Download Closure Question #2

Chapter 21, 22, 23
Charles I / English Civil War
Charles I – Son of James I and King of England from 1625 to
1649; A devout Anglican, Charles tried to impose more ritual on
the Church of England. When he tried to force Puritans to accept
this policy, thousands chose to go to America. In 1628,
Parliament passed a petition that prohibited the passing of any
taxes without Parliament’s consent. Although Charles I initially
accepted this petition, he later changed his mind.
 English Civil War (1642-1649)- Originally sparked by animosity
between King Charles and the Parliament, the war became a
religious war between Puritans and Anglicans and ended with
the execution of Charles in 1649 and the establishment of a
military dictatorship in England.
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Cavaliers were supporters of King Charles I in the English Civil War from 1642 to 1649; also
known as Royalists. Roundheads were supporters of the English Parliament during the English
Civil War from 1642 to 1649. Roundheads made up the “New Model Army” created by
Parliament and commanded by Oliver Cromwell. They were extreme Puritans who believed
they were doing battle for God. Cromwell wrote, “This is none other but the hand of God;
and to Him alone belongs the glory.” The soldiers were well disciplined and trained in the new
military tactics of the seventeenth century. The victorious New Model Army lost no time in
taking control. Cromwell purged Parliament of any members who had not supported him.
What was left – the so-called Rump Parliament – had Charles I executed on January 30,
1649. The execution of the king horrified much of Europe.
Closure Question #1: In your opinion, which decision by Charles I was
the most significant in pushing Parliament over the edge into Civil War?
Oliver Cromwell
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Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) – Appointed commander of
English Parliament’s New Model Army in 1642, Cromwell
defeated the forces of King Charles I and established
himself as a military dictator.
As a member of Parliament with no military experience in 1640, Cromwell
became the most capable commander in the civil war. As Lord Protector of
England, Ireland, and Scotland following Charles’ execution, Cromwell quarreled
with Parliament himself and ruled largely without it for 8 years. History rates
him an enigma, whose rule was both enlightened and cruel. Soon after the
monarchy was restored in 1660, Cromwell’s body was exhumed and hung in
London’s Tyburn Square.
 In England, Cromwell and the Puritans sought to reform society. They made
laws that promoted Puritan morality and abolished activities they found sinful,
such as the theater, sporting events, and dancing. Although he was a strict
Puritan, Cromwell favored religious toleration for all Christians except Catholics.
He even allowed Jews to return; they had been expelled from England in 1290.
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Restoration / Habeas Corpus
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Restoration – The re-establishment of the English monarchy
in 1660. Charles II was invited to return to England by
George Monk, one of Cromwell’s generals, who hoped to
avoid another Civil War by doing so.
One of Cromwell’s generals, George Monk, used the army to open the way for the return of
Charles II, Charles I’s son, as King. Monk realized that under any of Cromwell’s successors
the country would be torn apart. After the restoration of the Stuart monarchy, Parliament
kept much of the power it had gained earlier and continued to play an important role. One
of its actions was to pass laws restoring the Church of England as the state religion and
restricting some rights of Catholics and Puritans.
James II, the Brother of Charles II, became king in 1685 and was a devout Catholic. He appointed
Catholics to high positions in government, military and education, leading Parliament to welcome
an invasion by the Protestant William the Silent. Parliament objected to James’ policies but
stopped short of rebellion. Members knew James was an old man and his Protestant daughters,
Mary and Anne, born to his first wife, would succeed him. However, in 1688 James and his 2 nd
wife, a Catholic, had a son.
Habeas Corpus – “To have the body”; English law passed in
1679 which gave every prisoner the right to obtain a writ or
document ordering that the prisoner be brought before a
judge to specify the charges against the prisoner. This law
prevented English kings from putting someone in jail simply
for opposing the ruler.
Glorious Revolution
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The bloodless overthrow of King James II of England
which took place in 1688. A Protestant army led by
William of Orange, husband to James’ daughter Mary,
took London while James fled to France. England
thereafter remained a Protestant nation.
Parliament had debated who should inherit Charles’ throne. Because Charles had no
legitimate child, his heir was his brother James, who was Catholic. A group called the
Whigs opposed James, and a group called the Tories supported him. These two groups
were the ancestors of England’s first political parties.
In 1685, Charles died, and James II became king. James soon offended his subjects by
displaying his Catholicism. Violating English law, he appointed several Catholics to high
office. When Parliament protested, James dissolved it. In 1688, James’ second wife gave
birth to a son. English Protestants became terrified at the prospect of a line of Catholic
kings.
James had an older daughter, Mary, who was Protestant. She was also the wife of William
of Orange, a prince of the Netherlands. Seven members of Parliament invited William and
Mary to overthrow James for the sake of Protestantism. When William led his army to
London in 1688, James fled to France. At their coronation, William and Mary vowed to
recognize Parliament as their partner in governing.
Closure Question #2: Why do you think James II fled to France
when William of Orange led his army to London?
Constitutional Monarchy / Cabinet
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Constitutional Monarchy – A system of government in
which a king or queen’s power is limited by laws. Great
Britain was the first modern European nation to adopt
this system of government, which it did after the Glorious
Revolution.
Cabinet – A group of government ministers, or officials,
who act in the name of a ruler. In Great Britain during
the 1700s a cabinet was developed to resolve conflicts
between Parliament and the Monarch, with the Prime
Minister at its head. This system of government
continues today in England.
To make clear the limits of royal power, Parliament drafted a Bill of Rights in 1689. This
document listed many things that a ruler could not do: no suspending of Parliament’s laws,
no levying of taxes without a specific grant from Parliament, no interfering with freedom of
speech in Parliament, and no penalty for a citizen who petitions the king about grievances.
