Notes

Age of Revolution

The Enlightenment (17th to early 19th centuries)
During the Scientific Revolution (16th to 18th centuries), scientists researched many areas. Scientists such as Galileo and Newton discovered physical laws which showed how the universe works. During the 17th to early 19th centuries philosophers searched for the natural laws which govern human society, leading to a revolution in thinking called the Enlightenment.

The philosophers of the Enlightenment criticized many European traditions and institutions. They defended the people's right to use reason to search for truth. They attacked the ideas of divine right and the belief in the absolute power of the government. They often opposed the Catholic Church because it supported absolute monarchy and censorship. The writers of the Enlightenment justified revolution against any government that tried to destroy the natural rights of its citizens. Enlightenment ideas (such as popular sovereignty) were important causes of the American Revolution (1776) and the French Revolution (1789).

The American Revolution (1776-1783)
For more than 150 years, Britain's neglect of the Thirteen American Colonies benefited the colonies. But Britain tried to change this policy after its victory over France in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). The war cost Britain much, and now it needed additional funds to govern a larger empire. Britain tried to raise revenue from the Thirteen Colonies by imposing taxes on the colonists. The British Parliament passed laws that denied rights the colonists thought they had. At first, the American colonists responded by boycotting (refusing to buy) goods from British merchants. Later, the colonists opposed British policies with threats, violence, and finally armed rebellion. In 1776 the delegates at the Second Continental Congress voted for a Declaration of Independence from Britain. Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, had read and was impressed by the ideas of John Locke expressed in "Two Treatises of Government (1690)." When Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he included ideas such as the belief in natural rights, the social contract, and the right of rebellion against a tyrannical government. After a long struggle, the United States won its independence.

In 1783 Britain recognized the independence of the United States of America. As a result of a Constitutional Convention of 1787, a new government was developed and became operational in 1789. The new constitution created a federal system by which power was divided between the national government and the state governments. Using Montesquieu's model set forth in "The Spirit of the Laws (1748)," the powers of the government were separated among the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government. A system of checks and balances was built into the system to prevent any branch from becoming too powerful. The new nation was established as a republic in which the House of Representatives was elected by the people, and the President and the Senate were elected indirectly. Personal liberties, human rights, and protection from abuses by the national government were included in the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments to the Constitution) in 1791. Freedom of speech, assembly, religion, trial by jury, private property, double jeopardy protection, outlawing excessive bail, and cruel and unusual punishment were guaranteed. The United States became the most advanced democracy in the world.

The American Revolution had a tremendous influence on revolutions in France and Latin America. Following the outbreak of the French Revolution, the National Assembly in August 1789 adopted the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen," which incorporated both the ideas expressed by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence and those of the Enlightenment writers such as John Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. The Latin American Revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries were philosophically inspired by the success of the American Revolution and the ideas found in Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and John Locke's "Two Treatises of Government." The United States Constitution created the most advanced government of its age and served as a model for nations in Europe and Latin America.

The French Revolution (1789-1799)
The French Revolution became a rebellion for liberty, equality, brotherhood, and the ending of special privileges for the nobility and clergy. At the outset, feudalism was abolished and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (based on Jefferson's Declaration of Independence) was adopted. The French document included the idea that all men were "born and remain free and equal in rights" and that they had the natural rights to "liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression." Furthermore, all male citizens were equal before the law and had the right to hold public office. Freedom of religion was also approved. These rights, however, did not apply to women. French nationalism reached new heights; the tri-color flag of the revolution became a stirring symbol, and the song "La Marseillaise" the new national anthem.

In the late 18th century, France was a strong nation with a tradition of absolute, divine-right monarchy. However, many members of the urban middle class resented the monarchy and the privileges given to the First and Second Estates. These two Estates were comprised of the clergy (First) and the nobility (Second) who, together, represented less than 3 percent of the population. The rest of the people belonged to the Third Estate.

France, under the Old Regime, was ready for revolution. Middle-class people were wealthy and educated, but they did not have political power. They faced economic and social discrimination. An absolute monarch governed the country by divine right. The First and Second Estates controlled high government offices and limited freedom of speech and of the press. The clergy and nobility received income from rents and fees forced on the peasants and middle class. Taxes were paid almost exclusively by the members of the Third Estate.

The French Revolution had four phases. The first phase began in 1789 when Louis XVI called the Estates General to deal with the financial crisis. (The French government was almost out of money.) This national parliament met for the first time in more than 150 years. During the meeting, the Third Estate announced the creation of a National Assembly to replace the Estates General. Although the king opposed them at first, he later ordered the First and Second Estates to join the new National Assembly.

