation proved too weak to establish effective government, some of the nation’s leaders drafted the Constitution based on Enlightenment ideas of Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau
The new government would recognize some basic rights of the people and establish three branches of government to create checks and balances
This document served as a model for constitutions created by other countries
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