THE ENLIGHTENMENT (and the Age of Reason)
Background
The Enlightenment developed as an extension of the Scientific Revolution. During the Scientific Revolution,
Europeans discarded traditional beliefs and began using reason alone to explain the world around them.
While the Scientific Revolution focused on the physical world, the Enlightenment attempted to explain the purpose
of government, and describe the best form of it. The most influential Enlightenment thinkers were Thomas
Hobbes, John Locke, Voltaire, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean Jacques Rousseau.
Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes based his theories on government on his belief that man was basically greedy, selfish, and cruel.
In his book, Leviathan, Hobbes states that life would be a state of constant warfare without a strong government
to control man's natural impulses. He believed people would enter into a Social Contract to escape from this. In
the Social Contract, people would exchange most of their freedoms for the safety of organized society. Once
people entered into this contract, there was no release. Hobbes did not believe in revolutions, and supported the
idea of absolute monarchs.
Locke
Locke also based his theories on his assessment of human nature. However, Locke believed that people could be reasonable and
moral. In his book, Two Treatises of Government, Locke explained that all men have Natural Rights, which are Life, Liberty,
and Property, and that the purpose of government was to protect these rights. Furthermore, Locke states that if government did
not protect these rights, and became abusive, then the people had a right to revolution. Locke supported a limited government
that protected people's natural rights.
Montesquieu
Baron de Montesquieu was an Enlightenment thinker from France who wrote a book called, The Spirit of the
Laws in 1748. In his book, Montesquieu describes what he considers to be the best government. He states
that government should divide itself according to its powers, creating a Judicial, Legislative, and Executive
branch. Montesquieu explained that under this system each branch would Check and Balance the others,
which would help protect the people's liberty. The ideas of Separation of Powers and Checks and
Balances can be seen in the government of the United States.
Voltaire
Voltaire was a French intellectual who wrote and lectured about freedom of speech.
Voltaire is best known for saying, "I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to
the death your right to say it." He believed that freedom of speech was the best weapon against bad government.
He also spoke out against the corruption of the French government, and the intolerance of the Catholic Church.
Jean Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau wrote a book called, The Social Contract, where he stated that people were basically good, and that
society, and its unequal distribution of wealth, were the cause of most problems. Rousseau believed that government should be run
according to the will of the majority, which he called the General Will. He claimed the General Will would always act in the best
interest of the people.
Impact
Enlightenment ideas helped to stimulate people's sense of individualism, and the basic belief in equal rights. This in turn led to the
Glorious Revolution is Britain, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Latin American Revolutions.
Some of these revolutions resulted in government based upon the ideas of the Enlightenment.
Elsewhere, a few monarchs retained absolute control of their countries while also enacting reform based on Enlightenment ideas.
These monarchs are called Enlightened Despots. In Austria, Maria Teresa and her son Joseph II both introduced reforms
based on Enlightenment ideas. They reduced the tax load on the peasants, provided free education, and ended censorship in
their empire. In Russia, Catherine the Great introduced similar reforms. She enacted laws for religious toleration and free
education, and also sought the advice of nobles and peasants in the running of government. However, these reforms seldom
outlived the monarchs who had enacted them.
Name:____________________________________________________
The Enlightenment (circa 1650-1790)
PP. 195-200
Define 1. Enlightenment/Age of Reason -
Pd.:________________
2. Philosophes -
Name of book or writing
Major ideas
Thomas
Hobbes
Date?
John
Locke
Date?
Baron de
Montesquieu
Date?
Voltaire
Date?
Jean Jacques
Rousseau
Date?
On a separate sheet (or the back if available) complete the following:
1.
Identify at least three major ideas of the Enlightenment and explain how they impacted some of the founding
documents of America.
2.
Explain how the Enlightenment raised the individual above the traditional authorities of Church and king.
Enlightenment Review
1. According to John Locke, the three basic natural rights are what?
2. Government exists in order to protect what?
3. If government fails to do its duty, citizens have a right to do what?
4. The enlightenment proposed that we follow our r__________ instead of t_____________
and authority.
5. Which of the following is an Enlightenment thinker?
A. Napoleon
B. Voltaire
C. Madonna
D. Eminem
6. Diderot was the Enlightenment thinker who edited the Encyclopedia and wanted to see the
end of what two institutions? (Think intestines!)
Enlightenment idea or not?
7. Freedom of Speech
8. Censorship
9. Equality
10. Religious tolerance
Contrast the theory behind Royal Absolutism (as we saw it in the last unit – Jean Domat) with
the Enlightenment theories of government as seen in the American Declaration of Independence
(1776) and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789). Fill out the following chart.