During the second phase (1789-1791), the National Assembly passed many reforms which changed the Old Regime in France. It passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man which contained many of the same ideas as the English Bill of Rights and the American Declaration of Independence. The National Assembly ended all special privileges for the First and Second Estates and placed the clergy under civil-government control. It wrote the Constitution of 1791, which guaranteed freedom of religion, speech, and the rights of the accused. The French government had now been changed from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy.

During its third phase (1792-1794), the French Revolution became more radical. A new National Legislature ordered French armies to invade neighboring countries to liberate all Europeans from oppression. It also directed a Reign of Terror against all those it considered enemies of the Revolution, executing over 17,000 people in the process by way of the guillotine. The radical leaders executed the king and queen and set up a Republic. The National Legislature introduced many reforms, but in 1794 the conservatives overthrew the radical leaders. During the fourth phase (1794-1799), a new constitution was written which established an executive branch of five men called directors. This Directory ruled France until 1799 when its corruption and inefficiency finally led to a coup d'etat (military takeover) by Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Rule of Napoleon Bonaparte (1799-1815)
The Revolution had created confusion and internal conflict. The French people accepted and supported Napoleon's absolute rule in return for order and reconstruction.

Napoleon made peace with the Catholic Church, but kept it under governmental control. He organized an efficient, fairly honest, and highly centralized government. But it was a dictatorship based on absolute rule.

A civil code known as the "Code Napoleon" defined the rights of persons and property. It kept most of the changes brought about by the revolution. The basis of a new criminal code was equality before the law. The civil government established a system of public education. A fair tax system, protective tariffs, and road and canal building strengthened the economy. The newly created Bank of France made the nation's currency stable.

Napoleon wanted to rule France and govern Europe. He conquered most of the continent, severely upsetting the balance of power. Britain united with other European nations to fight Napoleon. The British navy won control of the seas. Napoleon suffered a complete defeat in Russia in 1812. These events enabled a group of nations led by Britain to defeat the French armies. In 1815, the victorious allies confined Napoleon to the island of St. Helena. There he died in 1821.

Effects of the French Revolution
The French Revolution ended absolute monarchy, feudalism, and special privileges for the nobility and clergy in France. After Napoleon's downfall, the French restored the monarchy, but restricted the monarch's powers by creating a constitutional monarchy. The revolution promoted the ideas of "liberty, equality, and fraternity" throughout the Western World, especially in the German States, the Italian States, and Austria. French armies, under both the Republic and Napoleon, spread revolutionary ideas wherever they went.

Napoleon's wars and conquests changed Europe's political boundaries. Nationalism -- the devotion to one's nation rather than to a leader -- intensified and spread. Nationalism helped and then hurt Napoleon. Nationalism inspired France under Napoleon. But nationalism also inspired the people of other nations in Europe to fight against Napoleon's rule.

Revolution in Latin America
Indian and slave rebellions were not uncommon during the colonial period. At certain moments slave rebellions engulfed whole colonies, but they were generally put down with violence. Indian revolts, such as the rebellion of Tupac Amaru in Peru during the 1780s, sometimes called for a reinstatement of pre-Hispanic institutions and a return to autonomous rule. They were also forcefully repressed.

By the late 18th century, the Enlightenment ideals had inspired the American colonialists, had produced the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, and had provided the intellectual spark that helped create the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. Now it also fuelled the desire for freedom in Latin America. When Napoleon deposed the Spanish crown in 1808, he initiated a process in Latin America that would eventually lead to independence for most of the region. The collapse of royal authority left Latin American elites on their own. By the 1820s most of those elites opted for independence.

In Mexico two Roman Catholic priests, Miguel Hidalgo and Jose Morelos, led the fight for freedom, while Francisco de Miranda worked hard to gain independence for Venezuela. Simon Bolivar became known as the "Liberator," having secured the freedom of the viceroyalty of New Granada (Columbia), Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Other independence leaders included Antonio Jose de Sucre (Ecuador), Jose de San Martin (Peru, Argentina), and Bernardo O'Higgins (Chile). Brazil, however, became independent without fighting and without revolution.

The decades following independence were very hard on the region, as different elite factions struggled over the shape of their new nations. In most of the region these conflicts centered on civil wars between "liberals," such as Benito Juarez in Mexico, and "conservatives." Conservatives wanted to maintain the traditional privileges of the Church and the nobility, and were opposed to modernization. Liberals favored an end to privilege, and pushed for economic modernization, foreign investments, and free trade. Generally, the central state was weak in the new republics, and politics was dominated by caudillos -- regional military strongmen who rose to national power through force.