Chapter 6: Enlightenment and Revolution 1550-1789

Chapter 6Section 1The Scientific Revolution

Roots of Modern Science: The Medieval Viewo During the Middle

Ages, most scholars believed Earth was immobile and at the center of the universe

o This was called the geocentric theory

o Came from Aristotle, and reinforced by the Bible

A New Way of Thinking

Beginning in the 1500’s, the Scientific Revolution came about

New way of thinking about the natural world

Age of Exploration and printing press helped expand this

The Heliocentric Theory

Nicolaus Copernicus became interested in an old Greek idea that the sun was at center of universe

He developed the Heliocentric, or sun-centered, theory in 1500’s

Johannes Kepler confirmed this theory in 1601

Galileo’s Discoveries

Italian scientist named Galileo Galilei built on the new astronomy theories

Built his own telescope and published findings

Supported Copernicus’s theories

Conflict with the Church Catholic and Protestant

leaders were opposed to Galileo

After publishing his findings, the pope summoned Galileo to stand trial

He confessed that Copernicus’s ideas were false

He lived under house arrest and died in 1642

The Scientific Method

Logical procedure to gathering and testing ideas

Question> Hypothesis> Experiment> Conclusion

Bacon and Descartes

Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes helped develop the Scientific Method

Bacon urged scientists to experiment fist and draw conclusions later

Descartes believed everything should be doubted until proven true

Newton Explains Law of Gravity

In 1687, Isaac Newton publishes his theory of gravity

The law of universal gravitation says every object in the universe attracts each other

Scientific Instruments

Microscope invented in 1590 by Zacharias Janssen, a Dutch eyeglass maker

Gabriel Fahrenheit invented first mercury thermometer- showed freezing at 32º

Anders Celsius used another scale- showed freezing at 0º

Medicine and the Human Body Most Medieval doctors

followed teachings of ancient Greek physician, Galen

In 1543, Flemish physician Andreas Vesalius proved Galen wrong after dissecting human corpses

In late 1700’s British physician Edward Jenner invented smallpox vaccine

Discoveries in Chemistry Robert Boyle is

considered the founder of modern chemistry

He said matter is composed of smaller primary particles that join together in different ways

Boyle’s Law explains how the volume, temperature, and pressure of gas affect each other

Chapter 6Section 2The Enlightenment in Europe

The Enlightenment

Came in the wake of the Scientific Revolution

New intellectual movement that stressed reason, thought and the power of the individual

Hobbes’s Social Contract

Thomas Hobbes argued the Social Contract theory of government- that people handed over power to a ruler to escape anarchy

Hobbes believed in absolute rulers

Locke’s Natural Rights

John Locke believed people had the natural ability to govern themselves

Locke criticized monarchy and favored self-government

If the government is not just, people have right to overthrow it

The Philosophes Advocate Reason

The Enlightenment reached its height in France in mid-1700’s

Social critics of this time known as philosophes

Five concepts formed belief core

1. Reason

2. Nature

3. Happiness

4. Progress

5. Liberty

Voltaire Combats Intolerance Francois Marie

Arouet, AKA Voltaire, was a famous philosophe

Sent to prison in France twice and exiled to England for his teachings

Fought for tolerance, reason, and religious and personal freedom

Montesquieu

Baron de Montesquieu devoted himself to the study of political liberty

Proposed separation of government powers, or checks and balances

Became basis for US Constitution

Rousseau

Jean Jacques Rousseau was another philosophe

Believed that every man was born free and civilization corrupted him

Only believed in direct democracy

Inspired French Revolution

Beccaria

Cesare Bonesana Beccaria was an Italian philosophe

Argued for criminal justice and against torture

Thought capital punishment should be abolished

Women and the Enlightenment

Male philosophes were not in agreement about women’s place in society and education

