CHAPTER 21

Revolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World, 17501850

0INS R!C I"NA# "$%&C I'&S

After studying this chapter students should be able to: 10. Understand the economic and ideological causes of the American, the French, and the Haitian Revolutions. 0. !iscuss and compare the course of the American, the French, and the Haitian revolutions and analy"e the reasons for and significance of the different outcomes of these three revolutions. #0. Understand the successes and the shortcomings of the conservative reaction to the French Revolution as seen in the actions of the $ongress of %ienna and the Holy Alliance. &0. !escribe the causes and results of agitation for the e'tension of democratic rights and national self(determination in )urope and the United *tates of America in the nineteenth century up to 1+,0.

00C(A) &R "! #IN&

-0. .relude to Revolution: /he )ighteenth($entury $risis A0. $olonial 0ars and Fiscal $rises 10. Rivalry among the )uropean po1ers intensified in the early 1200s 1hen the !utch attac3ed *panish and .ortuguese possessions in the Americas and in Asia. -n the 1200s and 1,00s, the 4ritish then chec3ed !utch commercial and colonial ambitions and 1ent on to defeat France in the *even 5ears 0ar 61,7281,2#9 and ta3e over French colonial possessions in the Americas and in -ndia. 0. /he unprecedented costs of the 1ars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries drove )uropean governments to see3 ne1 sources of revenue at a time 1hen the intellectual environment of the )nlightenment inspired people to :uestion and to protest the state;s attempts to introduce ne1 1ays of collecting revenue. 40. /he )nlightenment and the <ld <rder 10. /he )nlightenment thin3ers sought to apply the methods and :uestions of the *cientific Revolution to the study of human society. <ne 1ay of doing so 1as to classify and systemati"e 3no1ledge= another 1ay 1as to search for natural la1s that 1ere thought to underlie human affairs and to devise scientific techni:ues of government and social regulation. 0. >ohn ?oc3e argued that governments 1ere created to protect the people= he emphasi"ed the importance of individual rights. >ean >ac:ues Rousseau asserted that the 1ill of the people 1as sacred= he believed that people 1ould act collectively on the basis of their shared historical e'perience. #0. @ot all )nlightenment thin3ers 1ere radicals or atheists. Aany, li3e %oltaire, believed that monarchs could be agents of change.

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Chapter 22: Revolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World, 17501850

&0. *ome members of the )uropean nobility 6e.g., $atherine the Breat of Russia, Frederic3 the Breat of .russia9 patroni"ed )nlightenment thin3ers and used )nlightenment ideas as they reformed their bureaucracies, legal systems, ta' systems, and economies. At the same time, these monarchs suppressed or banned radical ideas that promoted republicanism or attac3ed religion. 70. Aany of the maCor intellectuals of the )nlightenment communicated 1ith each other and 1ith political leaders. 0omen 1ere instrumental in the dissemination of their ideas= purchasing and discussing the 1ritings of the )nlightenment thin3ers= and, in the case of 1ealthy .arisian 1omen, ma3ing their homes available for salons at 1hich )nlightenment thin3ers gathered. 20. /he ne1 ideas of the )nlightenment 1ere particularly attractive to the e'panding middle class in )urope and in the 0estern Hemisphere. Aany )uropean intellectuals sa1 the Americas as a ne1, uncorrupted place in 1hich material and social progress 1ould come more :uic3ly than in )urope. ,0. 4enCamin Fran3lin came to symboli"e the natural genius and the vast potential of America. Fran3lin;s success in business, his intellectual and scientific accomplishments, and his political career offered proof that in America, 1here society 1as free of the chains of inherited privilege, genius could thrive. $0. Fol3 $ultures and .opular .rotest 10. Aost people in 0estern society did not share in the ideas of the )nlightenment= common people remained loyal to cultural values grounded in the preindustrial past. /hese cultural values prescribed a set of traditionally accepted mutual rights and obligations that connected the people to their rulers. 0. 0hen eighteenth(century monarchs tried to increase their authority and to centrali"e po1er by introducing more efficient systems of ta' collection and public administration, the people regarded these changes as violations of sacred customs and sometimes e'pressed their outrage in violent protests. *uch protests aimed to restore custom and precedent, not to achieve revolutionary change. Rationalist )nlightenment reformers also spar3ed popular opposition 1hen they sought to replace popular festivals 1ith rational civic rituals. #0. *pontaneous popular uprisings had revolutionary potential only 1hen they coincided 1ith conflicts 1ithin the elite. --0. /he American Revolution, 1,,781+00 A0. Frontiers and /a'es 10. After 1,2#, the 4ritish government faced t1o problems in its @orth American colonies: the danger of 1ar 1ith the Amerindians as colonists pushed 1est across the Appalachians, and the need to raise more ta'es from the colonists to pay the increasing costs of colonial administration and defense. 4ritish attempts to impose ne1 ta'es or to prevent further 1est1ard settlement provo3ed protests in the colonies. 0. -n the Breat ?a3es region, 4ritish policies undermined the Amerindian economy and provo3ed a series of Amerindian raids on the settled areas of .ennsylvania and %irginia. /he Amerindian alliance that carried out these raids 1as defeated 1ithin a year. Fear of more violence led the 4ritish to establish a 1estern limit for settlement in the .roclamation of 1,2# and to slo1 do1n settlement of the regions north of the <hio and east of the Aississippi in the Duebec Act of 1,,&. #0. /he 4ritish government tried to raise ne1 revenue from the American colonies through a series of fiscal reforms and ne1 ta'es, including a number of ne1 commercial regulations, including the *tamp Act of 1,27 and other ta'es and duties. -n response to these actions, the colonists organi"ed boycotts of 4ritish goods, staged violent protests, and attac3ed 4ritish officials.

