WHP 4.1: Origins of Revolution

There were many Enlightenment ideals, but which two were most significant in leading to political revolutions? Choose the best answer.

• Freedom and equality

• Reason & progress

• Socialism & capitalism

• Science & nationalism

Answer explanation

Yes! The notion of sovereignty is also significant, but in this context sovereignty is implied. If you have freedom and equality (and are part of a nation state) then chances are you have sovereignty.

Before seeking independence, what did most people in the North American English colonies like about being part of the British Empire?

• They liked being considered British people, having British protection during wartimes, and having access to British markets.

• They enjoyed lower taxes, cheaper food, cultural diversity, and more freedom of religion.

• Colonists of British descent gained higher status by living in North America because it fell to them to command the British Army there.

• They made more money (from North Americas plantations) than they would back home, and also land was free.

Answer explanation

Right. These were indeed the items in “pro” column. The “con” column would start to populate in 1765, beginning with The Stamp Act.

Why did the French help the North American colonists fight against the English during the American Revolution?

• They felt they owed the North American colonists, who had protected the French from England in a previous conflict.

• They hoped a victory in North America would enable them to eventually rule and tax those citizens.

• The North American colonists agreed to share the territory with the French if they won.

• The French saw the British as their enemy and wanted revenge, having just lost to them during the Seven Years War.

Answer explanation

Yep! They helped out even though they were deep in post-war debt—revenge is a powerful thing!

Many causes led to the French Revolution, but which response is the most significant of those causes?

• Slavery

• Taxes

• Empire

• Religion

Answer explanation

Right. The country was so deep in debt that taxing the most of the population seemed to be the monarchy’s only option, at which point the majority of population said, “then maybe we don’t need a monarchy.”

How did the movement known as The Enlightenment get its name?

• Thinkers and writers were shining “light” on topics that hadn’t been examined before.

• Heavy, burdensome systems of government were finally being challenged made “light” by new ways of thinking.

• The name came much later than that actual movement, during the “Age of Reason”, when a new generation of philosophers put names to past movements.

• The earlier Scientific revolution resulted in technology that could produce artificial light.

Answer explanation

Though this same movement is also sometimes called the Age of Reason, the analogy of illumination has been the favorite of most historians.

In what way did The Enlightenment lead to calls for the abolition of slavery?

• Some Enlightenment thinkers emphasized our shared humanity and rights, which led to pro-abolitionist thinking.

• The Enlightenment philosophers were unanimously opposed to slavery, and as the movement gained traction, so did abolitionism.

• Enlightenment philosophers were largely in favor of slavery, and this produced a backlash that motivated abolitionists to counter their ideas.

• Enlightenment ideals promoted the notion that all people were essentially equal, regardless of wealth, gender and race.

Answer explanation

This is true, yet there were those, like John Locke, who took this view while hypocritically profiting from slavery. And others didn’t really challenge slavery much at all. But it got people questioning these oppressive systems.

What do we call people who are members of a nation that recognizes popular sovereignty?

• Serfs

• Subjects

• Laborers

• Citizens

Answer explanation

It doesn’t sound like an impressive title now, but back then it was the difference between being allowed to participate in your government, or just doing what you were told.

Which term would most likely be used to explain what sovereignty is?

• Working class

• Enlightenment

• Popular monarch

• Self-governing

Answer explanation

You rule! Or at least you have a say in how you’re ruled when you live in a sovereign state.

In this era, what was an important difference between sovereignty and equal rights?

• Sovereignty was great for the people who qualified, but women, enslaved people, and most non-white people did not.

• Equal rights mostly pertained to separate groups of people, while sovereignty promised freedom for everyone.

• Politically, they mean the same thing, but because sovereign can also mean “supreme ruler” the term has fallen out of use.

• Sovereignty was a form of government while equal rights is a more general ideal that people should not be oppressed by those more powerful than them.

Answer explanation

Most advocates of equality would still call the creation of sovereign nations a step in the right direction, but it certainly did not extend equal rights to all people.

As more states in Europe and the Americas became sovereign nations, how did the role of children in middle and upper-class society change?

• Children were no longer expected to live at home, so most of them were sent to boarding schools from age 5 to 14.

• The appropriate age for marriage changed from 13 to 18 so that children could live at home longer.

• They were treated with more care, given an education, and were no longer made to work.

• Sovereign nations had an increased demand for labor due to infrastructure changes, so most children had to work.

Answer explanation

Though it didn’t include everyone at the time, this movement is what led to the idea that all children should go to school. You’re welcome.