Enlightenment
and Revolution
Enlightenment
Thinkers
Important Terms and People
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Enlightenment
Social contract
Thomas Hobbes
John Locke
Rationalism
Voltaire
Montesquieu
Rousseau
Roots of the Enlightenment
● The Enlightenment grew out of the
Renaissance, Reformation, and the Scientific
Revolution.
● What’s the same?: Like all of these other
movements, much Enlightenment thinking
challenged accepted beliefs.
● What’s new?: Enlightenment philosophers
wanted to use the ideas and reason of the
Scientific Revolution for problems in
government and society.
Enlightenment: A new
intellectual movement that
stressed reason, thought, and
the power of individuals to
solve problems
Thomas Hobbes
● Hobbes believed people are naturally
selfish, cruel, and greedy.
● In 1651, he published Leviathan. In this
book, he wrote that people are driven by
a restless desire for power.
○ Without laws, people would always
be in conflict.
○ In such a “state of nature”, life would
be “nasty, brutish, and short.”
Thomas Hobbes
● The social contract
○ People had to hand over their
rights to a strong ruler
○ In exchange, people gained
law and order
● His idea: Governments were
created to protect people from
their own selfishness.
John Locke
● He wrote Two Treatises of Government in
1690.
○ He believed the purpose of government
was to protect people’s natural rights.
He said government should protect,” his
life, liberty, and property—against the
injuries and attempts of other men.”
● His idea: If the government didn’t respect
people’s rights, it could be overthrown.
Changing Idea: The Right to Govern
Old Idea
New Idea
The Philosophes Advocate Reason
● Social critics in France were known as philosophes
○ Believed that people could apply reason to all aspects
of life
● Five concepts formed the core of their beliefs:
○ Reason-Truth can be discovered through logical
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thinking (rationalism)
Nature- Rights that humans have in their natural state
Happiness- Urged people to find happiness on earth
Progress-Society and humans can improve
Liberty- Freedoms
Voltaire
● Voltaire was an Enlightenment writer.
○ His most famous novel was
Candide, in which he poked fun at
old religious ideas.
● Voltaire was especially concerned with
freedom of thought and expression.
● His idea: He had a strong belief in
religious tolerance and free speech.
Tolerance:
acceptance (in this
case: of different
beliefs and customs)
I do not agree with a word you
say, but will defend to the death
your right to say it
—Voltaire
Voltaire
● Lasting Impact:
○ Voltaire met Benjamin
Franklin, and when the U.S. Bill
of Rights was written, the
ideas of freedom of religion
and freedom of speech were
added to our 1st amendment
to the Constitution.
Montesquieu
● Like Locke, Montesquieu was concerned
with how to protect liberty from a bad
government.
● He Wrote On the Spirit of Laws in 1748. In
this book, he described how governments
should be organized.
○ His idea: The separation of powers: By
dividing different powers among more
than one branch of government, no
one group in the government could
grow too powerful.
Montesquieu
● Each branch of government checked
the other branches. When powers
were not separated this way,
Montesquieu warned, liberty was
soon lost.
● He greatly influenced the men who
wrote the U.S. Constitution. We now
have a separate legislative
(Congress), judicial (courts), and
executive (President) branch.
“When the legislative
and executive powers
are united in the same
person…, there can be no
liberty.”
Rousseau
● Believed that the only good government was
a direct democracy
● 1762 he wrote a book called The Social
Contract
○ An agreement among free individuals to
create a society and a government
○ Legitimate government came from the
consent of the governed
● All people were equal
○ Titles of nobility should be abolished
Direct democracy:
every citizen votes
on every issue
Why is This Important?
● Many of our own ideas
about government, such as
the Declaration of
Independence and the
American Constitution got
their ideas directly from the
Enlightenment.
● In fact, many of America’s
founding fathers studied
the ideas of the
Enlightenment thinkers
during the American
The
American
Revolution
Revolution
A forcible overthrow of a
government or social order, in
favor of a new system.