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Chapter 22: Revolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World, 17501850

15

&0. Relations bet1een the American colonists and the 4ritish authorities 1ere further e'acerbated by the 3illing of five civilians in the 4oston Aassacre 61,,09 and by the action of the 4ritish government in granting the )ast -ndia $ompany a monopoly on the import of tea to the colonies. 0hen colonists in 4oston responded to the monopoly by dumping tea into 4oston harbor, the 4ritish closed the port of 4oston. 40. /he $ourse of Revolution, 1,,781,+# 10. $olonial governing bodies deposed 4ritish governors and established a $ontinental $ongress that printed currency and organi"ed an army. -deological support for independence 1as given by the rhetoric of thousands of street(corner spea3ers, by /homas .aine;s pamphlet Common Sense, and in the !eclaration of -ndependence. 0. /he 4ritish sent a military force to pacify the colonies. /he 4ritish force 1on most of its battles, but it 1as unable to control the countryside. /he 4ritish 1ere also unable to achieve a compromise political solution to the problems of the colonies. #0. Amerindians served as allies to both sides. /he Aoha13 leader >oseph 4rant led one of the most effective Amerindian forces in support of the 4ritish= 1hen the 1ar 1as over, he and his follo1ers fled to $anada. &0. France entered the 1ar as an ally of the United *tates in 1,,+ and gave crucial assistance to the American forces, including naval support that enabled 0ashington to defeat $orn1allis at 5or3to1n, %irginia. Follo1ing this defeat, the 4ritish negotiators signed the /reaty of .aris 61,+#9, giving unconditional independence to the former colonies. $0. /he $onstruction of Republican -nstitutions, to 1+00 10. After independence, each of the former colonies drafted 1ritten constitutions that 1ere submitted to the voters for approval. /he Articles of $onfederation served as a constitution for the United *tates during and after the Revolutionary 0ar. 0. -n Aay 1,+,, a $onstitutional $onvention began to 1rite a ne1 constitution that established a system of government that 1as democratic but gave the vote only to a minority of the adult male population and protected slavery. ---0. /he French Revolution, 1,+E81+17 A0. French *ociety and Fiscal $risis 10. French society 1as divided into three groups: the First )state 6clergy9, the *econd )state 6hereditary nobility9, and the /hird )state 6everyone else9. /he clergy and the nobility controlled vast amounts of 1ealth, and the clergy 1as e'empt from nearly all ta'es. 0. /he /hird )state included the rapidly gro1ing, 1ealthy middle class 6bourgeoisie9. 0hile the bourgeoisie prospered, France;s peasants 6+0 percent of the population9, its artisans, 1or3ers, and small shop3eepers, 1ere suffering in the 1,+0s from economic depression caused by poor harvests. Urban poverty and rural suffering often led to violent protests, but these protests 1ere not revolutionary. #0. !uring the 1,00s, the e'pense of 1ars drove France into debt and inspired the French 3ings to try to introduce ne1 ta'es and fiscal reforms to increase revenue. /hese attempts met 1ith resistance in the .arlements and on the part of the high nobility. 40. .rotest /urns to Revolution, 1,+E81,E 10. /he 3ing called a meeting of the )states Beneral to get approval of ne1 ta'es. /he representatives of the /hird )state and some members of the First )state declared themselves to be a @ational Assembly and pledged to 1rite a constitution that 1ould incorporate the idea of popular sovereignty. 0. As the 3ing prepared to send troops to arrest the members of the @ational Assembly, the common people of .aris rose up in arms against the government, and peasant uprisings bro3e out in the countryside. /he @ational Assembly 1as emboldened to set forth its position in the !eclaration of the Rights of Aan.