William and Mary consented to these and other limits on their royal power.
After 1688, no British monarch could rule without the consent of Parliament. At the same
time, Parliament could not rule without the consent of the monarch. If the two disagreed,
government came to a standstill. During the 1700s, this potential problem was remedied by
the development of the cabinet.
Closure Question #3: How does a constitutional monarchy differ from
an absolute monarchy?
Closure Assignment #1
Answer the following questions based on
what you have learned from Chapter 21,
Section 5:
1. In your opinion, which decision by Charles
I was the most significant in pushing
Parliament over the edge into Civil War?
2. Why do you think James II fled to France
when William of Orange led his army to
London?
3. How does a constitutional monarchy differ
from an absolute monarchy?
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Geocentric / Heliocentric
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Geocentric – Theory that places the earth at the center
of the universe; prior to the Enlightenment this was the
dominant theory in Europe.
Heliocentric – Theory that places the sun as the center of
the universe.
In the Middle Ages, many educated Europeans took great interest in the world around them. However, these
“natural philosophers”, as medieval scientists were known, did not make observations of the natural world. Instead
they relied on a few ancient authorities – especially Aristotle – for their scientific knowledge. During the 15th and
16th centuries, a number of changes occurred that caused the natural philosophers to abandon their old views and
to develop new ones. Renaissance humanists had mastered Greek as well as Latin. These language skills gave them
access to newly discovered works by Ptolemy, Archimedes, and Plato. These writings made it obvious that some
ancient thinkers had disagreed with Aristotle and other accepted authorities of the Middle Ages.
Other developments also encouraged new ways of thinking. Technical problems that required careful observation
and accurate measurements, such as calculating the amount of weight that ships could hold, served to stimulate
scientific activity. Then, too, the invention of new instruments, such as the telescope and microscope, made fresh
scientific discoveries possible. Above all, the printing press helped spread new ideas quickly and easily.
Mathematics played a key role in the scientific achievements of the 16th and 17th centuries. Francois Viete, a French
lawyer, was among the first to use letters to represent unknown quantities. He applied the algebraic method to
geometry and laid the foundation for the invention of trigonometry. Simon Stevin, a Flemish engineer, introduced
the decimal system. John Napier of Scotland invented a table of logarithms. The work of both Stevin and Napier
made it much easier to make the calculations critical to math problems. The study of mathematics was promoted in
the Renaissance by the rediscovery of the works of ancient mathematicians. Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler,
Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton were all great mathematicians who believed that the secrets of nature were
written in the language of mathematics. After studying, and sometimes discarding, the ideas of the ancient
mathematicians, these intellectuals developed new theories that became the foundation of the Scientific Revolution.
Closure Question #1: Contrast the Ptolemaic and Copernican
universes. (At least 2 sentences)
Galileo Galilei / Scientific Revolution
Galileo Galilei - Italian astronomer who discovered that
heavenly bodies were composed of material substances, just
like the earth. Galileo’s teachings led him to conflict with the
Catholic church, which rejected heliocentrism.
 Scientific Revolution – A new way of thinking about the
natural world that was based on careful observation and a
willingness to question accepted beliefs. The Revolution
began in the mid-1500s with great thinkers such Galileo,
Nicolas Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, Francis
Bacon, and Rene Descartes.
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Johannes Kepler, a German mathematician, took the next step in destroying the Ptolemaic system. Kepler used
detailed astronomical data to arrive at his laws of planetary motion. His observations confirmed that the sun was at
the center of the universe and also added new information. In his first law, Kepler showed that the planets’ orbits
around the sun were not circular, as Copernicus had thought. Rather the orbits were elliptical (egg-shaped) with the
sun toward the end of the ellipse instead of at the center. This finding, known as Kepler’s First Law, contradicted the
circular orbits and crystal-like spheres that were central to the Ptolemaic system. Scientists could now think in terms
of planets revolving around the sun in elliptical orbits. Important questions remained unanswered, however. What
are the planets made of? How does one explain motion in the universe? An Italian scientist answered the first
question. Galileo Galilei taught mathematics. He was the first European to make regular observations of the heavens
using a telescope. With this tool, Galileo made a remarkable series of discoveries: mountains on Earth’s moon, four
moons revolving around Jupiter, and sunspots.
Galileo’s observations seemed to destroy yet another aspect of the Ptolemaic conception. Heavenly bodies had been
seen as pure orbs of light. They now appeared to be composed of material substance, just as Earth was. Galileo’s
discoveries, published in The Starry Messenger in 1610, did more to make Europeans aware of the new view of the
universe than did the works of Copernicus and Kepler. But in the midst of his newfound fame, Galileo found himself
under suspicion by the Catholic Church. The Church ordered Galileo to abandon the Copernican idea, which
threatened the Church’s entire conception of the universe. In the Copernican view, humans were no longer at the
center of the universe; God was no longer in a specific place. In spite of the Church’s position, by the 1630s and
1640s, most astronomers had accepted the heliocentric conception of the universe.
Closure Question #2: Why do you think that the Catholic Church
condemned Galileo’s work? (At least 1 sentence)
Scientific Method
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Scientific Method – A systematic procedure for collecting and
analyzing evidence. The scientific method was crucial to the
evolution of science in the modern world.
Inductive Reasoning – Proceeding from the particular to the general; Scientists begin this
reasoning by freeing their mind from bias, then collecting detailed facts and proceeding
toward general principles. During the Scientific Revolution, people became concerned
about how the could best understand the physical world. The result was the creation of the
scientific method. The person who developed the scientific method was actually not a
scientist. Francis Bacon was an English philosopher with few scientific credentials. He
believed that scientists should not rely on the ideas of ancient authorities. Instead, they
should learn about nature by using inductive reasoning.