Royal Absolutism
Origins of government
Purpose of government
Ultimate authority after God
Right to revolution?
# of branches of government
Separation of power?
God to king
Common good
King
No
One
No
DOI and DORM
NAME_________________________________
The French Revolution
Video Guide
1. The bricks of the Bastille were considered emblems of the destruction of ______________________.
2. The Declaration of the Rights of Man stated that all men are truly _________________.
3. What important French figure is not mentioned in the Declaration of the Rights of Man?
4. The National Assembly called for a constitutional __________________________.
5. What did Jean Paul Marat publish?
6. The mob that marched against Versailles in October, 1789 was comprised mostly of ________________.
7. The crowd forced the royal family to move to what city?
8. Robespierre’s nickname became The ____________________________.
9. Robespierre called for Liberty, Equality, and _______________________.
10. The guillotine earned the nickname the _________________ ___________________.
11. In addition to fighting a civil war, in April, 1792 the Assembly declared war on ___________________.
12. After the king was deposed, France’s government became a _____________________.
13. Sans-culottes, or the more radical poor, wore pants without _____________________.
14. The Sans-culottes slaughtered about 1600 people in the ____________________ Massacre.
15. Robespierre said that you must kill the king that the revolution might _______________.
16. In what year did the king die?
17. Who did Charlotte Corday kill?
18. In what year did Marie Antoinette die?
19. The new chapter in the revolution is called the ________________ when the constitution was suspended
and trials and executions occurred everywhere.
20. List one possible cause for execution in France during the Reign of Terror.
21. Power was held by the Committee of _______________ _________________, led by ________________.
Name:_____________________________________________________ Period:__________________
The French Revolution
Causes and Stage 1 (pp.217-221)
1. From th efirst paragraph on p. 217, list some of the positive things in France prior to the Revolution and some
negatives as well.
Positive
Negative
2. Under the “Old Regime” there were three estates in pre-Revolution France. The 1st = clergy, 2nd = nobles, and 3rd = all
others. Which of these was the largest in numbers?
3. How much did nobles pay in taxes? How about peasants?
4. Who were the king and queen of France? Was the king a strong leader?
5. Why did Louis XVI call the Estates-General to meet in 1789?
6. Why did the 3rd estate desire that all estates meet and vote together instead of separately in the Estates-General?
7. What happened on each of the following dates that was revolutionary in France?
June 17, 1789 –
June 20, 1789 –
8. What was each of the following?
Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789) –
Great Fear (August 1789) –
Women’s march on Versailles (October 1789) –
Stages 1 and 2 (pp.222-227)
1. During the first stage of the French Revolution (1789-1792) much that was desired by the third estate was
accomplished. Identify what they accomplished with regard to the following items:
Man’s natural rights –
State control of the Catholic Church –
Limiting power of the monarchy –
2. In a few words, describe the political sentiments of the following:
Left (Radicals) –
Right –
Center (Moderates) –
3. Define the following:
Emigres –
Sans-Culottes –
3. On what countries did France declare war in 1792 because these countries were opposed to the French Revolution?
4. Members of what “radical political organization” led the radical stage of the revolution? Who were among its leaders?
5. What happened to the king in January 1793?
6. How did the French increase their war efforts starting in 1793?
7. The Reign of Terror was supposed to protect the ____________________ ____________ ____________
_____________.
8. What happened to Marie Antoinette? to Danton? to “enemies of the revolution”? to Robespierre?
9. In 1795, after the end of the Reign of Terror, a new government took over France. What was it called?
French Revolution: Stage 2 = 1792-1794
Although the French Revolutionaries had arguably achieved all of their political goals by late 1791, the Revolution did
not stop there. Fear of the failure of the Revolution contributed to the rise of its Radical stage in 1792.
The troubles in 1792 that led to that fear included…
1.
2.
3.
Events that marked the shift to the radical stage included …
1. Aug. 10 =
2. September =
3. New government =
The National Convention was a republic set up by the more radical revolutionaries with no king and universal male
suffrage. It was composed of three wings (sort of similar to political parties). These wings were…
1.
2.
3.
The major goal of the Radicals in the Convention was to protect the revolution against…
Location of threat
Threat
Actions taken against each threat
to revolution
1.
A)
B)
C)
D)
2.
A)
A)
B)
B)
C)
C)
The Reign of Terror ended with the death of Robespierre on 7/28/1794. In 1795 the reaction to the insanity set in as a
new government arose called the Directory. This was a five man executive branch that would slow things down.
