Enlightenment and Revolution Part 3

Women and the Enlightenment Reading Check Draw Conclusions Why do you think the issue of education was important to both Astell and Wollstonecraft? During the Enlightenment period, European women generally had few legal or property rights. Although the philosophes challenged many assumptions about government and society, they often took a traditional view toward women. Rousseau, for example, developed many progressive ideas about education. However, he believed that a girl’s education should mainly teach her how to be a helpful wife and mother. Other male social critics scolded women for reading novels because they thought it encouraged idleness and wickedness. Enlightenment writers even used scientific discoveries about female anatomy to support the view that women were only suited for domestic roles. Still, some male writers argued for more education for women and for women’s equality in marriage. Women writers also tried to improve the status of women. In 1694, the English writer Mary Astell published A Serious Proposal to the Ladies. Her book addressed the lack of educational opportunities for women. In later writings, she used Enlightenment arguments about government to criticize the unequal relationship between men and women in marriage. She wrote, “If absolute sovereignty be not necessary in a state, how comes it to be so in a family? . . . If all men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves?” During the 1700s, other women picked up these themes. Among the most persuasive was Mary Wollstonecraft, who published an essay called A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792. In the essay, she disagreed with Rousseau that women’s education should be secondary to men’s. Rather, she argued that women, like men, need education to become virtuous and useful. Wollstonecraft also urged women to enter the male-dominated fields of medicine and politics. Women made important contributions to the Enlightenment in other ways, such as the salons you read about earlier in this lesson. One woman fortunate enough to receive an education in the sciences was Emilie du Châtelet (shah•tlay). Du Châtelet was an aristocrat trained as a mathematician and physicist. By translating Newton’s work from Latin into French, she helped stimulate interest in science in France. Enlightenment and Monarchy From the salons, artists’ studios, and concert halls of Europe, the Enlightenment spirit also swept through Europe’s royal courts. Many philosophes, including Voltaire, believed that the best form of government was a monarchy in which the ruler respected the people’s rights. The philosophes tried to convince monarchs to rule justly. Some monarchs embraced the new ideas and made reforms that reflected the Enlightenment spirit. They became known as enlightened despots. Despot means “absolute ruler.” Biography Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) A strong advocate of education for women, Wollstonecraft herself received little formal schooling. She and her two sisters taught themselves by studying books at home. With her sisters, she briefly ran a school. These experiences shaped much of her thoughts about education. Wollstonecraft eventually took a job with a London publisher. There, she met many leading radicals of the day. One of them was her future husband, the writer William Godwin. Wollstonecraft died at age 38, after giving birth to their daughter, Mary. This child, whose married name was Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, went on to write the classic novel Frankenstein. The enlightened despots supported the philosophes’ ideas. But they also had no intention of giving up any power. The changes they made were motivated by two desires: they wanted to make their countries stronger and their own rule more effective. The foremost of Europe’s enlightened despots were Frederick II of Prussia, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II of Austria, and Catherine the Great of Russia. Vocabulary serfdom a system in which peasants were forced to live and work on a landowner’s estate Frederick the Great Frederick II, the king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786, committed himself to reforming Prussia. He granted many religious freedoms, reduced censorship, and improved education. For example, he issued an edict requiring children in Prussia to attend primary schools. He also reformed the justice system and abolished the use of torture. In addition, he improved his army by giving promotions based on merit and hard work rather than on the basis of class. However, Frederick’s changes only went so far. For example, he believed that serfdom was wrong, but he did nothing to end it since he needed the support of wealthy landowners. As a result, he never tried to change the existing social order. Perhaps Frederick’s most important contribution was his attitude toward being king. He called himself “the first servant of the state.” From the beginning of his reign, he made it clear that his goal was to serve and strengthen his country. This attitude was clearly one that appealed to the philosophes. Joseph II The most radical royal reformer was Joseph II of Austria. The son and successor of Maria Theresa, Joseph II ruled the Holy Roman Empire with his mother starting in 1765 and ruled Austria alone from 1780 to 1790. He introduced legal reforms and freedom of the press and expanded education opportunities within Austria. He also supported freedom of worship, even for Protestants, Orthodox Christians, and Jews. In his most radical reform, Joseph abolished serfdom and ordered that peasants be paid for their labor with cash. Not surprisingly, the nobles resisted this change. Like many of Joseph’s