Historical Concepts and Figures

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abolitionist movement

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international movement that led to ending slavery in the Western world during the nineteenth century; the movement was especially prominent in Britain and the United States

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Adam Smith

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Scottish economist who advocated private enterprise and free trade (laissez-faire economics)

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American Revolution

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(1776-1783) revolution of the British American colonies caused by new taxes and the idea they were unjustly imposed

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Balkan nationalism

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movements to break away from the Ottoman Empire and create independent states and reunite ethnic groups in the Balkans

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Boxer Rebellion

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anti-foreign rebellion in China (1898–1901) when a group known as the Boxers slaughtered Europeans and Chinese Christians

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capitalism

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economic system of open competition in a free market where individuals and companies own the means of production and operate for profit

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communism

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political theory advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned; 'from each according to their abilities, to each according to his needs'

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Declaration of Independence (North American)

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formal explanation of why the Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Britain, adopted on July 4, 1776; written largely by Thomas Jefferson

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Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

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1789 French charter of political liberties that proclaimed the equal rights of all male citizens; similar to the U.S. Bill of Rights

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Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen

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written by the French feminist Olympe de Gouges in 1791, made the argument that equality must also include women