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Period: to
Period 1750 - 1835
(All images are cited in the parent presentation.) -
French and Indian War (1754 - 1763)
The French and Indian War was a large-scale conflict between France and England, largely to determine who would control North America. Each side enlisted indigenous fighters to aid their cause. England ultimately won the war, removing France as a threat in North America. The victory theoretically opened the colonies for westward expansion. -
Proclamation Line of 1763
The Proclamation Line of 1763, issued by England, restricted colonist expansion to the west of the Appalachians after the French and Indian War. To England, it limited the amount of potential conflict with indigenous peoples and limited the amount of military support required while the potential for global conflict with the French still existed. To the colonists, it was an affront to self-determination. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was one of the more famous expressions of colonist dissatisfaction with English policies. The colonists felt they were not offered proper representation while also suffering unfair and burdensome tax rates (as England sought to fund their global interests and defense). -
American Revolution (1775 - 1781)
The American Revolution was the first major revolution in an age full of them. Americans were less interested in tearing down the English system as they were re-establishing the rights they felt entitled to. From the militia engagement in Lexington and Concord, to the professional and joint engagement at Yorktown, the Americans would largely adopt a strategy of exhaustion - denying decisive battle to the far-stronger British - until victory was certain. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was, essentially, an expression of Enlightenment ideals. Natural and individual rights in the face of monarchical power would not have happened without the philosophical background of the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment. -
U.S. Constitution
The U.S. Constitution was also an expression of Enlightenment ideals. In an age where kings had ruled the world, the new nation established a constitutional republic with Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Participation was far more open than any previous system, albeit with notable - if temporary - exemptions. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The Declaration of the Rights of Man was the founding document of the French Revolution and, like American documents, an outgrowth of Enlightenment ideals. It also sought to replace monarchical powers with the natural and individual rights of man. -
French Revolution (1789 - 1799)
The French Revolution was the second major revolution in the age of Atlantic revolutions. Inspired by the American Revolution, the French Revolution was still distinctly different. It was also an expression of Enlightenment ideals, but rather than securing natural rights the French Revolution sought to tear down the preexisting monarchical system. It was more a bloody civil war than a war for independence. -
U.S. Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights codified amendments to the Constitution, beginning with the first ten in 1791. The First Amendment enshrined Freedom of Religion, Assembly, Press and Expression. The Second secured the right to keep and bear arms - being necessary to maintain the security of a free state - for American posterity. -
Haitian Revolution (1791 - 1804)
The Haitian Revolution was the only truly successful slave revolt in the age of Atlantic Revolutions. Over the period of a decade, former slaves overthrew the French system. Even with Napoleon in charge, the Frech were unable to stop the revolution. Like the French Revolution, overthrowing the fundamental societal system, the Haitian Revolution was notably bloody. Former slave Toussaint Louverture played a key leadership role in defeating the French. -
The Terror (1793 - 1794)
The Terror was a particularly bloody period of the French Revolution. Leading the Committee of Public Safety, Robespierre and his cohorts killed “enemies of the revolution” by the tens of thousands. The inherent nature of the revolution almost ensured this kind of ugly violence. Robespierre also fell victim to the guillotine. When he did, the ugliest phase of the French Revolution passed into history. -
Rise of Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte fist came to power during the French Revolution. The conflict offered him the opportunity to rise as a highly capable artillery officer and servant of the revolution. Ultimately, the revolution also provide a vacuum after the monarchy that would lead to his eventual emperorship. Though he would retain some of the revolution ideas he would become, no doubt, an imperial ruler. -
Louisiana Purchase
Facing significant debt from global fighting (and having just secured the area back from Spain), France sold a massive swath of North America to the fledgling American nation for a miniscule 3 cents per acre. From this point, American westward expansion truly began - with all of its benefits and problems. -
Latin American Revolutions (1810 - 1830)
From about 1810 to 1830, previous Spanish and Portuguese colonies fought for and found their independence against these waning old world powers. Simon Bolivar was a key figure in several of these revolutions, but his vision of a united Latin American world failed to materialize. -
Slavery Abolition Act
The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 outlawed slavery in England and her colonies. The slave trade had previously been banned in 1807 and enforced even with military power. Like the rise of feminism and nationalism, the growth of abolitionism was and outgrowth - or echo - of this age of Atlantic Revolutions and the dramatic restructuring of the old-world order.