Important Terms and People
● Stamp Act
● Boycott
● Declaration of Independence
● Thomas Jefferson
● checks and balances
● Federal system
● Bill of Rights
Britain and Its American Colonies
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1600s and 1700s
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13 Colonies
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British colonists had formed large and thriving settlements along the
eastern shore of North America
Each had its own government
People were used to a great degree of independence
Saw themselves as less British and more Virginians or Pennsylvanians
Connections
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Trading
Navigation Act
■ Prevented colonists from trading with any country besides Britain
Tensions Build Between
the Colonies and
Britain
https://youtu.be/j0qbzNHmfW0
French and Indian War
● 1754-1763: French and Indian War
○ England and France fought for
control of North America
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British, colonists, and Native
American allies fought French
and Native American allies
The French and Indian War Results
● Great Britain’s national debt
nearly doubled during the war
● British expected Americans to
help pay for protection
Britain TAXES the Colonists’ Patience
● Sugar Act-1764
○ First attempt to raise
income from the
Colonies
○ Duty on sugar and
molasses not obtained
from Britain
● Stamp Act-1765
○ Colonists had to pay a
tax to have an official
stamp put on printed
materials
Taxation without Representation
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American colonists are outraged
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They had never paid taxes
directly to the British
government before
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Believed this violated their
rights
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Colonists had no representation
in the British government
Colonists Push Back
● Sons of Liberty
○ Founded by Samuel Adams in
Boston
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Publicly protested
Organized boycotts, where
they refused to buy goods
that were taxed by the British
Boston Massacre
● 1770
● A fight turns into an angry mob-
British soldiers fire into the crowd
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5 people die (Crispus
Attucks)
● Sam Adams uses event to ignite
hatred against British
● John Adams defends the soldiers
in court
Boston Tea Party and Intolerable Acts
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Boston Tea Party 1773
Sons of Liberty protest the tea tax ● Intolerable Acts 1774
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They dressed up as Mohawk
Native Americans
Dumped English tea into the
Boston harbor
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Close Boston Harbor
Cancel Colony charter
governments
Force colonists to house
British soldiers
1st Continental Congress
● October 1774
○ Colonial delegates from all
colonies (except Georgia)
meet to discuss tensions
○ Met at Carpenters Hall,
Philadelphia
○ Write “Declaration of
Rights” to King George III in
hopes of peace
● Told militia’s to prepare for war
if needed
“The Shot Heard Around the World”
● April 18th, 1775
○ General Gage sends British troops
to recover colonist weapons at
Concord
○ Paul Revere, Dawes, and Prescott
warn the towns “The Redcoats are
Coming!”
● April 19th minutemen are waiting for British
at Lexington
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8 colonists killed, 10 wounded
More colonists are waiting at
Concord- force British to retreat
2nd Continental Congress
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May 1775 meet again in Philadelphia
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Appoint George Washington
Commander of Continental
Army
Sign “Olive Branch Petition” as
one last chance for peace
July 4th 1776, after much debate the
Declaration of Independence is signed!
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Written by Thomas Jefferson
Key Quotes in the Declaration
● “We hold these truths to be self
evident: that all men are created
equal”
● “That they are endowed by their
creator with certain unalienable
rights”
● “That among these are life,
liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness”
The Colonies and
the British go to
War
British vs. Colonial Army
● English
○ Strengths
■ Well trained, very
disciplined
■ Better equipped
■ The world's best
Navy
○ Weaknesses
■ Have to cross
Atlantic Ocean
■ Do not know
landscape
■ Hire Mercenaries
● Colonial Army
○ Strengths
■ Believe in their
cause
■ Eventually receive
help from France
and Spain
■ Know the landscape
○ Weaknesses
■ Untrained
■ Poorly equipped
■ Small navy
Loyalists and Patriots
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Loyalists
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Also called Tories
Colonists who
supported the British
Patriots
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Colonists who
supported breaking
away from Britain
Hard Life for American Troops
● Valley Forge
○ Washington’s 12,000 men settle for
the winter
○ Lack food, warm shelter, basic
supplies
○ 2000 died
● Receive basic training from Baron Von
Steuben
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Prussian soldier
Help From the Outside
● Marquis de Lafayette
○ Sails from France with
his own $ and soldiers
to fight the British
● France joins the fight May
1778
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Bring troops and Navy
● Spain joins 1779
Why would Spain and France
help the American colonists
in their war for
independence?
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Americans Win Independence!!!
1783- Treaty of Paris
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Officially ended the American
Revolution
Set many geographic borders,
including U.S. and Canada
Florida was returned to Spain
British merchants must be paid for lost
items
Loyalists must be paid for lost property
Now What?
● Articles of Confederation
○ Written by John Dickson in
1777
○ Ratified in 1781
○ Governed Americans from
1781-1787
○ Paved way for new
Constitution
https://youtu.be/VHCD4jLpbSk
Strengths and Weaknesses
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Wage war
Issue money
Sign treaties (make peace)
Set up post offices
Appoint ambassadors
Settle conflicts between
states
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NO President (Executive)
NO Army
NO Courts (Judicial)
NO Taxing Power (monetary
problems)
No power to enforce laws
(regulate trade)
States were sovereign
One vote per state regardless of
population
9/13 states to pass a law
13/13 states to amend (make
changes)
The French
Revolution
Important Terms and People
● Old Regime
● Louis XVI
● Marie Antoinette
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Attack on Bastille
The Old Order
Old Regime: The
social and political
system of France in
the 1770s
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
● Louis XVI-A weak leader
○ Indecisive
○ Could not relate to the people of
France
● Marie Antoinette- Louis XVI’s wife
○ flighty and irresponsible.