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Chapter 22: Revolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World, 17501850

#0. As the economic crisis gre1 1orse, .arisian mar3et 1omen marched on %ersailles and captured the 3ing and his family. /he @ational Assembly passed a ne1 constitution that limited the po1er of the monarchy and restructured French politics and society. 0hen Austria and .russia threatened to intervene, the @ational Assembly declared 1ar in 1,E1. $0. /he /error, 1,E#81,E& 10. /he 3ing;s attempt to flee in 1,E led to his e'ecution and to the formation of a ne1 government, the @ational $onvention, 1hich 1as dominated by the radical Aountain faction of the >acobins and by their leader, Robespierre. 0. Under Robespierre, e'ecutive po1er 1as placed in the hands of the $ommittee of .ublic *afety, militant feminist forces 1ere repressed, ne1 actions against the clergy 1ere approved, and suspected enemies of the revolution 1ere imprisoned and guillotined in the Reign of /error 61,E#81,E&9. -n >uly 1,E&, conservatives in the @ational $onvention voted for the arrest and e'ecution of Robespierre. !0. Reaction and the Rise of @apoleon, 1,E781+17 10. After Robespierre;s e'ecution, the $onvention 1or3ed to undo the radical reforms of the Robespierre years, ratified a more conservative constitution, and created a ne1 e'ecutive authority, the !irectory. /he !irectory;s suspension of the election results of 1,E, signaled the end of the republican phase of the revolution, 1hile @apoleon;s sei"ure of po1er in 1,EE mar3ed the beginning of another form of government: popular authoritarianism. 0. @apoleon provided greater internal stability and protection of personal and property rights by negotiating an agreement 1ith the $atholic $hurch 6the $oncordat of 1+019, promulgating the $ivil $ode of 1+0&, and declaring himself emperor 6also in 1+0&9. At the same time, the @apoleonic system denied basic political and property rights to 1omen and restricted speech and e'pression. #0. /he stability of the @apoleonic system depended upon the success of the military and upon French diplomacy. @o single )uropean state could defeat @apoleon, but his occupation of the -berian .eninsula turned into a costly 1ar of attrition 1ith *panish and .ortuguese resistance forces, 1hile his 1+1 attac3 on Russia ended in disaster. An alliance of Russia, Austria, .russia, and )ngland defeated @apoleon in 1+1&. -%0. Revolution *preads, $onservatives Respond, 1,+E81+70 A0. /he Haitian Revolution, 1,+E81+0& 10. /he French colony of *aint !omingue 1as one of the richest )uropean colonies in the Americas, but its economic success 1as based on one of the most brutal slave regimes in the $aribbean. 0. /he political turmoil in France 1ea3ened the ability of colonial administrators to maintain order and led to conflict bet1een slaves and gens de couleur on the one hand and 1hites on the other. A slave rebellion under the leadership of FranFois !omini:ue /oussaint ?;<uverture too3 over the colony in 1,E&. #0. @apoleon;s 1+0 attempt to reestablish French authority led to the capture of ?;<uverture but failed to reta3e the colony, 1hich became the independent republic of Haiti in 1+0&. /ens of thousands of people died in the Haitian revolution, the economy 1as destroyed, and public administration 1as corrupted by more than a decade of violence. 40. /he $ongress of %ienna and $onservative Retrenchment, 1+1781+ 0 10. From 1+1& to 1+17, representatives of 4ritain, Russia, .russia, and Austria met in %ienna to create a comprehensive peace settlement that 1ould reestablish and safeguard the conservative order in )urope. 0. /he $ongress of %ienna restored the French monarchy= redre1 the borders of France and other )uropean states= and established a Holy Alliance of Austria, Russia, and