Before beginning this reasoning, scientists try to free their minds of opinions that might
distort the truth. Then they start with detailed facts and proceed toward general principles.
From observing natural events, scientists propose hypotheses (theories), or possible
explanations, for the events. Then systematic observations and carefully organized
experiments to test the hypotheses would lead to correct general principles.
Sir Francis Bacon was clear about what he believed his scientific method could accomplish.
He stated that “the true and lawful goal of the sciences is none other than this: that human
life be endowed with new discoveries and power.” He was much more concerned with
practical matters than pure science. Bacon wanted science to benefit industry, agriculture,
and trade. He said, “I am laboring to lay the foundation, not of any sect or doctrine, but of
human utility and power.” How would this “human power” be used? Bacon believed it could
be used to “conquer nature in action.” The control and domination of nature became an
important concern of science and the technology that accompanied it.
Enlightenment / Isaac Newton
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Enlightenment - An 18th century philosophical movement
of intellectuals who were greatly impressed with the
achievements of the Scientific Revolution. They hoped
that by using the scientific method, they could make
progress toward a better society than the one they had
inherited. Reason, natural law, hope, and progress were
common words to the thinkers of the Enlightenment. The
ideas of the Enlightenment would become a force for
reform and eventually revolution.
Isaac Newton – Great English scientist of the mid-1600s
who developed the law of gravity, which states that
every object in the universe attracts every other object,
and that the degree of attraction depends on the mass of
the objects and the distance between them.
Isaac Newton believed that the physical world and everything in it was like a giant machine. His “worldmachine” operated according to natural laws, which could be uncovered through systematic investigation.
The Enlightenment thinkers reasoned that if Newton was able to discover the natural laws that governed
the physical world, then by applying his scientific methods, they would be able to discover the natural
laws that governed human society. If all institutions would then follow these natural laws, the result would
be an ideal society.
Closure Assignment #2
Based on the material covered from Chapter
22, Section 1, answer the following three
questions in Box #2 of your closure sheet:
1. Contrast the Ptolemaic and Copernican
universes. (At least 2 sentences)
2. Why did the Catholic Church condemn
Galileo’s work? (At least 1 sentence)
3. “If I have seen farther than others,” said
Newton, “It is because I have stood on the
shoulders of giants.” Could this be said of
most scientific accomplishments? Explain.
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Thomas Hobbes / Social Contract
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Thomas Hobbes - English political thinker who wrote
Leviathan in 1651, which supports the need for organized
society & Absolutism and argues that all rebellions
should be suppressed.
Social Contract – Term coined by Hobbes to describe the
agreement by which people hand over their rights to a
strong ruler in exchange for law and order.
The 17th century concerns with order and power were reflected in the political
thought of the time. The English revolutions of the 17th century prompted very
different responses from 2 English political thinkers, Thomas Hobbes and John
Locke. Hobbes was alarmed by the revolutionary upheavals in England. He
claimed that before society was organized human life was “solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short.” Humans were guided not by reason and moral ideals but by
a ruthless struggle for self-preservation.
 To save themselves from destroying one another, people made a social contract
and agreed to form a state. Hobbes called the state “that great Leviathan to
which we owe our peace and defense.” People in the state agreed to be
governed by an absolute ruler who possessed unlimited power.
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John Locke / Natural Rights
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John Locke – English political thinker who argued against
Absolutism and believed that all humans had natural
rights – rights with which they were born such as life,
liberty and property.
Locke’s first writings, Two Treatises of Government, written in 1679 and 1680
were considered too radical and dangerous to be published. They first appeared
in 1690. In his treatises, especially in the second one, Locke argued against the
absolute rule of one person. He described how governments are formed and
what justifies them.
 Unlike Hobbes, Locke believed that before society was organized, humans lived
in a state of equality and freedom rather than a state of war. In this state of
nature, no one was necessarily sovereign over anyone else.
 Like Hobbes, however, Locke believed that problems existed in the state of
nature. People found it difficult to protect their natural rights. For that reason,
they agreed to establish a government to ensure the protection of their rights
and to judge those who violated them.
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Philosophes
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The intellectuals of the Enlightenment were known by the
French word philosophe, meaning “philosopher”. Not all
philosophes were French, however, and few were
philosophers in the strict sense of the term. They were
writers, professors, journalists, economists, and above
all, social reformers. They came chiefly from the nobility
and the middle class.
The intellectuals of the Enlightenment were especially influenced by the ideas of two 17th
century Englishmen, John Locke and Isaac Newton. Locke’s ideas suggested that people
were molded by the experiences that came through their senses from the surrounding
world. Enlightenment thinkers began to believe that if environments were changed and
people were exposed to the right influences, then people could be changed to create a new
– and better – society.
Of great importance to the Enlightenment was the spread of its ideas to the literate elite of
European society. Especially noticeable in the 18th century was the growth of both
publishing and the reading public. The number of titles issued each year by French
publishers rose from 300 in 1750 to about 1,600 in the 1780s. Books had previously been
aimed at small groups of the educated elite. Now, many books were directed at the new
reading public of the middle classes, which included women and urban artisans.
An important aspect of the growth of publishing and reading in the 18th century was the
development of magazines and newspapers for the general public. In Great Britain, an
important center for the new magazines, 25 periodicals were published in 1700, 103 in
1760, and 158 in 1780. The first daily newspaper was printed in London in 1702.
Newspapers were relatively cheap and were even provided free in many coffeehouses.
