Echoes of Revolution
(1750-1914)
AP WORLD HISTORY
CHAPTER 16
The Abolition of Slavery
 1780 – 1890 = slavery lost its
legitimacy and was largely ended
 Multiple strands of anti-slavery
thinking:
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
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Secular = slavery is a violation of natural
rights and the ideas of liberty and equality
Religious = slavery is a moral; a “crime in
the sight of God”
Economic = slavery is not necessary for
economic progress; countries can be
successful with paid labor
Political = slavery is unwise because
obviously slaves aren’t content and could
rise up and revolt
The Abolition of Slavery
 Most powerful abolitionist
movements = in Britain
 Growing pressure on the
government to take action 
techniques included:




Public Meeting Featuring an
Abolitionist Speaker

Pamphlets  featuring descriptions
of slavery
Petitions to Parliament
Lawsuits
Boycotts of slave-produced sugar
Public meetings  most of which
featured testimony of former slaves
The Abolition of Slavery
 1807 = Britain ended the
sale of slaves within its
empire
 1834 = Britain freed all
remaining slaves
 British naval vessels
patrolled the Atlantic,
intercepted illegal slave
ships, and freed the people
on board
 Other countries followed
suit over the next half
century
Resistance to Abolition
 Abolition was not easy
 Plantation owners = fiercely
resisted the efforts of
abolitionists
 Both European and African
slave traders also resisted
abolitionists
 Most intense resistance to
abolition and persistence of
slavery = in the southern
United States

Took a WAR to end slavery!
Effects of Abolition
 Economic and political lives of
former slaves = did not
improve dramatically at all
 Often could not find work or
found work, but were paid
VERY little
 No political equality  in
many places, former slaves
couldn’t vote and had to live
with harsh segregation laws
 Former slaves had to deal with
persistent racism,
discrimination, and violence
Nations and Nationalism
(1750-1914)
AP WORLD HISTORY
CHAPTER 17
What is a Nation?
 A “state” = political territory that does
not necessarily coincide with the
culture of a certain group of people
 For most of world history, people have
been organized into great empires or
smaller states like this

These entities governed culturally diverse
societies
 A “nation” = has a distinct culture and
territory and deserves an independent
political life


Citizens of a nation = feel connected to their
fellows by ties of blood, culture, or common
experience
Not simply common subjects of a ruling
dynasty
What did Nationalism Inspire?
 1871 = the political unification of Italy and Germany
 Greeks and Serbs = asserted their independence

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

from the Ottoman Empire
Czechs and Hungarians = demanded more
independence within the Austrian Empire
Poles and Ukrainians = became more aware of their
oppression within the Russian Empire
Irish = sought separation from Great Britain
European Jews = sought a homeland in Palestine
Results of Nationalism
 Intensified rivalries
between European
states
 Fueled a highly
competitive drive for
colonies in Asia and
Africa
 One of the leading
causes of World War I
Different Versions of Nationalism
 “Civic Nationalism” = the nation
is a particular territory and
people of various cultural
backgrounds can assimilate into
the dominant culture

Example: “becoming American”
 Other versions = defined the
nation in racial terms, which
excluded those who did not share
common ancestry

Example: Germany expelling all “nonGerman”, especially Jewish people
Europe around 1880
Feminist Beginnings
(1750-1914)
AP WORLD HISTORY
CHAPTER 17
Feminist Beginnings
 Feminist movements took
shape mostly in Europe
and North America
 Believed revolutionary
ideas of liberty and equality
applied to women also
 First organized women’s
rights conference = in
Seneca Falls, NY in 1848

Leading feminist and speaker =
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Major Goals of the Feminist Movement
 Access to schools and
universities
 Access to more professions
 Suffrage (the right to vote)



1893 = New Zealand is the first
country to grant all women the
right to vote
1920 = 19th Amendment passed
in the U.S.
Most countries did not grant
female suffrage until after WWI
Some Accomplishments of the Movement
 Increased entrance to
universities and increasing
women’s literacy rates
 Many U.S. states passed laws
to let women control and
manage their own property
and wages
 Increased access to
professions




Medicine opened to a few
Teaching
Social work (invented by Jane
Addams)
Nursing (professionalized by
Florence Nightingale)
Opposition to Feminism
 Many viewed feminists as
selfish and willing to sacrifice
their families and/or the
nation in order to pursue
individual goals
 Some argued: the strains of
education and life in the world
outside the home would cause
reproductive damage

What many believed women
should keep doing
Result: it would depopulate the
nation