AP World History Political Revolutions

Transcription

1 AP World History Political Revolutions

2 New Political Ideas & Movements 1750 Only England & Netherlands had constitutional monarchies. Other European kingdoms, Muslim Empires, and China all practiced absolutism Consolidation of absolute authority absolutism declines; rule of law becomes much more important. The nation-state union based on: Common language Shared historical experiences Similar cultural traditions Loyalty to the nation, not to a particular king or noble.

3 Forces For Political Change Influence of the Enlightenment: Questioned the assumption that absolutism was natural. Starting in Europe, it invited people to use reason to approach every aspect of their lives. People can figure things out, and come up with better governments &societies Locke s Social Contract Government s power comes from the consent of the governed People have a right to throw out bad government Voltaire (freedom of expression) & Montesquieu (separation of powers) also highly influential New wealth of the Bourgeoisie: Middle class grew in size & wealth, but not in power or political influence. Questioned the idea that aristocrats & nobles held all political power. Educated, most adopted ideas of the Enlightenment & questioned absolute rule. Goal was for political power to match economic power they had recently gained.

4 American Revolution Inspired by new political thoughts that originated in England and France. Colonists resist attempts by British Crown to: impose higher taxes ( No taxation w/o representation ) Restrict westward expansion Declaration of Independence drafted July, 1776: Heavy on Enlightenment ideas (equality, life, liberty, etc) War ends in 1783 with colonies victoriously establishing the United States of America. Constitution is written following victory: Heavy on Enlightenment ideas: Separation of powers Individual freedoms Equality, life, liberty, etc

5 French Revolution Civil war against the Ancien Regime (old system) King had absolute power Clergy & nobility enjoyed many privileges Three Estates: 1 st : Clergy 2 nd : Nobility 3 rd : Everyone else (including the Bourgeoisie)

6 King Louis XVI The Ancien Regime

7 French Revolution (cont.) Bourgeoisie resented their status: No political privileges Inspired by Enlightenment Philosophes Inspired by American Revolution Resented paying most (if not all) taxes Saw the old order as being out of date Saw the nobles as vain, and undeserving of their privileges Convergence of problems lead to revolution: Nobles refusal to pay taxes Bourgeoisie resentment of political & social order Louis XVI s incompetence Several bad harvests leading to a shortage of food.

8 French Revolution (cont.) Economic debts following Seven Years War & American Revolution threaten stability: King calls for a meeting of the Estates General Calls for nobles to pay taxes after centuries of not doing so Bourgeoisie (representing the 3 rd Estate) seize control of the proceedings and create the National Assembly Pen the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen Modeled after the American Declaration of Independence Based on Enlightenment ideas Set about to create a constitution for France

9 French Revolution (cont.) Revolution turns violent: Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789) King Louis XVI tried, convicted of treason, executed by guillotine Queen Marie Antoinette executed as well Jacobins take over Debating society that comes to rule France during the Revolution Reign of Terror ( ) Committee of Public safety (collective dictatorship led by M. Robespierre) seeks to save the revolution by terrorizing its enemies. Jacobin leaders (Robespierre, Danton, etc) eventually guillotined as well Ensuing chaos would lead to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.

10 Conservative Reaction to Revolution Napoleon seized control of French Government Promised stability at home, and conquest abroad By 1812, French Empire dominated Europe to the border of Russia 1805 Battle of Trafalgar ends French hopes of conquering England Attempted invasion of Russia proves disastrous; beginning of the end. Napoleon is eventually driven from power and exiled to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean. Escapes, returns to France, and rules for another 100 days 1815 Battle of Waterloo Napoleon s final defeat at the hands of European allied forces. Exiled again! But this time to island of St. Helena

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12 Napoleon French Empire in 1810

13 Congress of Vienna (1815) European nations appalled at events in France. Conservative Europe wanted to contain the ideas of the French Revolution Meeting of victorious powers in Vienna : Led by Prince Klemens Von Metternich (AUS) Balance of Power No one country should dominate others. Power should be balanced among major countries

14 Metternich Europe after the Congress of Vienna

15 Revolutions in Latin America Haiti: Slave-led revolt capitalizing on unrest in France following French Revolution Toussaint-L ouverture (dies in prison) leads the revolt Haiti proclaimed an independent nation in 1804 Mexico: Led by father Miguel Hidalgo (executed) who argued against treatment of natives by the Spanish. Initial push for independence from Spain led by the criollos (creoles). Following independence, Mexico goes through a civil war between elite and peasants: Leaders included Pancho Villa & Emiliano Zapata (both executed)

16 Emiliano Zapata Miguel Hidalgo Pancho Villa

17 Revolutions in Latin America (cont.) Creole-led movements also took hold in South America: Simón Bolívar & Jose de San Martín led the way for most countries independence Most were bloody, violent insurrections against Spanish rule. Brazil: Exception to the rule Much less violent as compared to all other Latin American revolts

18 Simón Bolívar Jose de San Martín

19 Comparison of Revolutions COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL EXPERIMENTS: NORTH AMERICA AND SOUTH AMERICA NORTH AMERICA Mother country had parliamentary government, so colonial governments had a constitutional model Colonies had previous experience with popular politics; had their own governments that often operated independently from British control Military leaders were popular and sometimes became Presidents (Washington, ), but they did not try to take over the government as military leaders; constitutional principle that military would be subordinate to the government American Revolution occurred in the 1770s; vulnerable new nation emerged at an economically advantageous time, when the world economy was expanding SOUTH AMERICA Mother country governed by absolute monarch; colonial governments had authoritarian model Colonies had no experience with popular politics; colonial governments led by authoritarian Creoles Had difficulty subduing the power of military leaders; set in place the tradition of military juntas taking over governments Latin American Revolutions occurred during the early 1800s, a time when the world economy was contracting, a less advantageous time for new nations

20 Ideological Consequences of Revolution Revolutions resulted in lasting changes in Western political ideologies: Some reacted against the chaos they brought Others were inspired by democracy, liberty, equality, justice, etc. Contrasting ideologies emerged by the early 1800s.

21 Ideological Consequences of Revolution (cont.) Conservatism: Supporters at first advocated a return to Absolutism, but eventually accepted constitutional monarchy by mid 1800s Generally disapproved of revolutionary movements. Liberalism: Supported democracy, elected legislature Emphasize liberty and freedom from oppression rather than equality Radicalism: Advocated drastic changes in government. Emphasized equality more than liberty Most concerned with narrowing the gap between elites and the general population

22 Reform & Conservative Reaction Reforms: Women s rights Abolition movement Reaction: Scientific Racism: Used scientific reasoning to prove that blacks were physiologically and mentally inferior to whites. Justified inferior positions that blacks had in society and the economy. Social Darwinism: Focused not on race, but on status Built on theory of Natural Selection to explain gap between rich and poor. The strong, intelligent, and motivated will naturally defeat the weak, less intelligence, and the lazy. Whether at the top or bottom, you deserve to be there. Marxism / Socialism: Capitalism (controlled by the Bourgeoisie) exploits the working class (Proletariat) which will eventually revolt and create a system based on need, not greed.