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Period: 1543 to
Scientific Revolution
The Scientific Revolution was a time where traditional authority was challenged because people began to use reasoning and logic to answer their questions instead of listening to the Church. During this revolution many important ideas arose such as the scientific method and the heliocentric theory. Although they were important scientifically they were also important because the fact that these ideas went against the Church's word. This helped inspire the Enlightenment. -
Galileo Galilei supports the heliocentric theory
During the scientific revolution, Galileo Galilei, an astronomer, researched and supported the heliocentric theory. This was important because it challenged the Church's authority because they supported the geocentric theory. After Galileo and other scientists find more evidence for the heliocentric theory than the geocentric theory, the people began to challenge the traditional authority of the government and the church. This influenced the Enlightenment. -
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English Civil War
Started when Parliament tried to limit King Charles' power. King Charles wanted to rule over England and hold all of the power, but Parliament didn't like that. They continued to try and limit his power until a civil war was started. After Charles was defeated he was tried and executed. Slowly England rebuilt itself and eventually was restored with a limited monarchy. This was very important during the time because they were one of the first to have a limited monarchy, and it set an example. -
Hobbes Leviathan is published
The Leviathan was used to describe the type of government Hobbes' think there should be. He described a government which is ruled by a King is the best option. He believes that the King should create and enforce laws to create security. He thinks a social contract is necessary to secure life, liberty, and property. -
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Glorious Revolution
This revolution ensured that Parliament ruled England. This is important because usually a lone King would rule over the nation, but in England there is a group of people ruling over England. This means that England succeeded in creating separation of powers. -
Locke’s Two Treatises of Government is published
John Locke was a philosopher and an important Enlightenment thinker. His book presented many ideals which were important during and after the Enlightenment. Ideals such as equality and natural rights would later be used in corrupt and dying countries in order to bring back peace and order. His book also redefined political identity. Before the Enlightenment the government's role was to provide physical protection, but he argued that its job was to protect the natural rights of the people. -
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Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was a period where political identity was changed and traditional authority was being challenged. Their main focus was basic human rights. They took inspiration from the Scientific Revolution and used reasoning to answer their questions. The Enlightenment inspired social progress and improvement. Instead of letting the government and church shackle them down the people realized that they needed to challenge their authority in order to create a better society. -
Diderot Publishes First Volumes of Encyclopedia
These volumes influenced the French Revolution because they included Enlightenment ideals. One of the main ones was popular sovereignty. They suggested a change from royal blood deciding who rules to the people choosing who rules. -
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Louis XVI’s reign
Under King Louis XVI France was in horrible shape. The nobility's expensive lifestyle destroyed the economy and left the people of the Third Estate to starve. King Louis XVI was seen as a weak leader because he didn't do anything to help the suffering people. This was one of the causes of the French Revolution. His continuation of irresponsibility angered the Third Estate which is another cause of the French Revolution. -
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American Revolution
The battle of Lexington and Concord signaled the start of the American Revolution. The goal of the revolution was to separate themselves from Great Britain. They wanted independence from Britain so they could create a nation built on their own rules. Those rules ended up being derived from the Enlightenment. Equality and natural rights were among those ideals. -
Lexington and Concord
The First battle during the American Revolution. This major battle signaled the start of the revolution. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was created to justify the American Revolution. It was used to separate America from Britain. The Declaration of Independence took inspiration from the Enlightenment, holding ideals such as equality, natural rights, popular sovereignty, self determination, etc. It became the foundation on which America was built on. -
National Assembly is formed in France
The National Assembly of France was created by delegates of the Third Estate after a conflict at the Estates general meeting. They were important throughout the French Revolution because they worked to create a new constitution, DOROMAC, and helped guide the citizens during the revolution. They used Enlightenment ideals to make sure there was equality in France. -
Tennis Court Oath
Sworn by delegates of the Third Estate during a private meeting on a tennis court to create a new constitution after they were locked out of a meeting by the 1st and 2nd estates. During the meeting they created the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, which was a document created to give equality and natural rights to the people. It was important because it limited the power of the monarchy and gave more power to the people. -
Declaration of Rights of Man
The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen is a constitution created by the National Assembly of France to create equality in France. It used Enlightenment ideals such as natural rights and popular sovereignty to describe the new role of the government. It stated that the government's power came from the people and its job is to protect the people's natural rights. -
Legislative Assembly is formed in France
The Legislative Assembly took the place of the National Assembly. They worked to create a constitutional monarchy. A war was started with Austria because they saw that the revolution was working and they felt threatened because if the French people could revolution then their people could as well. -
Bill of Rights signed
A list of civil rights promised to the American people. The Bill of Rights contains the first 10 amendments of the constitution. Similar to the Declaration of Independence, it took great influence from the Enlightenment. The Bill of Rights ensures that each person has the same unalienable rights. -
Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women is published
This book argued that women are not property of men, but are equal so they should be given equal opportunity to men. Throughout the middle ages and even after, women were not seen as equal to men. Often, when constitutions were created to ensure equality to everybody, "everybody" did not include women. This set an example of feminism which would help women fight to gain equality. -
Execution of Louis XVI
After radicals fill the National Convention they vote King Louis XVI out of power and decide to execute him. This was important because it symbolized the end of the monarchy in France. With no leader in place, no matter how good or bad they were, France began to break. This made people realize that they needed a leader, but the leader shouldn't have all the power. -
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Reign of Terror
Towards the end of the French Revolution was a time where the Committee of Public Safety protected the people from enemies of the republic by executing anybody who went against the new rules. This became out of hand and Maximilien Robespierre started to rule like a dictator. During this time nobody was safe. About 40,000 people were killed during this time, and 85% of them were peasants. The Reign of Terror went against everything the revolution stood for and ended when Robespierre was executed. -
Execution of Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette represented the court culture of the time. She lived a luxurious life while the citizens were suffering. For those reasons the court decided to execute her. Her death was significant because it opened the gateway for many others who lived similarly to be executed. -
Napoleon’s coup
This was Napoleon's plan to overthrow the government in France. He created an alliance with major political figures and overthrew the directory. He gained power through the Constitution of 1799. For many, this marked the end of the French Revolution.