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Chapter 22: Revolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World, 17501850

155

.russia. /he Holy Alliance defeated liberal revolutions in *pain and -taly in 1+ 0 and tried, 1ithout success, to repress liberal and nationalist ideas. $0. @ationalism, Reform, and Revolution, 1+ 181+70 10. .opular support for national self(determination and democratic reform gre1 throughout )urope. Breece gained its independence from the <ttoman )mpire in 1+#0, 1hile in France, the people of .aris forced the monarchy to accept constitutional rule and to e'tend voting privileges. 0. !emocratic reform movements emerged in both 4ritain and in the United *tates. -n the United *tates, the franchise 1as e'tended after the 0ar of 1+1 , 1hile in 4ritain, response to the unpopular $orn ?a1s resulted in a nearly 70 percent increase in the number of voters. #0. -n )urope, the desire for national self(determination and democratic reform led to a series of revolutions in 1+&+. -n France, the monarchy 1as overthro1n and replaced by an elected president 6?ouis @apoleon9= else1here in )urope, the revolutions of 1+&+ failed to gain either their nationalist or republican obCectives. %0. $omparative .erspectives A0. /he American Revolution 10. /he e'pense of colonial 1ars led to the imposition of ne1 ta'es on colonials. 0. Resentment over ta'ation led the 4ritish American colonies to fight and 1in their independence. #0. /he ne1 American government reflected the democratic ideals of the )nlightenment. 40. /he French Revolution 10. Revolutionaries in France created a more radical form of representative democracy than the one found in America and suffered more violence as 1ell. 0. )vents in France led to the Haitian Revolution and Haiti;s independence. #0. )ntrenched elite forces 1ithin, and foreign intervention from 1ithout, made the French and Haitian Revolutions more violent and destructive than the American Revolution. -n France, chaos led to the rise of @apoleon. $0. Aftermath of Revolution 10. $onservative retrenchment after @apoleon prevailed in the short term in )urope, but nationalism and liberalism could not be held in chec3 for long. 0. /he ne1 social classes arising 1ith industrial capitalism ultimately demanded a ne1 social and political order. /he ne1 political freedoms 1ere limited to a minority. 0omen could not participate until the t1entieth century, and slavery endured until the second half of the nineteenth century in America.

0*ISC!SSI"N +!&S I"NS

10. 0hat roles did )nlightenment thought and fol3 cultures play in the ma3ing of the eighteenth( century revolutionsG 0. 0as there a relationship bet1een the 1ays in 1hich the 4ritish and French monarchs approached the ideas of the )nlightenment and the outbrea3 of revolutionG #0. 0hat factors might e'plain the different outcomes of the American, the French, and the Haitian revolutionsG &0. Ho1 and 1hy did the policies of the French revolutionary regimes change bet1een 1,+E and 1,EEG 70. 0hat 1ere the goals of the $onference of %iennaG /o 1hat e'tent 1ere those goals achievedG 20. -n the nineteenth century, democratic reform succeeded in the United *tates and 4ritain, a nationalist revolution freed Breece from the <ttoman )mpire, and a revolution of the middle and

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15"

Chapter 22: Revolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World, 17501850

1or3ing classes overthre1 the French monarchy in 1+&+. 0hy 1ere these movements to1ard democracy and national self(determination successful, 1hile reformers and revolutionaries in Hungary, -taly, 4ohemia, Austria, and Bermany failedG

0#&C !R& ")ICS

10. -deology and the American Revolution *ources: a0. 4ailyn, 4ernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. nd ed. $ambridge, AA: 1EE .

b0. Herber, ?inda H. Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideolog in Revolutionar America. $hapel Hill: University of @orth $arolina .ress, 1E+0. c0. .angle, /homas ?. The Spirit of !odern Republicanism: The !oral "ision of American #ounders and the $hilosoph of %ohn &oc'e. $hicago: University of $hicago .ress, 1E++.

d0. Reid, >. .. The Concept of &ibert in the Age of the American Revolution. $hicago: University of $hicago .ress, 1E++. e0. 0ood, Bordon *. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. @e1 5or3: A.A. Hnopf, 1EE .