The French Revolution
Stages 2-4
Stage 2 (use pp.223-227 + notes for stages 2 and 3)
The second stage of the French Revolution kicked off in 1792 and peaked by 1794. It ended in 1795 with the rise
of the Directory upon the ashes of the National ________________. With 1) the country plunged deeper into war with
___________ and ___________, 2) the economy in a shambles leaving many folks hungry, and 3) a ___________ war
still ongoing, the time was ripe for disaster. The massacre of 1500 priests and nobles at the hands of Parisian mobs in the
month of _______________, 1792 was a foreboding of what was to come. With support from this notorious and powerful
mob, the _______________ took over the government. This new government allowed universal male _____________
and was called the _______________ ________________. It would last three years.
Within the new government three major groups formed representing the left, right, and center. On the right were
the Girondists. They felt the revolution had gone far enough. In the middle was the Plain. To the left were the
______________ who formed the Mountain. This was the group that came to control the Convention. They desired the
most radical change and were happy to use violent measures to achieve it. Led by George-Jacques Danton, Jean-Paul
Marat and ultimately _____________ ______________, “The Incorruptible”, they had one major goal in two parts:
protect the ______________ from anything that threatened it whether the threat was 1) foreign or 2) internal.
To put down the foreign threat, the Convention created the Committee of ________________ ___________. This
was a 12 man group that took over executive functions. They took the offensive in the war with Prussia, Britain, Spain,
etc., and turned the war into a total national effort by requiring all ____________ to contribute to it in some way. This
was called the ________________ _______ _________. Moreover, they promoted military commanders on the basis of
___________, leading to a much superior fighting force. Among those who would rise through the ranks as a result was a
young man named ____________________ __________________. In consequence of these and other measures, the
French army had successfully taken the war off of French soil by 1794.
In order to achieve the other part of the Revolution Protection Plan, the radicals had to eliminate all domestic
obstacles to their form of revolution. This meant the elimination of 1) the ______________, represented by Louis XVI, 2)
the destruction of the _____________, the other bulwark of society, and 3) the wiping out of opposition from the Girond
and those favorable to its ideas. Consequently, _________________ ______ was killed on January 21, _________. His
________, Marie Antoinette died at the hands of the government later that year. Their son, the dauphin died shortly
thereafter while in captivity leaving the entire royal family dead with the exception of a daughter. Thus, the monarchy
came to a clearly defined end.
To kill the Church, the Convention attempted to de-________________ society by abolishing Christianity, killing
priests, closing churches and eliminating holy days including Sunday. The last was accomplished by instituting a ____day week. In the place of the old religion, the Convention substituted the Cult of ______________, even celebrating the
Feast of the Goddess Reason on the altar of Notre Dame Cathedral.
Finally, to squelch all opposition to Jacobin radical policies, the _____________ of Public Safety, led by
Robespierre commenced the ___________ of Terror in 1793. Anyone who opposed the radicals was accused of
________________ and executed – typically by the ________________. 40,000 people died in this effort to purify the
nation. Clergy, nobles, peasants and everyone else was fair game for death. The leaders of the party on the right in The
National Convention – the ____________ succumbed to death in this fashion. Eventually, the revolution started to eat its
own as the Jacobin leaders George-Jacques ___________ and others died under the guillotine. Finally, fearing for their
own lives, the members of the Convention turned on __________________ “The Incorruptible” and put him and his
brother to death in the same fashion on July 28, __________.
The radical stage of the Revolution had come to a close and the reaction set in. Freaked out by rule by the
masses, the new government that was set up, the Directory, allowed only citizens who owned property the right to vote.
Thus, government by the wealthy was restored.
Stage 3 (1795-1799)
1. The Directory oversaw great military success, but many problems at home from royalists to sans-culottes, to inflation
to corruption. There were uprisings all over. 2. To stop an insurrection in 1795 the Directory had to call upon Napoleon
Bonaparte. 3. Two places where Napoleon gained great fame on the battlefield included Italy and Egypt. 4. Finally, the
military and Napoleon overthrew the government in what is called a coup d’etat.
Stage 4 – Napoleon Takes Over: 1799-1815 pp. 229-237
Napoleon took over first as first consul (1799) in the new government called the Consulate. Eventually, he would
become emperor (1804) – in a ceremony purposely similar to the coronation of Charlemagne 1000 years earlier – and rule
as a dictator. In the meantime, he accomplished much.
Domestic Affairs
Education – national, public schools (called ________________) and universities.
Economy – taxes paid by all, and the Bank of France, which controlled the money and slowed inflation.
Religion – Restored better relations with the ___________ Church in the ______________________ of 1801.
