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Hobbes (17th Century
Hobbes Believes that people naturally lived in a brutish state, but they could give some of their rights to the government in exchange for law and order. -
John Locke
Locke said that a social contract implied the right and responsibility of citizens to revolt against unjust government. Locke thought that people had natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of property. He said that a child was born with a mind like a “blank slate” waiting to be filled with knowledge. -
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Francis Bacon emphasizes Empiricism, or the belief that knowledge comes from sensed experience.
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Baron Montesquieu
The Spirit of Laws (1748) praised the British government’s use of checks on power because it had a Parliament. Montesquieu influenced the American system, which adopted his ideas by separating its government into branches -
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Rousseau
A contemporary of Voltaire, expanded on the idea of the social contract as it had passed down through the work of Hobbes and Locke. One of Rousseau’s early works was Emile, or On Education (1762) in which he laid out his ideas on child-rearing. The Social Contract (1762), presented the concept of the General Will of a population and the obligation of a sovereign to carry out that General Will. Rousseau inspired many revolutionaries of the late 18th century. -
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Adam Smith
Smith responded to mercantilism by calling for freer trade. While Smith did support some government regulations and saw the benefits of taxes, he generally advocated for laissez-faire. Smith believed that if businesses and consumers were allowed to make choices in their own interests, the “invisible hand” of the market would guide them to make choices beneficial for society. His ideas provided a foundation for capitalism, an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned. -
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Thomas Paine
Militant in his defense of Deism. Paine’s work Common Sense (1776), made him popular in America for advocating liberty from Britain, but his anti-church writings damaged much of his popularity. -
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Voltaire
Known for his social satire. He was famous for his advocacy of civil liberties. Exiled for three years due to a conflict with a member of the French aristocracy, Voltaire lived in England long enough to develop an appreciation for its regard for civil rights. He brought these ideas back to France, where he campaigned for religious liberty and judicial reform. His correspondence with heads of state and his extensive writings are still quoted today. His ideas influenced the U.S. Constitution. -
James Hargreaves invents the Spinning Jenny
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A new version of the Steam Engine is made by James Watt
Created a cheap way to harness coal power. -
The Water Frame is patented by Richard Arkwright
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Declaration of Independence
In the document, Thomas Jefferson picked up the phrase “unalienable rights” from John Locke. For Jefferson, these rights were to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In the war that followed, the colonists won in 1783 with help from France. -
French Independence Day
On July 14, 1789, a crowd in Paris stormed the Bastille. Peasants rose up against nobles.
The dat became French Independence Day. The most permanent changes were enacted early in the Revolution—the abolition of feudalism and the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, a statement declaring basic human rights. -
A Vindication of the Rights of Women
In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Women. She argued that females should receive the same education as males. Universal education, she argued, would enabe them to support themselves rather than relying on men. -
The Reign of Terror
A period during which the new government executed thousands of opponents of the revolution, including the king and queen. -
Henry Cort Patens a way to make wrought iron
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Eli Whitney creates a system of Interchangeable parts for firearms.
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The Ottoman Sultan sends an army to retake Egypt
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States start banning the slave trade
Denmark in 1803, Great Britain in 1807, and the United States in 1808. -
Haiti gains independence.
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John Stuart Mill
Some economists, clergy, and intellectuals criticized laissez-faire capitalism as inhumane to workers. One of these was a British philosopher, John Stuart Mill (1806–1873). He championed legal reforms to allow labor unions, limit child labor, and ensure safe working conditions in factories. -
Mahmud II abolishes the Janissary system
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the Sadler Report
Dangerous and unsanitary working conditions, low wages, and long hours were common in factory work in the 19th century. A committee of Britain’s Parliament released a study called the Sadler Report in 1833. It made many people in Britain aware of the need for reforms. -
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The Tanzimat Reforms.
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Seneca Falls
In New York, activists gathered to promote women’s rights and suffrage. In the convention’s “Declaration of Sentiments,” organizers declared, “All men and women are created equal.” They demanded women have the right to vote and hold office, hold property and manage their own incomes, and be the legal guardians of their children. -
Communist Manifesto
In 1848, Karl Marx and his wealthy supporter Friedrich Engels published a pamphlet that summarized their critique of capitalism. According to Marx, capitalism was an advance on feudalism because it produced tremendous wealth, but that it also produced needless poverty and misery. This contradiction between wealth and poverty occurred because capitalism divided society into two basic classes; the Proletariat and the Bourgeoisie. -
Commodore Matthew Perry Sails to Japan and threatens them to trade with the U.S
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Alexander II abolishes serfdom.
23 million people were emancipated -
Japan Abolishes Feudalism through the Charter Oath
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Otto Von Bismarck founds the German Empire
After orchestrating three wars to unite germany -
The British Gain control over the New Zealand Islands
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Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
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Sultan Abdulhamid
When Sultan Abdulhamid took power in 1876, he supported the efforts at internal reforms. He accepted a new constitution for the Ottoman Empire and he continued to emphasize primary education and secularization of the law. A few girls were allowed to attend girls’ secondary schools by the beginning of the 20th century. -
Brazil Ends Slavery
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the Red Sultan
Fearful of any “seditious” reform, the sultan and the central government maintained tight control over the empire. Abdulhamid eventually drove the advocates for reform, known as “Young Turks” into exile. Further, his government whipped up anger against minority groups, particularly Armenians and Assyrian Christians. Between 1894 and 1896, between 100,000 and 250,000 Armenians were killed -
The Philippine Revolution
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China Becomes a Republic