Unit 5: Revolutions from c. 1750 to c. 1900 Notes

UNIT 5: Revolutions from c. 1750 to c. 1900

  • Context (1750-1900):
    • Increased global trade integration.
    • New technologies: machinery, locomotives, telegraphs, steel mills.
    • Industrial Revolution: increased machinery use leading to manufacturing output boom (started in Great Britain).
    • Dramatic changes in international relations, politics, and demography.
  • Foreign Power & Resistance:
    • Industrializing countries sought resources and markets overseas.
    • Overseas lands rebelled against foreign domination (e.g., United States, Haiti).
  • Nation-States:
    • Shift from multi-ethnic empires/small kingdoms to nation-states (shared culture within a country).
    • Creation of nation-states led to wars.
  • Human Migration:
    • Industrialization prompted labor demand shifts.
    • Voluntary and coerced migrations (Europeans to Americas/Australia, South Asians to southern Africa, enslaved Africans to Americas).
    • Diversification of communities globally.
  • Timeline:
    • 1762: Rousseau publishes The Social Contract.
    • 1765: American Revolution begins.
    • 1776: James Watt creates an improved steam engine.
    • 1789: The French Revolution begins.
    • 1801: Toussaint L'Ouverture creates a constitution for Haiti.
    • 1815: Simón Bolívar's "Jamaica Letter."
    • 1848: American women organize the Seneca Falls Conference.
    • 1868: Meiji Era begins in Japan.

Topics and Learning Objectives

  • Topic 5.1: The Enlightenment (pages 275-284)
    • A: Explain the intellectual and ideological context in which revolutions swept the Atlantic world from 1750 to 1900.
    • B: Explain how the Enlightenment affected societies over time.
  • Topic 5.2: Nationalism and Revolutions (pages 285-296)
    • C: Explain causes and effects of the various revolutions in the period from 1750 to 1900.
  • Topic 5.3: Industrial Revolution Begins (pages 297-303)
    • D: Explain how environmental factors contributed to industrialization from 1750 to 1900.
  • Topic 5.4: Industrialization Spreads (pages 304-309)
    • E: Explain how different modes and locations of production have developed and changed over time.
  • Topic 5.5: Technology in the Industrial Age (pages 310-316)
    • F: Explain how technology shaped economic production over time.
  • Topic 5.6: Industrialization: Government's Role (pages 317-324)
    • G: Explain the causes and effects of economic strategies of different states and empires.
  • Topic 5.7: Economic Developments and Innovations (pages 325-331)
    • H: Explain the development of economic systems, ideologies, and institutions and how they contributed to change in the period from 1750 to 1900.
  • Topic 5.8: Reactions to the Industrial Economy (pages 332-342)
    • I: Explain the causes and effects of calls for changes in industrial societies from 1750 to 1900.
  • Topic 5.9: Society and the Industrial Age (pages 343-350)
    • J: Explain how industrialization caused change in existing social hierarchies and standards of living.
  • Topic 5.10: Continuity and Change in the Industrial Age (pages 351-356)
    • K: Explain the extent to which industrialization brought change from 1750 to 1900.

5.1 The Enlightenment

  • Core Idea: Reason over tradition, individualism over community after 1750.
  • Impact: Challenged roles of monarchs and church, sparked revolutions (US, France).
  • Background:
    • Rooted in Scientific Revolution and Renaissance humanism.
    • Optimistic view of applying reason to natural laws for progress.
    • Emphasis on human accomplishments in understanding nature.
    • Belief that natural laws govern social & political spheres.
    • Decline in traditional religion's pervasiveness.
  • New Ideas:
    • Schools of thought emerged (socialism, liberalism).