Voltaire
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French philosophe best known for his criticism of Christianity
and belief in religious toleration. Voltaire was an ardent
supporter of deism. In the Deist’s view, God created the
universe, set it in motion, and allowed it to run without his
interference according to its own natural laws.
The system of checks and balances through separation of powers was Montesquieu’s most lasting
contribution to political thought. Translation of his work into English made it available to American
philosophes, who worked his principles into the U.S. Constitution. The greatest figure of the
Englightenment was Francois-Marie Arouet, known simply as Voltaire. A Parisian, Voltaire came from a
prosperous middle-class family. His numerous writings brought him both fame and wealth. Voltaire was
especially well known for his criticism of Christianity and his strong belief in religious toleration. He
fought against religious intolerance in France. In 1763 he penned his Treatise on Toleration, in which he
reminded governments that “all men are brothers under God.”
Throughout his life, Voltaire championed deism, an 18th century religious philosophy based on reason and
natural law. Deism built on the idea of the Newtonian world-machine. In the Deist’s view, a mechanic
(God) had created the universe. To Voltaire and most other philosophes, the universe was like a clock.
God, the clockmaker, had created it, set it in motion, and allowed it to run without his interference and
according to its own natural laws.
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” Voltaire’s words reflected
his observations on history and foreshadowed atrocities yet to come. Outspoken against tyranny,
ignorance, and the excesses of the Church, Voltaire never held his tongue, even in the face of threats.
Forced to choose between exile and imprisonment after insulting a powerful French nobleman, Voltaire
chose exile in England. While there he befriended Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope and was influenced
by John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton. He returned home more radical than ever, and his ideas later
influenced both American and French revolutionaries.
Montesquieu
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French noble and philosophe; identified 3 basic kinds of
governments: republics, despotism, and monarchies.
Montesquieu also created the idea of separation of powers in
government, which is a theory that every government is divided
into 3 branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. In good
governments these branches limit & control each other through
a system of checks & balances.
To the philosophes, the role of philosophy was to change the world. One writer said that the philosophe is
one who “applies himself to the study of society with the purpose of making his kind better and happier.”
One conducts this study by using reason, or an appeal to facts. A spirit of rational criticism was to be
applied to everything, including religion and politics. The philosophes often disagreed. Spanning almost a
century, the Enlightenment evolved over time. Each succeeding generation became more radical as it built
on the contributions of the previous one. A few people, however, dominated the landscape – Montesquieu,
Voltaire, and Diderot.
Charles-Louis de Secondat, the baron de Montesquieu, was a French Noble. His famous work The Spirit of
Laws (1748) was a study of governments. In it, Montesquieu used the scientific method to try to find the
natural laws that govern the social and political relationships of human beings. Montesquieu identified
three basic kinds of governments: (1) republics, suitable for small states; (2) despotism, appropriate for
large states; and (3) monarchies, ideal for moderate-sized states. He used England as an example of
monarchy.
Montesquieu stated that England’s government had three branches: the executive (the monarch), the
legislative (Parliament) and the judicial (the courts of law). The government functioned through a
separation of powers. By preventing any one person or group from gaining too much power, this system
provides the greatest freedom and security for the state.
Closure Question #1: How are the branches of the U.S. government
similar to the branches Montesquieu identified. How are they
different? (At least 2 sentences)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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French philosophe who argued that people had adopted laws
and government in order to preserve their private property and
that individuals must learn to abide by the general will of their
society. In his book, The Social Contract, Rousseau contends
that an entire society agrees to be governed by its general will,
which is the wants and needs of the majority.
By the late 1760s, a new generation of philosophes had come to maturity. Ideas about liberty, education,
and the condition of women were spread through and increasingly literate society. The most famous
philosophe of the later Enlightenment was Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The young Roussea wandered through
France and Italy holding various jobs. Eventually he made his way to paris, where he was introduced into
the circle of the philosophes. He did not like city life, however, and often withdrew into long periods of
solitude. In his Discourse on the Origins of Inequality of Mankind, Rousseau argued that people had
adopted laws and government in order to preserve their private property. In the process, the had become
enslaved by government. What, then, should people do to regain their freedom?
In his major work The Social Contract, published in 1762, Rousseau presented his concept of the social
contract. Through a social contract, an entire society agrees to be governed by its general will. Individuals
who wish instead to follow their own self-interests must be forced to abide by the general will. “This means
nothing less than that they will be forced to be free,” said Rousseau. Thus, liberty is achieved by being
forced to follow what is best for “the general will” because the general will represents what is best for the
entire community. Another important work by Rousseau is Emile. Written in the form of a novel, the work
is a general discussion “on the education of the natural man.” Rousseau argues that education should
foster, and not restrict, children’s natural instincts. Unlike many Enlightenment thinkers, Rousseau
believed that emotions, as well as reason, were important to human development. He sought a balance
between heart and mind, between emotions and reason.
Closure Question #2: What did Rousseau mean when he stated that
if individuals wanted to pursue their own self-interests at the
expense of the common good, they “will be forced to be free”? Do
you agree or disagree? Why? (At least 2 sentences)
Mary Wollstonecraft
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An English author, Wollstonecraft is considered the founder of
modern women’s rights movements; She argued that, since the
Enlightenment was based on the idea of reason in all human
beings, women should have equal rights with men in education,
economics, & politics.
For centuries, male intellectuals had argued that the nature of women made them inferior
to men and made male domination of women necessary. By the 18th century, however,
female thinkers began to express their ideas about improving the condition of women. Mary
Wollstonecraft, an English writer, advanced the strongest statement for the rights of
women. Many see her as the founder of the modern European and American movements for
women’s rights.