reforms, it was undone after he died. Catherine the Great The ruler most admired by the philosophes was Catherine II of Russia, known as Catherine the Great. She ruled from 1762 to 1796. The well-educated empress read the works of philosophes, and she exchanged many letters with Voltaire. She ruled with absolute authority but also Joseph II sought to reform Russia. In 1767, Catherine formed a commission to review Russia’s laws. She presented it with a brilliant proposal for reforms based on the ideas of Montesquieu and Beccaria. Among other changes, she recommended allowing religious toleration and abolishing torture and capital punishment. Her commission, however, accomplished none of these lofty goals. Catherine eventually put in place limited reforms, but she did little to improve the life of the Russian peasants. Her views about enlightened ideas changed after a massive uprising of serfs in 1773. With great brutality, Catherine’s army crushed the rebellion. Catherine had previously favored an end to serfdom. However, the revolt convinced her that she needed the nobles’ support to keep her throne. Therefore, she gave the nobles absolute power over the serfs. As a result, Russian serfs lost their last traces of freedom. Catherine Expands Russia Peter the Great, who ruled Russia in the early 1700s, had fought for years to win a port on the Baltic Sea. Likewise, Catherine sought access to the Black Sea. In two wars with the Ottoman Turks, her armies finally won control of the northern shore of the Black Sea. Russia also gained the right to send ships through Ottoman-controlled straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Catherine also expanded her empire westward into Poland. In Poland, the king was relatively weak, and independent nobles held the most power. Reading Check Synthesize How accurately does the term “enlightened despot” describe Catherine the Great? Explain. The three neighboring kingdoms—Russia, Prussia, and Austria—each tried to assert their influence over the country. In 1772, these landhungry neighbors each took a piece in what is called the First Partition of Poland. In further partitions in 1793 and 1795, they grabbed up the rest of Poland’s territory. With these partitions, Poland disappeared as an independent country for more than a century. By the end of her remarkable reign, Catherine had vastly enlarged the Russian empire. She also made significant improvements to Russia’s government administration and economy. But as she developed Russia into an international power, she lost sight of the ideals she held at the beginning of her reign. Instead of promoting justice in Russian society, she became known as a tyrant. Changing Idea: Relationship Between Ruler and State Old Idea New Idea The state and its citizens exist to serve the monarch. As Louis XIV reportedly said, “I am the state.” The monarch exists to serve the state and support citizens’ welfare. As Frederick the Great said, a ruler is only “the first servant of the state.” BIOGRAPHY Catherine the Great (1729–1796) The daughter of a minor German prince, Catherine was 15 when she was handed over to marry the Grand Duke Peter, heir to the Russian throne. Peter was mentally unstable. Catherine viewed her husband’s weakness as her chance for power. She made important friends among Russia’s army officers and became known as the most intelligent and best-informed person at court. In 1762, only months after her husband became czar, Catherine had him arrested and confined. Soon afterward, Peter conveniently died, probably by murder. Legacy of the Enlightenment This painting shows people examining a miniature planetarium, which presented new ideas about the structure of the solar system. Over a span of a few decades, Enlightenment writers challenged long-held ideas about society. They examined such principles as the divine right of monarchs, the union of church and state, and the existence of unequal social classes. They held these beliefs up to the light of reason and found them in need of reform. The philosophes mainly lived in the world of ideas. They formed and popularized new theories. Although they encouraged reform, they were not active revolutionaries. However, their theories eventually inspired the American and French revolutions and other revolutionary movements in the 1800s. Enlightenment thinking produced three other long-term effects that helped shape Western civilization. It is difficult to tell how deeply these ideas spread into European societies. Educational reforms expanded the reading public during this period, and books and periodicals became more easily available. Ideas also spread informally through salons and literary clubs. Yet many working-class people, especially in rural areas, still could not read. Although we don’t know what information spread by word of mouth, it is likely that most poorer Europeans had little exposure to the Enlightenment. Belief in Progress The first effect was a belief in progress. Pioneers such as Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton had discovered the key for unlocking the mysteries of nature in the 1500s and 1600s. With the door thus opened, the growth of scientific knowledge seemed to quicken in the 1700s. Scientists made key new discoveries in chemistry, physics, biology, and mechanics. The successes of the Scientific Revolution gave rise to a belief in social progress. Leading thinkers of the age were confident that humans, using reason, could find ways to solve society’s problems. Many philosophes and reformers urged an end to the practice of slavery and argued for greater social equality, as well as a more democratic style of government. The idea of universal human rights was central to these social reform movements. However, some