Chapter 17

1. Chapter 17 Revolution and Enlightenment 1550 A.D. – 1800 A.D.

3. Key Events • The ideas of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment laid the foundation for a modern worldview based on rationalism and secularism • Enlightenment thought led some rulers to advocate such natural rights as equality before the law and freedom of religion • The American colonies formed a new nation and ratified the Constitution of the United States

4. The Impact Today • Scientists use research techniques that are based on the scientific method • The intellectuals of the Enlightenment advocated the rights of the individual, paving the way for the rise of democracy • Montesquieu’s idea of separation of powers strongly influenced the writing of the Constitution of the United States

5. Chapter Preview “Galileo on Trial”

6. Section 1 The Scientific Revolution

7. Background to the Revolution • In the 15th and 16th centuries natural philosophers developed new views. They had access to newly discovered works by Ptolemy, Archimedes, and Plato that had disagreed with Aristotle.

8. A Revolution in Astronomy • New discoveries in astronomy would overturn the ideas of the universe held by Westerners in the Middle Ages.

9. The Ptolemaic System • Ptolemy, who lived in the 2nd century A.D. was the greatest astronomer of antiquity and his Ptolemaic system was a geocentric system. The earth was the center of the universe. • God was at one end of the Universe, in Heaven, and the humans at its center were trying to get to Heaven (achieve salvation) from Earth.

10. Ptolemaic Universe (Geocentric)

11. Copernicus and Kepler • Copernicus had a heliocentric belief went against everything the Catholic Church believed. • The German mathematician Johannes Kepler determined that the orbits of the planets around the sun were not circular, but elliptical.

12. Copernican Universe (Heliocentric)

13. Galileo and Newton • Galileo used the telescope to make additional discoveries: • Mountains on the Moon • Four moons revolving around Jupiter • Sunspots • Newton defined the 3 laws of motion that govern the planetary bodies and developed the universal law of gravitation

14. Women and the Origins of Modern Science • Maria Winkelmann (Germany) was the most famous of the female astronomers. • However, it was still difficult for women to be accepted as most people still believed a woman’s domestic duties came first and foremost.

15. Descartes and Reason • Rene Descartes was the leading philosopher to come out of the Scientific Revolution and he emphasized the belief that it was through reason, and not science, that humanity found true knowledge. • “I think, therefore I am”

16. The Scientific Method • Francis Bacon believed that scientists could develop and test hypotheses to determine truth. • Theories could only lead to generalities, unless scientists used a type of inductive reasoning. • The scientific method was a systematic procedure for collecting and analyzing evidence.

17. Section 2 The Enlightenment

18. Path to the Enlightenment • The enlightenment was an 18th century philosophical movement of intellectuals who were greatly impressed with the achievements of the Scientific Revolution. • Reason, natural law, hope, progress – were common words to the thinkers of the Enlightenment.

19. Path to the Enlightenment (Continued) • John Locke believed that every human was born with a tabula rasa “blank slate” and that it was the individual experiences in life that shaped his/her growth. • Locke believed if environments were changed and people were exposed to the right influences, then people could be changed and a new society created.

20. Montesquieu and “Separation of Powers” • A French noble, Montesquieu, identified 3 basic kinds of governments: • Republics • Despotism • Monarchies • England had a separation of powers – Executive, Legislative, and Judicial powers of government.

21. Voltaire and “Deism” • Voltaire believed that the world was established/created by a “mechanical god” that made the world, and then left it alone to exist according to natural laws (truth, knowledge, reason, freedom), and Voltaire had a strong belief in religious toleration.

22. Economics • The physiocrats (A French group) and Adam Smith (Scottish philosopher) are considered the founders of modern economics • The physiocrats maintained that if individuals were free to pursue their own economic self-interest, all society would benefit. • This becomes known as laissez-faire

23. Jean-Jacques Rousseau • A philosopher who’s most famous work was The Social Contract (Published in 1762). • The social contract as proposed by Roussea: • An entire society agrees to be governed by its general will, and all individuals should be forced to abide by the general will since it represents what is best for the entire community

24. Rights of Women • Mary Wollstonecraft is the founder of the modern European and American movement for women’s rights. • She argued that the power of men over women is as wrong as the power of monarchs over their subjects. • Wollstonecraft argued that women should have equal rights in education, as well as in economic and political life.

25. The Salon • Salons were the elegant reading rooms of the wealthy upper class’s great urban houses. • Invited guests would read and discuss the ideas of the Enlightenment.

26. Section 3 The Impact of the Enlightenment

27. Enlightenment Politics • Enlightenment philosophies believed in natural rights for all people • Equality before the law • Freedom of religious worship • Freedom of speech • Freedom of the press • Right to assemble, hold property, and pursue happiness

28. Enlightened Absolutism • Many historians assumed that a new type of monarchy emerged in the later 18th century • In the system of enlightened absolutism, rulers tried to govern by enlightenment principles while maintaining their royal powers • Did Europe’s rulers actually follow this system?...

29. Enlightenment Rulers (1700’s) • Joseph II (Austrian Empire) • Frederick II/Frederick the Great (Prussia/Germany) • Catherine II/Catherine the Great (Russia) • Of the above rulers only Joseph II sought radical changes based on Enlightenment • Frederick and Catherine talked of and attempted some reforms

30. War of the Austrian Succession (1740 – 1748) • Fought in 3 areas of the world: • Europe – Prussia seized Silesia while France occupied the Austrian Netherlands • Far East – France took Madras in India from the British • North America – British captured the French fortress of Louisbourg (St. Lawrence river entrance)

31. Seven Years’ War (1756 – 1763) • France, Austria, and Russia vs. Great Britain and Prussia • Three Major areas of conflict: • Europe – Stalemate ends in 1763 • India – British defeat French (Treaty of Paris 1763) • North America – Victory for the British. By 1763, Great Britain had become the world’s greatest colonial power

32. Section 4 Colonial Empires and the American Revolution

33. British and British North America • United Kingdom of Great Britain came into existence in 1707 – Governments of England and Scotland were united. • In the mid 1700’s, Britain controlled Canada as well as 13 colonies in eastern U.S. (Heavily populated)

34. The American Revolution • After the Seven Years’ War, British leaders wanted to get revenue from the colonies in the form of taxes • Fighting erupts between colonists and the British army in April 1775 (Lexington and Concord) • July 4, 1776 – Declaration of Independence • Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized the independence of the American colonies

35. The Birth of a New Nation • Articles of Confederation approved in 1781 • In the summer of 1787, 55 delegates met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles (Constitutional Convention) • The new Constitution was eventually approved (in several states by a slim margin) • Bill of Rights approved in 1789

36. Chapter 12 Revolution and Enlightenment Wrap Up and Review

37. Key Events (Re-visited) • The ideas of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment laid the foundation for a modern worldview based on rationalism and secularism • Enlightenment thought led some rulers to advocate such natural rights as equality before the law and freedom of religion • The American colonies formed a new nation and ratified the Constitution of the United States

38. The Impact Today (Re-visited) • Scientists use research techniques that are based on the scientific method • The intellectuals of the Enlightenment advocated the rights of the individual, paving the way for the rise of democracy • Montesquieu’s idea of separation of powers strongly influenced the writing of the Constitution of the United States