0. 0omen in Revolution *ources: a0. Bodineau, !omini:ue. The Women of $aris and Their #rench Revolution. 4er3eley: University of $alifornia .ress, 1EE+.

b0. Hoffman, Ronald, and .eter >. Albert Women in the Age of the American Revolution. $harlottesville: University .ress of %irginia, 1E+E. c0. ?andes, >oan. Women and the $ublic Sphere in the Age of the #rench Revolution. -thaca: $ornell University .ress, 1E++.

d0. @orton, Aary 4eth. &ibert (s )aughters: The Revolutionar *+perience of American Women, ,-./0,1//. 4oston: ?ittle, 4ro1n, 1E+0. #0. Fol3 $ulture and Revolution *ources: a0. /e 4ra3e, 0ayne. Shaping 2istor : Ordinar $eople in *uropean $olitics, ,.//0,-//. 4er3eley: University of $alifornia .ress, 1EE+. >ones, .eter. The $easantr and the #rench Revolution. $ambridge: $ambridge University .ress, 1E++.

b0. Forest, Alan A. The #rench Revolution and the $oor. @e1 5or3: *t. Aartin;s .ress, 1E+1. c0.

d0. Rude, Beorge. The Cro3d in 2istor : $opular )isturbances in #rance and *ngland. rev. ed. ?ondon: ?a1rence and 0ishart, 1E+1. &0. /he Haitian Revolution *ources: a0. $ooper, Anna >. Slaver and the #rench Revolutionists, ,-110,1/.. ?e1iston, @5: ). Aellen .ress, 1E++.

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Chapter 22: Revolutionary Changes in the Atlantic World, 17501850

157

b0. Fic3, $arolyn ). The !a'ing of 2aiti: The Saint )omingue Revolution from 4elo3. Hno'ville: University of /ennessee .ress, 1EE0. c0. Baspar, !avid 4arry, and !avid .atric3 Beggus, eds. A Turbulent Time: The #rench Revolution and the 5reater Caribbean. 4loomington: -ndiana University .ress, 1EE,.

d0. >ames, $. ?. R. The 4lac' %acobins. nd ed. @e1 5or3: %intage 4oo3s, 1E+E. 70. /he Revolutions of 1+&+ *ources: a0. Hobsba1m, )ric. The Age of Revolution, *urope ,-160,171. @e1 5or3: @e1 American ?ibrary, 1E2E.

b0. Aay, Arthur >. The Age of !etternich, ,1,707. rev. ed. @e1 5or3: Holt, Rinehart and 0inston, 1E2#. c0. Robertson, .riscilla *mith. The Revolutions of ,171: A Social 2istor . @e1 5or3: Harper, 1E20.

d0. *tearns, .eter, and Herric3 $hapman. *uropean Societ in 8pheaval: Social 2istor Since ,-./. #rd ed. @e1 5or3: Aacmillan, 1EE .

0)A)&R ")ICS
10. $ompare the roles of 1omen in the French and the American revolutions. 0. *tate and Custify your position on the follo1ing statement: I/here 1as nothing revolutionary about the American Revolution.J #0. Ho1 1as the American Revolution vie1ed in )uropeG &0. 0rite on the role of the urban 1or3ing class in the French Revolution.

0IN &RN& R&S"!RC&S

/he follo1ing -nternet sites contain 1ritten and visual material appropriate for use 1ith this chapter. A more e'tensive and continually updated list of -nternet resources can be found on The *arth and Its $eoples 1eb site. Refer to The *arth and Its $eoples 1eb site section located at the beginning of this manual for information on ho1 to locate the te't homepage. -mages of the American Revolution 6@ational Archives and Records Administration9 http:KK111.archives.govKeducationKlessonsKrevolution(imagesK $olonial $urrency 6University of @otre !ame9 http:KK111.nd.eduKLrareboo3KcoinsK$ol$urrencyKinde'.html ?iberty, ):uality, Fraternity: )'ploring the French Revolution http:KKchnm.gmu.eduKrevolutionK /he -nternet Aodern History *ourceboo3: /he French Revolution http:KK111.fordham.eduKhalsallKmodKmodsboo31#.html /he ?ibrary of $ongress: /he Rise and Fall of the Absolute Aonarchy http:KK111.loc.govKe'hibitsKbnfKbnf0007.html French History /imeline http:KK111.uncg.eduKromKcoursesKdafeinKcivKtimeline.htm /he Haitian Revolution 6University of Albany, *U@59 http:KK111.albany.eduKLCs#E+0Khaitian(revolution.html

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