Download Chapter 21.3 and 21.4 Section Summaries

Chapter Summary 21.3 & 21.4
Enlightened Absolutism
Textbook pgs. 408-412
Enlightenment thought influenced European politics in the eighteenth century. The philosophers believed in
natural rights for all people. These rights included equality before the law; freedom of religious worship;
freedom of speech; freedom of the press; and the rights to own property. Before this time, people in Europe
generally did not have these rights. Rulers were all-powerful, and they controlled the lives of the people they
ruled. For example, they often chose the religion of their people and excluded religions that they disliked.
Many philosophers believed countries needed enlightened rulers to establish and protect people’s rights.
Enlightened rulers must allow religious toleration, freedom of speech and of the press, and the rights of
private property. They must help develop the arts, sciences, and education. Above all, enlightened rulers must
obey the laws and apply them fairly to all subjects. Only strong monarchs could bring about the enlightened
reforms that society needed. Philosophers called this Enlightened absolutism, which was a type of monarchy
where rulers tried to govern by Enlightenment principles while they kept their royal powers.
The eighteenth-century monarchs were also concerned with balancing the power neighboring European
countries. This idea meant that countries should have equal power in order to keep any one from dominating
the others. Large armies were created for defense. However, the armies were often used to conquer new
lands as well. Frederick II of Prussia said that the main reason for government was to increase territory. This
idea led to major wars in Europe during the eighteenth century.
The Seven Years War
The Seven Years’ War started because of land struggles
in Europe and quickly involved all the great European
powers. France, Austria, and Russia were allied against
Britain and Prussia. But, the Seven Years War was much
larger than previous wars in Europe. Many believe that
the Seven Years War was actually the first world war
because France and Britain fought over control of
colonies in North America and India.
Both sides viewed colonial lands as an important source of wealth. Motivated by profit, France and Britain
saw their colonies as important sources of raw materials and markets for their goods. For Great Britain, the
income was even greater because its lands were more populated and provided tax revenue. So, it was
particularly troublesome to Britain when it suffered severe defeats, at first. For example, American colonists
like George Washington lost several battles to the French and Indians. But, when statesman William Pitt was
put in charge of Britain’s war effort, things turned around. Pitt’s strategy included these factors: increasingly
using Britain professional trained soldiers, providing their Prussian allies with large amounts of money, and
using the British navy to defeat French ships and block the coastline so supplies could not reach the French
colonies. This strategy proved successful in North America as every French fort fell, and it worked in India as all
French trading posts were captured. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended the war, giving control of North
America and India to Great Britain, making it the undisputed world power.
The war was very expensive however. Both France and Britain went into debt as a result. New heavier taxes
in France and Britain led to many complaints from poorer citizens. The heavier taxes led American colonists to
argue for “no taxation without representation.” In France, harsher taxes pushed many peasants into poverty.
Food shortages, rising prices for food, and unemployment led to the near collapse of France’s national budget.
The American Revolution
Textbook pgs. 413-415
The Seven Years’ War cost Britain a lot of money. Britain also needed money to pay for an army to defend its
colonies. British leaders wanted money from the American colonies for these costs. Parliament imposed a new
tax on the colonies through the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act required certain printed materials, such as legal
documents and newspapers, to have a stamp on them. The colonists opposed the tax, often violently.
Eventually, on July, 4 1776, the American colonies declared independence from the British Empire leading to
American victory in the Revolutionary War.
As a result of the American Revolution, the
American colonies had overthrown British rule.
Their experience with British rule had made them
fear the power of a strong central government.
They wrote a Constitution in which the national (or
federal) government and the state governments
share power. The organization of the federal
government is based on the ideas of
Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu. It has
three branches, or parts: executive, legislative, and
judicial. Each branch has power to check, or limit,
acts of the other branches. The new Congress
quickly added 10 amendments to the Constitution known as the Bill of Rights. Many of the rights in the
American Bill of Rights came from the natural rights proposed by John Locke and the eighteenth-century
philosophes. Many European intellectuals thought the American Revolution had put the principles of the
Enlightenment into action. Inspired by the American Revolution, many citizens in France and other European
countries began to push for natural rights and other changes their governments.