Law – Made laws standard across France and ensured equality of men and religious freedom (but also limited freedom of
speech and press in the ______________________ _________________.
Foreign Affairs
Napoleon, the military man that he was, never turned his attention away from the battlefield. He met with great
success in his attempt to subjugate all of Europe to his command, but ultimately fell short. By 1812 he had control of
almost the entire mainland; however, by 1814 he had been sent into exile on the little island of Elba. Having come back
in 1815, he lost again at Waterloo. It would be his last defeat. He was then exiled to an island off of South America until
he died.
As seen on the map below of Europe in 1812, Napoleon failed to gain control of one major country in western
Europe. That was ______________ ___________. While preparing to attack this country by sea, Napoleon’s navy was
destroyed in the famous battle at Cape ________________ in 1805. Napoleon then tried to destroy this nation by way of
a “blockade” or trade embargo, called the _________________ ______________________. This also failed.
Napoleon’s biggest failure was his invasion of _________________ in 1812, where he had to face not just the
enemy, but their eternal ally – Old Man Winter. 400,000 out of his 600,000 troops died in this campaign. It was the
beginning of the end for Napoleon.
On the map above, do the following:
1. Indicate the location of the Battle of Trafalgar (1805). 2. Draw a line showing
Napoleon’s invasion of Russia (1812). 3. Draw an arrow to indicate the location of the Battle of Waterloo (1815). Also,
label A) France, B) Britain, C) Spain, D) Austria, E) Prussia, and F) Russia.
What had the Holy Roman Empire become under Napoleon?
French Revolution Terms (pp.217-237)
1. Estates General
2. Tennis Court Oath
3. The Bastille
4. Bourgeoisie
5. Declaration of the Rights of Man
6. Limited Constitutional Monarchy
7. Civil Constitution of the Clergy
8. Emigres
9. Jacobins
10. Mountain, Plain, and the Girond
11. Reign of Terror
12. Committee of Public Safety
13. Sans-Culottes
14. coup d’etat
15. Continental System
16. Napoleonic Code
17.Nationalism
The French Revolution in four stages. Place the following in their proper stage below.
1. Start of Revolution there was an absolute monarchy under the Bourbons.
Stage 1 (1789-1792)
Stage 2 (1792-1795)
War with Austria, Prussia, G.B.
Civil War
Stage 3 (1795-1799)
Restoration of stage 1
Stage 4 (1799-1815)
Concordat with Church
At the end of the Revolution there was a limited monarchy under the Bourbons.
Constitutional monarchy
Reign of Terror vs. all classes
Directory
Constitution of the Clergy
Tennis Court Oath
King dead – executed
Declaration of Rights suspended
Robespierre rules
Dictatorship after coup d’etat
War across Europe
Universal male suffrage
Storming of Bastille
Property owners vote
Committee of Public Safety
Declaration of the Rights of Man
De-Christianization of society
Napoleon – 1st consul (1799), Emperor (1804)
Feudalism (and rights of nobility) abolished
War starts with Austria
The English Civil War(s) and the French Revolution - a comparison
The English Civil War and the French Revolution followed some similar patterns. In both cases an effort
was made to expel a king who thought he should rule with absolute power; in both cases that king would be
replaced with a ruler who wielded far more power than the king ever dreamed of having. Fill in the chart
below to sketch out the similarities.
Dates for purposes of this comparison
Dynasty before the war (Ruling family
name)
Monarch before the war (King’s name)
“Representative” body name
English Civil War and the
Interregnum
(Commonwealth)
1642-1660
Stuarts
Parliament
Money
Words to describe monarch’s power prewar
“Absolute” “Divine Right”
Form of government set up after king was
deposed/killed
Form of government that arose soon
thereafter
+ name of leader
The kind of government the country had
when it was all over (after the revolution or
civil war)
1789-1815
Charles I
Reason the representative body was called
Power-limiting document the king was
asked to submit to before the outbreak of
war
Ultimate fate of the king
French Revolution
19 Propositions
Beheaded
Republic – “Commonwealth”
Dictatorship – Cromwell
Limited Monarchy
It should be noted that after each of these wars the power structure was radically changed even if everything seemed to
have returned to normal. The monarchy was severely weakened in each case and would be a mere shadow of its
former self or entirely gone within the next fifty years. Humpty Dumpty could not be put together again.
European History – Unit 4b Study Guide
18th Century France:
Revolution and Enlightenment – The death of Absolutism and rise of the Modern World
PP. 195-200, 202, 217-237
The following are items with which you should be familiar and about which you should be able to speak
intelligently in order to succeed on the forthcoming test. Study them well as you prepare; look them up if
you are unsure; ask if you cannot find out.