In A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Wollstonecraft identified two problems with the
views of many Enlightenment thinkers. She noted that the same people who argued that
women must obey men also said that government based on the arbitrary power of
monarchs over their subjects was wrong. Wollstonecraft pointed out that the power of men
over women was equally wrong.
Wollstonecraft further argued that the Enlightenment was based on an ideal of reason in all
human beings. Therefore, because women have reason, they are entitled to the same rights
as men. Women, Wollstonecraft declared, should have equal rights in education, as well as
in economic and political life.
Closure Question #3: Mary Wollstonecraft argued that women are
entitled to the same rights as men. Do you believe this is true? Do
you believe that women today are given equal rights today? (Explain
in at least 1 sentence)
Closure Assignment #3
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3.
Based on the material covered from Chapter 22, Section
2, answer the following three questions in Box #3 of
your closure sheet:
How are the branches of the U.S. government similar to
the branches Montesquieu identified. How are they
different? (At least 2 sentences)
What did Rousseau mean when he stated that if
individuals wanted to pursue their own self-interests at
the expense of the common good, they “will be forced to
be free”? Do you agree or disagree? Why? (At least 2
sentences)
Mary Wollstonecraft argued that women are entitled to
the same rights as men. Do you believe this is true? Do
you believe that women today are given equal rights
today? (Explain in at least 1 sentence)
Salons / Neo-Classical
Salons – Elegant drawing rooms of the wealthy European
upper-class’ houses in which invited guests took part in
conversations centered on Enlightenment ideas and
philosophies.
 Neo-Classical – The artistic style in Europe during the late
1700s which replaced Baroque. Under the influence of the
Enlightenment, artists and architects worked in a simple and
elegant style that borrowed ideas and themes from classical
Greece and Rome.
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Salons brought writers and artists together with aristocrats, government officials, and wealthy middleclass people. The women who hosted the salons were in a position to sway political opinion and influence
literary and artistic taste. For example, Marie-Therese de Geoffrin, wife of a wealthy merchant, hosted
salons. These gatherings at her fashionable home in Paris became the talk of France and of all Europe.
Distinguished foreigners competed to receive invitations to the salons. These gatherings helped spread
the ideas of the Enlightenment.
Although many philosophers attacked the Christian churches, most Europeans in the 18 th century were
still Christian. Many people also sought a deeper personal devotion to God. The Catholic parish church
remained an important center of life. How many people went to church regularly is unknown, but 90 to
95% of Catholic populations went to mass on Easter Sunday.
After the initial religious fervor that created Protestantism in the 16th century, Protestant churches settled
into well-established patterns often controlled or influenced by state authorities. Many Protestant
churches were lacking in religious enthusiasm. The desire of ordinary Protestants for greater depths of
religious experience led to new religious movements. In England, the most famous new religious and
evangelical movement – Methodism – was the work of John Wesley, an Anglican minister. Wesley had a
mystical experience in which “the gift of God’s grace” assured him of salvation. The experience led him to
become a missionary to the English people to bring them the “glad tidings” of salvation.
Closure Question #1: What advantages did salons have over earlier forms of
communication in spreading ideas?
Enlightened Despots / Catherine the Great
Enlightened Despots - New type of monarchy in Europe during
the late 18th century; Rulers tried to govern by Enlightenment
principles and maintain their royal powers.
 Catherine the Great – Ruler of Russia from 1762 to 1796;
Catherine rejected Enlightenment reforms because she knew
that Russian nobility would not support them. This led to worse
conditions for Russian peasants and to rebellion in southern
Russia; however, the rebellions were brutally put down and
serfdom was expanded further in Russia as a result.
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Enlightenment thought influenced European politics in the 18th century. The philosophes
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
assemble, hold property, and pursue happiness. As the American Declaration of
Independence expressed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among
these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
To establish and preserve these natural rights, most philosophes believed that people
needed to be governed by enlightened rulers. Enlightened rulers are monarchs who allow
religious toleration, freedom of speech and of the press, and the rights of private property.
They nurture the arts, sciences, and education. Above all, enlightened rulers obey the laws
and enforce them fairly for all subjects. Only strong, enlightened monarchs could reform
society. Many historians once assumed that a new type of monarchy, which they called
enlightened absolutism, emerged in the later 18th century. In the system of enlightened
absolutism, rulers tried to govern by Enlightenment principles while maintaining their royal
powers.
Thomas Jefferson / Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson - Representative from Virginia at the 2nd
Continental Congress and the main author of the Declaration of
Independence in 1776. Jefferson was elected as the 3rd
President of the United States (1801-1809), and was most
famous for making the Louisiana Purchase from France.
 Declaration of Independence – Written by Jefferson and
approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776;
the Declaration officially claimed that the 13 British colonies
were free of British rule.
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Fighting finally erupted between colonists and the British army in April 1775 in Lexington and Concord,
Massachussetts. Meeting soon afterward, the Second Continental Congress set up an army, choosing
George Washington as its commander. The war against Great Britain was a huge gamble. Britain was a
strong military power with enormous financial resources. The Continental Army of the Americans was made
up of undisciplined civilians who agreed to serve for only a short time.
Of great importance to the colonies’ cause was support from foreign countries. These nations were eager
to gain revenge for earlier defeats at the hands of the British. The French supplied arms and money to the
rebels. French officers and soldiers also served in Washington’s army. In February 1778, following a British
defeat, the French granted diplomatic recognition to the new United States. When Spain and the Dutch
Republic entered the war, the British faced war with the Europeans as well as the Americans.
When General Cornwallis was forced to surrender to the American and French forces under Washington at
Yorktown in 1781, the British decided to end the war. The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, recognized the
independence of the American colonies. The treaty also granted the Americans control of the western
territory from the Appalachians to the Mississippi River.