○ She spent huge amounts on
clothes, jewels, and gambling
○ Being Austrian, she was terribly
unpopular in France and had few
friends.
Economic Troubles
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A financial crisis:
○ An unfair tax structure, which placed the burden
of taxation on those least able to pay, the third
estate
○ A drained treasury which was the result of:
■ Aiding the Americans during the American
Revolution
■ Long wars with England
■ Overspending
Where is the Money?
Louis is looking at the chests and
asks “Where is the tax money?“
The financial minister, Necker, looks
on and says “The money was there
last time I looked."
The nobles and clergy are sneaking
out the door carrying sacks of
money, saying "We have it."
Calling the Estates General
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Nobility
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Wanted greater political power for
themselves
Louis XVI
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Tried to solve the economic crisis
by taxing the nobility
The nobility, invoked their powers
to block the King's move.
He was forced to call a meeting
of the Estates General in 1788.
Estates General: an
assembly of
representatives from
all three estates
The meeting of the Estates General May 5, 1789
National Assembly
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Third Estate
Insisted that all three
estates meet together
○ Each person should get
a vote
○ They become the
National Assembly
■ They will pass laws
and reforms for
the French people
○ Tennis Court Oath
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Storming the Bastille: July 14, 1789
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Citizens of Paris
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Worried that Louis XVI was going to
use the military to dismiss the
National Assembly
Took the Paris prison in search of
weapons
All guards in the prison were killed
Women’s March to Versailles
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Bread
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Staple part of common people’s diet
Ate 3 to 4, 4- pound loaves a day
Prices of bread jumped, people faced starvation
● On October 4, 1789, a crowd of women, demanding bread for
their families, marched toward Versailles.
○ When they arrived they demanded to see "the Baker," "the
Baker's wife," and "the Baker's boy".
○ The King agreed to distribute all the bread in Versailles to
the crowd.
The King attempts to Flee
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Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and
son
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Try to leave Paris
They are recognized and
taken back to the palace
under house arrest
Popularity
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The people have no faith
left in the king
They want an end to the
monarchy
The Execution of Louis XVI
The constitutional monarchy put in place by moderate
revolutionaries gave way to a radical republic.
● Decided to put Louis on trial for his crimes.
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There was a real debate in the Convention on whether the
king should be killed.
They voted for his execution.
On January 23, 1793
○ Louis XVI will be executed by guillotine
Robespierre and
the Reign of
Terror
● Protect France
○ 40,000 people were executed during
his control
○ 85% were urban poor or middle
class- the people the revolution was
started for
● People are tired
○ Death, prices, and terror
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They rise up and execute him by
guillotine
Napoleon’s
Empire
Important Terms and People
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Napoleon Bonaparte
Coup d’etat
consul
Louisiana Purchase
Savior of the Revolution
● During the French Revolution, he won
several important battles against the
Austrians & Prussians.
● He quickly became a general,
● He saved the post-revolution
government from people who wanted
to return a king to power
Napoleon Seizes Power
● 1799
○ Napoleon launches a
Coup d’Etat (sudden
seizure & overthrow) on
the weak and corrupt
government.
○ Napoleon is victorious and
seizes control of France as
a consul (dictator)
Absolute Rule
● Despite overthrowing
the absolute King
Louis XVI in 1792, the
people of France now
support Napoleon as
an absolute leader.
WHY???
● They would
rather have
peace and order
than bloodshed
and uncertainty
Napoleon as Emperor
● In 1804, Napoleon crowns
himself Emperor of the French by
grabbing the crown out of the
Pope’s hands.
● This signified his power over the
Catholic Church
● Allies himself with Austria
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Married Marie Louise, an
Austrian princess
Napoleon’s Accomplishments
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Built largest European empire since Rome
Sold Louisiana Territory to U.S. in 1803 for $15 million.
Set up fair tax code
Hires government officials based on merit
Created public schools for all (called Lycees)
Restored Catholicism in France
Creates Napoleonic Code (laws)
Napoleon’s Mistakes
● The Continental System
○ Tried to prevent Britain from trading
with other countries
● The Peninsular War
○ Attacked Spain for ignoring
continental system (France lost)
● Invasion of Russia
○ Attacked Russia for trading with
Britain
○ 600,000 French troops will freeze or
starve to death during this campaign
Napoleon’s Exile
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Defeated
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Back again!
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Sent to Elba, an island in the Mediterranean
Sea
Returns to France after 1 year
France welcomes him!
Defeated again
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Waterloo- Napoleon’s last stand
Exiled to St. Helena, an island in the South
Atlantic
Dies in 1821 of stomach cancer