Enlightenment thinkers, including Voltaire, viewed Africans and other nonwhite peoples as inferior. Eighteenth-century ideas about racial differences helped support the expansion of colonialism and the global slave trade. A More Secular Outlook A second outcome was the rise of a more secular, or nonreligious, outlook. During the Enlightenment, people began to question openly their religious beliefs and the teachings of the church. One by one, scientists discovered that the mysteries of the universe could be explained mathematically or through scientific processes. A new type of human-centered philosophy emerged, teaching that individuals could control their own lives through reason and self-determination rather than relying on an all-knowing deity. Although the church often considered this secular philosophy a threat, there were religious thinkers who embraced reason and scientific inquiry. Newton himself was a deeply religious man, and he sought to reveal God’s majesty through his work. However, his findings often caused people to change the way they thought about God. Newton, Locke, and other major thinkers of the time were called deists. They believed that people should determine their religious beliefs mainly through reason instead of scripture. Some deists, such as Voltaire, harshly criticized the beliefs and practices of organized Christianity. They wanted to rid religious faith of superstition and fear and to promote tolerance of all religions. Importance of the Individual Faith in science and in progress produced a third outcome, the rise of individualism. As people began to turn away from the church and royalty for guidance, they looked to themselves instead. The philosophes encouraged people to use their own ability to reason in order to judge what was right or wrong. They also emphasized the importance of the individual in society. Government, they argued, was formed by individuals to promote their welfare. The British thinker Adam Smith extended the emphasis on the individual to economic thinking. He believed that individuals acting in their own self-interest created economic progress. Smith advocated the end of a system popular in Europe in the 1600s and 1700s known as mercantilism. In this system, countries believed they could increase their wealth by encouraging exports and discouraging imports. Smith called for freer trade practices and argued that countries could get wealthy and could keep more people employed by being both exporters and importers within a free market system. During the Enlightenment, the greatest minds of Europe developed new ideas about reforming society. Some European kings and queens tried to apply these ideas to create progress in their countries. This influence also spread across the Atlantic. Inspired by Enlightenment ideas, colonial leaders in America decided to do the unthinkable: break away from their ruling country and found an independent republic. Reading Check Draw Conclusions Why did the ideas of the Enlightenment not have much impact on the lives of poorer Europeans? Lesson 3 Assessment 1. Organize Information What are two generalizations you could make about the spread of Enlightenment ideas? art and literature monarchy Spread of Enlightenment Ideas circulation of ideas 2. Key Terms and People For each key term or person in the lesson, write a sentence explaining its significance. 3. Compare What characteristics did classical music and neoclassical architecture have in common? 4. Make Inferences Why was the term “enlightened despot” appropriate to describe rulers such as Joseph II and Catherine the Great? 5. Draw Conclusions What advantages did salons have over earlier forms of communication in spreading ideas? 6. Analyze Issues Why might some women have been critical of the Enlightenment? 7. Make Inferences How did the Encyclopedia project reflect the age of Enlightenment? Lesson 4 The American Revolution Setting the Stage The Big Idea Enlightenment ideas helped spur the American colonies to shed British rule and create a new nation. Why It Matters Now The revolution created a republic, the United States of America, that became a model for many nations of the world. Key Terms and People Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson checks and balances federal system Bill of Rights Philosophes such as Voltaire considered England’s government the most progressive in Europe. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 had given England a constitutional monarchy. In essence, this meant that various laws limited the power of the English king. Despite the view of the philosophes, however, a growing number of England’s colonists in North America accused England of tyrannical rule. Emboldened by Enlightenment ideas, they would attempt to overthrow what was then the mightiest power on earth and create their own nation. Britain and Its American Colonies Throughout the 1600s and 1700s, British colonists had formed a large and thriving settlement along the eastern shore of North America. When George III became king of Great Britain in 1760, his North American colonies were growing by leaps and bounds. Their combined population soared from about 250,000 in 1700 to 2,150,000 in 1770, a nearly ninefold increase. Economically, the colonies thrived on trade with the nations of Europe. Along with increasing population and prosperity, a new sense of identity was growing in the colonists’ minds. By the mid-1700s, colonists had been living in America for nearly 150 years. Each of the 13 colonies had its own government, and people were used to a great degree of independence. Colonists saw themselves less as British and more as Virginians or Pennsylvanians. However, they were still British subjects and were expected to obey British