World History
The Enlightenment
New Ideas
The Enlightenment was an era
of new ideas in Western
thought that brought about new
approaches to science,
government, economics, and
religion. Concepts from the
Scientific Revolution sparked
European intellectuals to think
that the human condition could
be explained and improved if
scientifically based rational
thought governed everyday life.
New Ideas
Francis Bacon, established the “scientific method” while advocating
empiricism, the belief that knowledge comes from sensed
experience, from what you observe through your experience, including
through experiments.
New Ideas
John Locke wrote that
people had natural rights
to life, liberty, and the
pursuit of property. He
also said that
governments and the
people had a “social
contract" between
them. If the leader of the
government failed to
serve the people well, the
people had a right to
revolt.
New Ideas
Adam Smith called for freer trade. He advocated for laissezfaire economics, a French phrase for “leave alone.” This approach
meant that governments should reduce their intervention in
economic decisions.
New Ideas
Thomas Paine adopted deism, the
belief that a divinity simply set natural
laws in motion. Deists compared God
to a watchmaker who makes a watch
but does not interfere in its day-to-day
workings. Deists believed the laws of
nature could be best understood
through scientific inquiry rather than
study of the Bible.
Reform
Movements
Abolitionism, the
movement to end the Atlantic
slave trade and free all
enslaved people, gained
followers in the 18th century.
Slave trading was banned
earlier than slavery itself. The
first states to ban the slave
trade were Denmark in 1803,
Great Britain in 1807, and the
United States in 1808.
Reform
Movements
Peasant revolts pushed
leaders toward reform
and the eventual end
of serfdom in
England, France, and
Russia. The Russian 1861
emancipation of 23
million serfs was the
largest single
emancipation of people
in bondage in human
history.
Reform
Movements
Demands for
women’s suffrage
and growing
feminism challenged
political and social
hierarchies.
Reform
Movements
In England, Mary
Wollstonecraft’s A
Vindication of the
Rights of Woman
argued that females
should receive the
same education
as males.
Reform
Movements
In France, Olympe de
Gouges’s Declaration
of the Rights of
Woman and of the
Female Citizen
pointed out that
women's rights
had not been
addressed in the
French Revolution.
Reform
Movements
At the Seneca Falls
Conference (1848)
organized by Elizabeth
Cady Stanton and
Lucretia Mott, women
demanded the right
to vote and hold
office, hold property,
and manage their own
incomes, and be the
legal guardians of their
children.
Nationalism
Nationalism arose from Enlightenment thought
about personal liberties and choices. It inspired many to
call for the creation of new nations out of large empires.
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Nationalism
Nationalism is defined as a sense of strong identity with others
who share a common history, customs, religion, and/or language.
This concept was a major factor in the independence movements in
Latin America and Europe in the 19th century, and colonies
worldwide in the 20th century.