Social Studies Quarterly Three Study Guide Sponsored by Jospeh Cosentino

Quarterly #3 Study Guide

Political Revolutions 

• Be familiar with a general overview of the French and Latin American revolutions

French Revolution:

• France was corrupt, in debt, and had a weak king (Louis XVI).

• The government ignored people’s needs and had an outdated economy. 

• Estates General: Advised the king but was unfair to the lower classes

• Storming of Bastille: Revolutionaries took gunpowder and weapons, destroying the building

• National Assembly: Created by the 3rd Estate to write a constitution and act as a government. 

• National Convention: Led by Robespierre, caused the Reign of Terror (Thousands Executed)

• Declaration of the Rights of Man: Advocated equality, freedom of religion, equal taxes, and protection of natural rights. 

• Committee of Public Safety: Tried to protect people by executing perceived threats.

Latin American Revolutions:

Causes:

1. Colonial System:

   1. Spain controlled most of Latin America, exploiting them for resources and labor

   2. Classes were rigid, and determined at birth

   3. Mercantilism (trading) made Spain rich, but the colonies poor.

2. Enlightenment Ideas:

   1. Creoles were inspired by the French and American Revolutions

   2. Wanted Freedom, Equality, and Self Rule

3. Napoleonic Wars:

   1. Spain was weakened by Napolean’s invasion, giving Latin Americans a chance to revolt

Key Revolutions:

1. Haiti:

   1. Led by Toussaint L’Ouverture, former slave

   2. Attempted to free Haitians from Slavery

   3. Resulted in Haiti being the first independent Latin American Country

2. Mexico:

1. Led by Miguel Hidalgo, Creole Priest

2. Attempted to gain freedom and better conditions for the Natives and Mestizos. 

3. Mexico gained independence, but life remained mostly the same

      3.   South America:

1. Led by Simon Bolivar & Jose de San Martin

2. Tried to gain independence and unity for Creoles

3. Uniting South America didn’t work, but many countries gained independence.

Results:

• Most Latin American nations gained independence

• Cultural differences split regions, and unity was never achieved

• Wars left many in Poverty due to a wrecked economy

• Post-revolutionary governments were unstable

Industrial Revolution

• Causes of the Industrial Revolution

  • Agricultural Revolution

    • Made more large farms

    • Increased food production

    • Forced small farmers to cities

  • Crop Rotation

    • Rotation of crops to different fields during different seasons

      • Makes a higher crop output

  • Scientific Revolution

    • Scientific discoveries, new machines, printing press, exploration, etc

• Factors of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain

  • England had lots of natural resources

    • Water Power

    • Coal and Iron

    • Rivers for inland trade. 

    • Harbors for International Trade

  • England also had Political/Economic Stability

    • Isolated from the wars in Europe

    • Successful government for years

    • Parliament supported by entrepreneurs

    • Successful colonies with lots of resources

• Urbanization

  • Urbanization is the rapid movement of people to cities, usually from the countryside or other less developed areas. 

Economic Systems

• Features and people of capitalism

  • The people control businesses

  • People need to work for their wellbeing

  • Equality is not guaranteed. 

• Features of socialism

  • A step closer to equality than Capitalism

  • Large businesses controlled by the government

  • Smaller businesses can be owned by the people

• Features and people of communism

  • An attempt at complete equality

  • Based off Marxism

  • Everything controlled by the government

  • No social classes

  • Often leads to dictatorship

• Study the economics chart for the features!

Nationalism

• Nation

  • A Nation is a group of people who live in the same area, share a language, share a culture, or share a history. 

• Nationalism

  • Strong feelings of support for one’s nation. 

• Unification

  • The merger of politically divided, but culturally similar places. 

• Realpolitik 

  • Realpolitik is a form of realistic, iron-fisted politics and diplomacy

    • Things happen by force and sacrifice