law. In 1651, the British Parliament passed a trade law called the Navigation Act. This and subsequent trade laws prevented colonists from selling their most valuable products to any country except Britain. In addition, colonists had to pay high taxes on imported French and Dutch goods. Despite the various trade restrictions, Britain’s policies benefited both the colonies and the motherland. Britain bought American Reading Check Analyze Effects In what ways did the American colonies help Britain’s economy? raw materials for low prices and sold manufactured goods to the colonists for a profit. Meanwhile, colonial merchants also made money when they sold British-made goods to the colonists. The connection between American raw materials and British manufactured goods became even more important with the rise of industrialization in Britain in the 1700s. New inventions, such as spinning and weaving machines, made it possible for British textile manufacturers to greatly increase production of cloth. The availability of large supplies of American cotton, which the colonists were required to sell to Britain, helped to make Britain a worldwide leader in cotton textiles. In addition, the American colonies were a major market for British cloth. The Cloth Hall in Leeds, England, was a busy marketplace for British-made textiles. Americans Win Independence In 1754, war erupted on the North American continent between the English and the French. As you recall, the French had also colonized parts of North America throughout the 1600s and 1700s. The conflict was known as the French and Indian War. (The name stems from the fact that the French enlisted numerous Native American tribes to fight on their side.) The fighting lasted until 1763, when Britain and its colonists emerged victorious—and seized nearly all French land in North America. The victory, however, only led to growing tensions between Britain and its colonists. In order to fight the war, Great Britain had run up a huge debt. Because American colonists benefited from Britain’s victory, Britain expected the colonists to help pay the costs of the war. In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act. According to this law, colonists had to pay a tax to have an official stamp put on wills, deeds, newspapers, and other printed material. American colonists were outraged. They had never paid taxes directly to the British government before. Colonial lawyers argued that the stamp tax violated colonists’ natural rights, and they accused the government of “taxation without representation.” In Britain, citizens accepted taxes that their representatives in Parliament had passed. The colonists, however, had no representation in Parliament. Thus, they argued, they could not be taxed. Growing Hostility Leads to War Over the next decade, hostilities between the two sides increased. Some colonial leaders favored independence from Britain. In 1773, to protest an import tax on tea, a group of colonists dumped a large load of British tea into Boston Harbor. George III, infuriated by the Boston Tea Party, as it was called, ordered the British navy to close the port of Boston. Such harsh tactics by the British infuriated even moderate colonists. In September 1774, representatives from every colony except Georgia gathered in Philadelphia to form the First Continental Congress. This group protested the treatment of Boston. When the king paid little attention to their complaints, the colonies decided to form the Second Continental Congress to debate their next move. On April 19, 1775, British soldiers and colonial militiamen exchanged gunfire on the village green in Lexington, Massachusetts. The fighting spread to nearby Concord. The Second Continental Congress voted to raise an army and organize for battle under the command of a Virginian named George Washington. The American Revolution had begun. The Influence of the Enlightenment Colonial leaders used Enlightenment ideas to justify independence. The colonists had asked for the same political rights as people in Britain, they said, but the king had stubbornly refused. Therefore, the colonists were justified in rebelling against a tyrant who had wrongly restricted the liberty of those who are governed, as discussed by Locke and Rousseau. In July 1776, the Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence. This document, written by political leader Thomas Jefferson, was firmly based on Locke’s ideas. The Declaration reflected these ideas in its eloquent argument for natural rights. “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” states the beginning of the Declaration, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Since Locke had asserted that people had the right to rebel against an unjust ruler, the Declaration of Independence included a long list of George III’s abuses. The document ended by declaring the colonies’ separation from Britain. The colonies, the Declaration said, “are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown.” BIOGRAPHY Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) The author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, was a true figure of the Enlightenment. As a writer and statesman, he supported free speech, religious freedom, and other civil liberties. At the same time, he was also a slave owner. Jefferson was a man of many talents. He was an inventor as well as one of the great architects of early America. He designed the Virginia capitol building in Richmond and many buildings for the University of Virginia. Of all his achievements, Jefferson wanted to be most remembered for three: author of the Declaration of Independence, author of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and founder of the University of Virginia.