Unit 5: Enlightenment and Revolutionary Ideas (1750-1900)

May 14, 2024

Unit 5: Enlightenment and Revolutionary Ideas (1750-1900)

Introduction to the Enlightenment

  • Enlightenment period: 1750-1900
  • Critical for understanding various worldwide revolutions during this time
  • The Enlightenment provided the ideological framework for these upheavals

Definition of the Enlightenment

  • Intellectual movement applying rationalism and empiricism to natural world and human relationships
  • Rationalism: Reason over emotion or external authority as the source of true knowledge
  • Empiricism: Knowledge gained through the senses, especially via experimentation

Historical Context

  • Ideas of rationalism and empiricism were developed earlier during the Scientific Revolution (16th-17th centuries)
  • Scientific Revolution: Rejected biblical and religious authority, leading to significant scientific discoveries
  • The Enlightenment extended these principles to human society

Influence on Religion and Thought

  • Reexamination of religion's role in public life
  • Originated in Christian-dominated Europe
  • Enlightenment thinkers challenged Christianity as a revealed religion (commands of God cannot be questioned)
  • Shift from external (divine) authority to internal (human) authority
  • Deism: Belief in a non-intervening creator God
  • Atheism: Rejection of all religious beliefs

Key Enlightenment Ideas

  1. Individualism: The individual is the most basic element of society, not collective groups
  2. Natural Rights: Rights inherent to all humans that cannot be taken away (e.g., life, liberty, property)
    • John Locke: Advocated for these natural rights
  3. Social Contract: Governments are formed to protect natural rights, and people have the right to overthrow tyrannical governments

Effects of Enlightenment Ideas

  1. Major Revolutions: Provided ideological context for revolutions (American, French, Haitian, Latin American)
    • Emphasis on rejection of established traditions and new political ideas
    • Led to the rise of nationalism (common identity based on language, culture)
  2. Expansion of Suffrage: Right to vote extended
    • U.S.: Initially only landed white males, expanded to all white males, then black males
  3. Abolition of Slavery: Criticism of slavery due to violating natural rights
    • Britain: Abolished slavery in 1807, aided by economic transitions during the Industrial Revolution
    • Slave rebellions also pushed for abolition (e.g., Great Jamaica Revolt 1831)
  4. End of Serfdom: Transition from agricultural to industrial economies made serfdom less necessary
    • Peasant revolts influenced abolition in England, France, Russia
  5. Women's Suffrage: Calls for women's voting rights and broader equality
    • French activist Olympe de Gouges criticized gender inequalities
    • Seneca Falls Convention (1848): Formal call for women's voting rights in the U.S.

Conclusion

  • Enlightenment ideas played a significant role in shaping modern political, social, and economic landscapes

**Additional Resources: **

  • [AP World Heimler Review Guide (link in the description)]