The Wenz Academy - 5.2 Nationalism and Revolutions in the Period from 1750 to 1900

Social Inequality was a Major cause of Political Revolutions.
French Cartoon: The Three Estates

All of those philosophes and writings about the purpose of government and how society should function did not happen in a vacuum. Around the world, people started to put the Philosophe’s arguments into play. Starting in America, revolutions swept the colonies as former mercantile dependents severed the bonds that tied them to the mother country. But, this was not all about revolution. A new idea took root on the heels of the American and French Revolution. People of the same culture, language, history, laws, etc. began to push to have their own nations. These nationalist ideas took hold from the Philippines to the Ottoman Empire to Germany & Italy, and even New Zealand and Puerto Rico.

5.2 AMSCO Chapter

5.2 CED (AP's Required Content)

Objective:
C. Explain causes and effects of the various revolutions in the period from 1750 to 1900.

Theme:
C. GOV (Governance)

Skills:

C. GOV
Explain causes and effects of the various revolutions in the period from 1750 to 1900.

Historical Development
People around the world developed a new sense of commonality based on language, religion, social customs, and territory [the characteristics of nationalism]. Often times, governments would foster a sense of unity, using nationalism; for both positive and negative goals. The 18th century marked the beginning of an intense period of revolution and rebellion against existing governments, leading to the establishment of new nation-states ('nations') around the world. Discontent with monarchist and imperial rule encouraged the development of systems of government and various ideologies, including democracy and 19th-century liberalism. This urge for freedom existed within the natives of these new colonies in the Americas, which led a series of rebellions inspired by democratic ideals. The American Revolution, and its successful establishment of a republic, the United States of America, was a model and inspiration for a number of the revolutions that followed; such as the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, and the Latin American independence movements facilitated the emergence of independent states in the Americas.