Closure Question #2: If going to war with the British was
such a huge gamble, why then did the colonists win? (At
least 1 reason, 1 sentence)
Federal System / Bill of Rights
Federal System - A political system in which national and state
governments share power; The United States Constitution,
created in 1787 and based on Montesquieu’s ideas, created a
federal system in which government was separated into 3
branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
 Bill of Rights – Ten amendments, or additions, to the U.S.
Constitution which guaranteed freedoms to individual citizens,
including freedom of speech, religion, press, petition, and
assembly.
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After throwing off oppressive rule, the former colonies, now states, feared a strong central government.
Thus, their first constitution, the Articles of Confederation (1781), created a government that lacked the
power to deal with the nation’s problems. In 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia at the Constitutional
Convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates decided to write a plan for an entirely new
government.
The proposed Constitution created a federal system in which the national government and the state
governments shared power. Each branch of the government had some power to check, or restrain, acts of
the other branches. A president served as the chief executive in the executive branch. The legislative branch
consisted of elected representatives. The Supreme Court and other courts formed the judicial branch. After
ratification, or approval, by 9 of the 13 states, the Constitution took effect.
As promised during negotiations over ratification, the new Congress proposed 12 amendments to the
Constitution. The states approved 10 of the amendments. Together, these amendments became known as
the Bill of Rights. These 10 amendments guaranteed freedom of religion, speech, press, petition, and
assembly. They gave Americans the right to bear arms and to be protected against unreasonable searches
and arrests. They guaranteed trial by jury, due process of law, and the protection of property rights.
Closure Question #3: Why did many Europeans see the American Revolution as
the embodiment of the Enlightenment’s political dreams? (At least 1 reason and 1
sentence)
Checks and Balances
Closure Assignment #4
Based on the material covered from Chapter
17, Section 4, answer the following three
questions in Box #4 of your closure sheet:
1. What advantages did salons have over earlier
forms of communication in spreading ideas?
2. If going to war with the British was such a
huge gamble, why then did the colonists win?
(At least 1 reason, 1 sentence)
3. Why did many Europeans see the American
Revolution as the embodiment of the
Enlightenment’s political dreams? (At least 1
reason and 1 sentence)

Old Regime / Estates
Old Regime – The traditional social and political system of
France which divided the people of France into the estates.
 Estates – Status groups in France; French society was divided
into three estates; The 1st consisted of the clergy, the 2nd
consisted of the nobles, and the 3rd consisted of everyone else.
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Since the Middle Ages, France’s population had been divided by law into the three estates. The First Estate,
or clergy, numbered about 150,000 out of a total population of 27 million and owned about 10% of the land.
The clergy were radically divided. The higher clergy – cardinals, bishops, and heads of monasteries – were
from noble families and shared their outlook and interests. The parish priests were often poor and from the
class of commoners.
The Second Estate, or nobility, numbered about 350,000 & owned about 25 to 30% of the land. They played
a crucial role in society in the 1700s. They held leading positions in the government, in the military, in the
law courts, in the Roman Catholic Church. Despite controlling most of the wealth of the kingdom, neither
the clergy nor the nobles had to pay the taille, France’s chief tax.
Unlike the First and Second Estates, the Third Estate was divided y vast differences in occupation, level of
education, and wealth. Peasants made up 75 to 80% of the Third Estate and owned about 35 to 40% of the
land; middle-class members of the Third Estate owned the rest. At least half of the peasants had little or no
land to live on. All peasants owed certain duties to the nobles, which were a holdover from medieval times
when serfdom was widespread. For example, a peasant had to pay a fee to grind his flour or press his
grapes because the local lord controlled the flour mill and wine press. When the harvest time came, the
peasant had to work a certain number of days harvesting the noble’s crop. Peasants resented these duties.
New views about power and authority in government were spreading among the Third Estate. Members of
the Third Estate were inspired by the success of the American Revolution. They began questioning longstanding notions about the structure of society. Quoting Rousseau and Voltaire, they began to demand
equality, liberty, and democracy. By the 1780s, France’s once prosperous economy was in decline. This
caused alarm, particularly among the merchants, factory owners, and bankers of the Third Estate. On the
surface, the economy appeared to be sound because both production and trade were expanding rapidly.
Louis XVI / Marie Antoinette

The King and Queen of France prior to the French Revolution;
high national debt due to war expenses, bad harvests, and lavish
spending by royalty, forced Louis to raise taxes in 1789. This
decision, combined with Enlightenment philosophies which
condemned absolute monarchy, were the key causes of the
French Revolution.

Social conditions, then, formed a long-standing background to the
French Revolution. The immediate cause of the revolution was the
near collapse of the French budget. Although the economy had been
expanding for 50 years, there were periodic crises. Bad harvests in
1787 and 1788 and a slowdown in manufacturing led to food
shortages, rising prices for food, and unemployment. On the eve of
the revolution , the French economy was in crisis. Despite these
problems, the French king and his ministers continued to spend
enormous sums of money on wars and court luxuries. The queen,
Marie Antoinette, was especially known for her extravagance and
this too caused popular resentment. When the government decided
to spend huge sums to help the American colonists against Britain,
the budget went into total crisis.
Closure Question #1: List the reasons for the near collapse of government
finances in France. (At least 2)
Estates-General
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An assembly of representatives from all three estates.
On May 5th, 1789, Louis XVI called for a meeting of the
Estates-General to seek approval to increase taxes on
the second estate (nobility) following France’s economic
collapse.