The Enlightenment – 1650s-1700s
4 Main points about the Enlightenment (in sum)
3 obstacles to the “light” before the Enlightenment
Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot → Main ideas and works
The French Revolution – Late 18th century (1789-1815)
Estates-General: 1614-1789 – why now?
3 Estates – size and makeup of each
Tennis Court Oath – by whom and why?
Storming of the Bastille
Causes of the Revolution
Declaration of the Rights of Man (Enlightenment enshrined)
Limited Constitutional Monarchy
Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette
Freemasonry and Jacobin Club
National Convention – Mountain, Girond, Plain
Reign of Terror
Committee of Public Safety
Three internal obstacles to the success of the Revolution – King, Church, conservatives (Girond)
Sans-Culottes
Coup d’etat
Christianity vs. Goddess Reason, 10 day calendar Civil Constitution of the Clergy
Four stages of revolution
Characteristics of radical stage vs. stage one
Maximillien Robespierre
Jean Paul Marat
Levee en Masse
Conscription (draft)
Promotion by Merit
De-Christianization
The Directory
Universal male suffrage
Napoleon:
Continental System
Battle of Trafalgar, Invasion of Russia, Waterloo
Napoleonic Code
Nationalism
Also,
Be able to explain how the Enlightenment and conditions in France conspired to create the French
Revolution.
Be able to indicate the contributions of the Enlightenment to America’s DOI and France’s DORM.
Be able to compare and contrast aspects of the English Civil War and the French Revolution.
Be able to contrast basic ideas of Jean Domat and John Locke.
TRIADS
1. Charles I beheaded; Enlightenment; Louis XVI beheaded
2. 3rd Estate grievances; Estates-General elected 1789; French Revolution
3. Cape Trafalgar; Continental System; Invasion of Russia
4. Storming of Bastille; Great Fear; Émigrés
5. Enlightenment; American Revolution; French Revolution
6. Stage one Revolutionary successes; Fear; Radical Stage two
Name:_______________________________________ Pd._________________
Unit 4b Review – Revolution and Enlightenment
Due on the day before the test
Answers can be found in your notes or in your text (pp. 195-200, 202, 217-237)
____1. Wife of Louis XVI who was beheaded
____2. She murdered Marat
____3. Radical leader put to death by Robespierre when he said “stop”
____4. The master of the Reign of Terror
____5. Almost conquered all of Europe before he failed in Russia
____6. King who was beheaded in 1793
____7. The Sun King, creator of the greatest monarchy in Europe
____8. Enlightenment philosopher who said “life, liberty, and property”
____9. Enlightenment philosopher who wished to “kill the Church”
____10. Bloodthirsty publisher of revolutionary newspaper in France
A. Voltaire
B. Louis XVI
C. Robespierre
D. Louis XIV
E. Jean Paul Marat
F. John Locke
G. Georges Jacques Danton
H. Charlotte Corday
I. Marie Antoinette
J. Napoleon Bonaparte
____1. Allowed for tolerance of Huguenots – revoked by Louis XIV
____2. System of law set up by Napoleon
____3. To overthrow the government by force
____4. Blockade against British trade by European countries
____5. Government is to defend these says Dec. of Rights of Man
____6. Intense pride in country and desire for self-rule
____7. Where the king rules without restriction. He’s above the law
____8. Where the king’s power is confined
____9. The group that pushed the Reign of Terror
____10. Agreed to by the third estate when they refused to disband
A. Nationalism
B. Natural Rights
C. Constitutional Monarchy
D. Absolute Monarchy
E. Napoleonic Code
F. Continental System
G. coup d’etat
H. Committee of Public Safety
I. Tennis Court Oath
J. Edict of Nantes
____1. The nobility before the Revolution
____2. Radical group in National Convention led by Robespierre
____3. Conservative group in National Convention
____4. The people in the middle during the National Convention
____5. Nobles who fled France during the Revolution
____6. Formerly called subjects, during the Revolution they became this
____7 The poor of France = refers to pants without britches
____8. Secret society that promoted revolutionary ideas
____9. Aka Guillotine – made all Frenchmen equal in death
____10. Pivotal sea battle that saved Britain in 1805
A. 2nd Estate
B. Freemasons
C. Girond
D. Mountain
E. Plain
F. sans-culottes
G. citizens
H. Trafalgar
I. Émigrés
J. National Razor
French Revolution Chronology: Place the following in chronological order.
____Reign of Terror
____calling of Estates-General
____Storming of the Bastille
____American Revolution
____Waterloo
____Napoleon’s coup d’etat