Age of Revolutions Comprehensive Study Guide

Study Guide: The Enlightenment and Atlantic Revolutions

I. The Enlightenment

Key Concepts & Thinkers

• Reason

  • Truth discovered through logic and critical thinking

  • Voltaire: Championed freedom of speech and religious tolerance

• Happiness

  • Focus on achieving joy in this life, not just the afterlife

  • Diderot: Edited the Encyclopédie to spread knowledge

• Progress

  • Belief that society and individuals can improve

  • Condorcet: Argued for education and social reforms

• Liberty

  • Inspired by events like the Glorious Revolution

  • John Locke: Natural rights (life, liberty, property) and social contract

  • Montesquieu: Separation of powers in government

• Nature

  • What is natural is good; rejection of artificial hierarchies

  • Rousseau: Popular sovereignty and the "general will"

Major Thinkers Summary

II. Scientific Revolution

Key Figures & Discoveries

• Copernicus: Proposed heliocentric model (sun-centered universe)

• Galileo: Used telescope to prove Copernicus right; faced Church opposition

• Newton: Laws of motion and gravity; universe governed by natural laws

• Bacon vs. Descartes:

  • Bacon: Inductive reasoning (observation → theory)

  • Descartes: Deductive reasoning ("I think, therefore I am")

Impact

• Challenged Church authority and traditional beliefs

• Established scientific method as path to knowledge

III. French Revolution (1789-1799)

Key People & Events

• Louis XVI: Weak king who failed to solve financial crisis → executed

• Robespierre: Radical leader of Reign of Terror → eventually overthrown

• Napoleon: Military hero who seized power in 1799 → became Emperor

Major Phases

1. Moderate Phase (1789-1792):

   • Storming of Bastille

   • Declaration of Rights of Man

2. Radical Phase (1792-1794):

   • Reign of Terror

   • Execution of Louis XVI

3. Napoleonic Era (1799-1815):

   • Napoleonic Code established equality and meritocracy

   • Military conquests across Europe

IV. Haitian Revolution (1791-1804)

Key Figures

• Toussaint L'Ouverture: Former slave who led rebellion → captured by French

• Dessalines: Declared Haiti independent in 1804

Significance

• Only successful slave revolt in history

• Inspired other independence movements

V. American Revolution (1775-1783)

Enlightenment Influences

• Locke's ideas seen in Declaration of Independence

• Montesquieu's separation of powers in U.S. Constitution

Key Events

• Boston Tea Party (1773)

• Declaration of Independence (1776)

• Constitutional Convention (1787)

VI. Study Tips

• Compare revolutions: How were American/French/Haitian different?

• Connect thinkers to ideas: Who believed what?

• Timeline practice: Know the order of major events

• Themes: Track how Enlightenment ideas appear in each revolution