Strong leadership might have solved these and other problems. Louis XVI, however, was
indecisive and allowed matters to drift. He paid little attention to his government advisers,
and had little patience for the details of governing. The queen only added to Louis’
problems. She often interfered in the government, and frequently offered Louis poor
advice. Further, since she was a member of the royal family of Austria, France’s long-time
enemy, Marie Antoinette had been unpopular from the moment she set foot in France. Her
behavior only made the situation worse. As queen, she spent so much money on gowns,
jewels, gambling, and gifts that she became known as “Madame Deficit”.
Rather than cutting expenses, Louis put off dealing with the emergency until he practically
had no money left. His solution was to impose taxes on the nobility. However, the Second
Estate forced him to call a meeting of the Estates-General to approve this new tax. The
meeting, the first in 175 years, was held on May 5th, 1789, at Versailles. The clergy and
the nobles had dominated the Estates-General throughout the Middle Ages and expected
to do so in the 1789 meeting. Under the assembly’s medieval rules, each estate’s
delegates met in a separate hall to vote, and each estate had one vote. The two privileged
estates could always outvote the Third Estate.
The Third-Estate delegates, mostly members of the bourgeoisie whose views had been
shaped by the Enlightenment, were eager to make changes in the government. They
insisted that all three estates meet together and that each delegate have a vote. This
would give the advantage to the Third Estate, which ad as many delegates as the other
two estates combined.
National Assembly / Tennis Court Oath
National Assembly – Following an order from Louis XVI which
would have given the 1st & 2nd estates complete power in the
Estates General, representatives from the 3rd estate, on June
17th, 1789, voted themselves to be the government of France.
This action marks the official beginning of the French
Revolution.
 Tennis Court Oath - Declaration made by the National Assembly
on June 20th, 1789 that they would draft a constitution to
establish a new government replacing the monarchy.
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On June 17th, 1789, the Third Estate boldly declared that it was the national assembly and would draft a
constitution. Three days later, on June 20, its deputies arrived at their meeting place, only to find the doors
had been locked. They then moved to a nearby indoor tennis court and swore that they would continue
meeting until they had a new constitution. The oath they swore is known as the Tennis Court Oath.
Louis XVI prepared to use force against the Third Estate. On July 14, 1789, about 900 Parisians gathered in
the courtyard of the Bastille – an old fortress, used as a prison and armory. The price of bread had reached
record highs, so the crowd was hungry and agitated. According to rumor, the king’s troops were coming,
and there was ammunition in the Bastille. A group of attackers managed to lower the two drawbridges over
the moat. Members of the French Guard joined the attack. After four hours of fighting, the prison warden
surrendered. The rebels released the seven prisoners and cut off the prison warden’s head. Angered that
there were no munitions, the crowd demolished the Bastille brick by brick. Paris was abandoned to the
rebels. When King Louis XVI returned to his palace at Versailles after a day of hunting, the duc de la
Rochefoucauld-Liancourt told him about the fall of the Bastille. Louis is said to have exlaimed, “Why this is
a revolt.” “No Sire, replied the duke, “It is a revolution.”
Closure Question #2: Do you think that changes in the French government were
inevitable? Explain your answer.
Closure Question #3: How were the storming of the Bastille and the
women’s march on Versailles similar? How were they different?
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In Paris, rumors flew. Some people suggested that Louis was
intent on using military force to dismiss the National Assembly.
Others charged that the foreign troops were coming to Paris to
massacre French citizens. People began to gather weapons in
order to defend the city against attack. On July 14th, 1789, a mob
searching for gunpowder and arms stormed the Bastille, a Paris
prison. The mob overwhelmed the guard and seized control of the
building. The angry attackers hacked the prison commander and
several guards to death and then paraded around the streets with
the dead men’s heads on pikes.
Bread was a staple of the diet of the common people of France. In
October 1789, thousands of Parisian women rioted over the rising
price of bread. Brandishing knives, axes, and other weapons, the
women marched on Versailles. First, they demanded that the
National Assembly take action to provide bread. Then they turned
their anger on the king and queen. They broke into the palace,
killing some of the guards. The women demanded that Louis and
Marie Antoinette return to Paris. After some time, Louis agreed.
Closure Assignment #5
Answer the following questions based
on what you have learned from
Chapter 23, Section 1:
1. List the reasons for the near collapse
of government finances in France. (At
least 2)
2. Do you think that changes in the
French government were inevitable?
Explain your answer.
3. How were the storming of the Bastille
and the women’s march on Versailles
similar? How were they different?
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
Legislative
Assembly
Similar to England’s Parliament, the French National
Assembly created the Legislative Assembly as part of the
constitutional monarchy established in 1791. This body
had the power to create laws and to approve or reject
declarations of war. However, the king still held the
executive power to enforce laws.
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
On October 6, the King and his family returned to Paris. As a goodwill gesture, they brought
wagonloads of flour from the palace storehouse. They were escorted by women who
chanted “We are bringing back the baker, the baker’s wife, and the baker’s boy.” The king,
the queen, and their son were now virtual prisoners in Paris. Under the old regime, the
Catholic Church had been an important pillar of the social and political system. The
revolutionaries felt they had to reform it too. The new revolutionary government had
another serious motivation, however; the need for money. By seizing and selling off Church
lands, the National Assembly was able to increase the state’s revenues.
Finally, the Church was formally brought under the control of the state. A law was passed
called the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. It said that bishops and priests were to be elected
by the pope and the Church hierarchy. The state would also pay the salaries of the bishops
and priests. Because of these changes, many Catholics became enemies of the revolution.
The new Constitution of 1791 set up a limited monarchy. There was still a king, but a
Legislative Assembly would make the laws. The new body was designed to be conservative.
First, only the so-called “active” citizens – men over 25 who paid a certain amount of taxes
– could vote. All others were considered “passive” citizens with equal rights but no vote.