Several female writers tried to improve the status of women

Mary Astell addressed the lack of education for women and marital equality

Mary Wollstonecraft argued for women’s education and for career opportunities

Emilie de Châtelet was an aristocrat trained as a mathematician and physicist

Legacy of the Enlightenment

Enlightenment writers challenged long-held beliefs about divine right of monarchs, union of church and state, and inequality

Theories inspired American and French revolutions

Legacy of the Enlightenment Belief in progress-

growth in scientific knowledge and human potential

Secular outlook- people began to question beliefs and organized religion

Importance of the individual- people were encouraged to use reason to judge right from wrong

Chapter 6Section 3The Enlightenment Spreads

A World of Ideas

In the 1700’s, Paris was the cultural and intellectual capital of Europe

Philosophers, artists, writers, and scientists would meet in salons- the drawing rooms of several wealthy women of Paris

Diderot’s Encyclopedia Denis Diderot

created a large set of books to which many leading scholars contributed articles and essays

France and the Catholic church banned the Encyclopedia, but it continued to be published and spread

Neoclassical Artistic Style

European art of 1600’s and early 1700’s had been dominated by a style called baroque- done with grand, ornate designs

Under the Enlightenment, the neoclassical style emerged- simple and elegant

Changes in Music and Literature

During the Enlightenment, a new style called classical emerged

Artists such as Mozart and Beethoven created a new lighter sound

Writers began to write novels, lengthy works of fiction

Became extremely popular with the middle classes

Enlightenment and Monarchy

Many philosophes tried to convince monarchs to rule justly

Monarchs who embraced this were called enlightened despots

They supported these new ideas, but did not want to give up power

Frederick the Great

King of Prussia from 1740-1786

Granted religious freedoms, reduced censorship, and improved education

Called himself, “First servant of the state”

Joseph II Son of Maria

Theresa, ruled Austria from 1780-1790

Introduced legal reform, freedom of religion, and freedom of press

Abolished serfdom and ordered peasants must be paid

Catherine the Great

Ruled Russia from 1762-1796

Read works of philosophes and corresponded with Voltaire

Put in place limited reforms, but ignored Russian peasants

Catherine expanded Russia vastly during her reign

Chapter 6Section 4The American Revolution

Britain and the American Colonies

During the 1700’s the population of the colonies grew hugely

Great Britain and the colonies had a relatively peaceful relationship during the early 1700’s, despite various British trade restrictions

French and Indian War

In 1754, war erupted between Great Britain and France over North America

In 1763, Great Britain won and the victory benefitted both them and the colonies

Stamp Act

Great Britain expected the colonists to help pay debts from war

They enacted a stamp tax- a tax on printed material

Colonists were outraged over “taxation without representation”

Growing Hostility Leads to War

Hostilities increased over the next decade

In 1773, colonists angry over an import tax on tea, dumped a load of tea into Boston Harbor

King George III ordered the navy to close the port of Boston

In 1774, The First Continental Congress formed to protest

On April 19,1775, the first shot was fired at Lexington and Concord

The Influence of the Enlightenment

Colonial leaders used Enlightenment ideas to justify independence

July 4, 1776- Second Continental Congress issued Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson

Document firmly based on John Locke’s ideas for natural rights

Success for the Colonists How did the American

colonists defeat the most powerful country in the world?

1. Motivation to fight

2. Overconfident British generals

3. War was very expensive for the British

4. France entered war in 1778 and helped win

Americans Create a Republic

First central government was under the Articles of Confederation

Purposefully weak, and only consisting of a Congress

The national government began to have problems regulating the states and raising money without a power to tax

A New Constitution

Recognizing the need for a stronger government, Congress approved a Constitutional Convention in 1787

The 55 delegates used thinking from the Enlightenment and compromise to write a new constitution

The Federal System The delegated

distrusted a government run by one person or group

They established three branches of government- legislative, executive, and judicial

This provided for checks and balances

The Bill of Rights

The Constitution was signed in 1787, but still required approval of all 13 states

Some delegates were concerned that the government had too much power

Congress added the 10 amendments known as the Bill of Rights to give the people more power