Second, the method of choosing its 745 deputies meant that only relatively wealthy people
would serve. Not only the clergy, but also government officials and judges, would be
elected. Local governments were put in charge of taxation. The influence of the new
government began to spread throughout France.
Closure Question #1: What similarities and differences do
you see between the political factions in the Legislative
Assembly and those in the U.S. government today?
Despite the new government, old problems, such as
food shortages and government debt, remained. The
question of how to handle these problems caused the
Legislative Assembly to split into three general
groups, each of which sat in a different part of the
meeting hall:
 Radicals, who sat on the left side of the hall, opposed
the idea of a monarchy and wanted sweeping changes
in the way the government was run.
 Moderates sat in the center of the hall and wanted
some changes in government, but not as many as the
radicals.
 Conservatives sat on the right side of the hall. They
upheld the idea of a limited monarchy and wanted few
changes in government.

Emigres / Sans-Culottes
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Emigres – Nobles and others who fled France in the
aftermath of the 1789 Revolution. Emigres hoped to undo
the Revolution and restore the Old Regime.
Sans-Culottes – “Without Breeches”, Members of the
Paris Commune, an elected city council, wore long
trousers, not the knee-length breeches of the nobles, to
identify themselves as patriots without fine clothes. The
Paris Commune took King Louis captive in 1792, leading
to more radical and violent actions in the coming years.
Monarchs and nobles in many European countries watched the changes taking place in
France with alarm. They feared that similar revolts might break out in their own countries.
In fact, some radicals were keen to spread their revolutionary ideas across Europe. As a
result, some countries took action. Austria and Prussia, for example, urged the French to
restore Louis to his position as an absolute monarch. The Legislative Assembly responded
by declaring war in April 1792.
The war began badly for the French. By the summer of 1792, Prussian forces were
advancing on Paris. The Prussian commander threatened to destroy Paris if the
revolutionaries harmed any member of the royal family. This enraged the Parisians. On
August 10th, about 200,000 men and women invaded the Tuileries, the palace where the
royal family was staying. The mob massacred the royal guards and imprisoned Louis, Marie
Antoinette, and their children. Shortly after, the French troops defending paris were sent to
reinforce the French army in the field. Rumors began to spread that supporters of the king
held in Paris prisons planned to break out and seize control of the city.
Jacobins / Guillotine
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Jacobins – Radical revolutionary club in Paris which felt
that the king needed to be executed to ensure he was not
a rallying point for opponents of the newly established
French Republic.
Guillotine – Machine designed to humanely execute
perceived enemies of the new French republic during the
French Revolution.
After his attempted escape to Varennes in 1791, Louis XVI remained on the throne for a year, but
was a chaotic year. Unrest was fueled by continuing food shortages., military setbacks, and
rumors of royalist conspiracies. By August of 1792, the monarchy was over. The powerful Paris
commune force the Legislative Assembly to call at National Convention. Before the Convention
could meet, panic and fear gripped Paris. Rumors spread that imprisoned nobles and other traitors
were conspiring to defeat the revolution. Violence erupted in the streets in September, leaving
thousands dead. Soon the life of the king was at risk. The buildup to his execution began with the
elections for a new National Convention.
On January 21st, 1793, the King was beheaded on the guillotine. Revolutionaries had adopted this
machine because it killed quickly and, they believed, humanely. The king’s execution created new
enemies for the revolution, both at home and abroad. It also pushed the revolution into a new
radical phase. After Louis XVI was executed, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Britain
and the Dutch Republic took up arms against France. The French armies began to fall back. By late
spring 1793, the coalition was poised to invade. It seemed possible that the revolution would be
destroyed and the old regime reestablished.
Maximilien Robespierre / Reign of Terror
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Maximilien Robespierre – Leader of the Committee of
Public Safety from 1793 to 1794. A radical Jacobin,
Robespierre presided over the Reign of Terror.
(1793-1794) Period in which the Committee of Public
Safety established revolutionary courts to identify and
prosecute counter-revolutionaries and traitors. 40,000
people were killed, 15% of whom were clergy and
nobles. The Terror ended when Robespierre was
guillotined in July 1794.
For roughly a year during 1793 and 1794 the Committee of Public Safety took control of the
government. To defend France from domestic threats, the Committee adopted policies that
became known as the Reign of Terror. As a temporary measure, revolutionary courts were
set up to prosecute counter-revolutionaries and traitors. Throughout France, almost 40,000
people were killed during the Reign of Terror. Of those, 16,000 people, including Marie
Antoinette and Olympe de Gouges, died by the guillotine. Most executions occurred in
towns that had openly rebelled against the Convention. Revolutionary armies were set up to
bring rebellious cities under the control of the National Convention. When the Committee of
Public Safety decided to make an example of Lyon, 1,880 citizens of that city were
executed. When guillotining proved to slow, grapeshot (a cluster of small iron balls) was
used to shoot the condemned into open graves.
Closure Question #2: What conditions led to the Reign of Terror? (At least
1 sentence)
Closure Question #3: How did the Reign of Terror
come to an end? (At least 1 sentence)
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The “enemies of the Revolution” who troubled Robespierre
the most were fellow radicals who challenged his
leadership. In 1793 and 1794, many of those who had led
the Revolution received death sentences. Their only crime
was that they were considered less radical than
Robespierre.
In July 1794, fearing for their own safety, some members
of the National Convention turned on Robespierre. They
demanded his arrest and execution. The Reign of Terror,
the radical phase of the French Revolution, ended on July
28th, 1794, when Robespierre went to the guillotine.
French public opinion shifted dramatically after
Robespierre’s death. People of all classes had grown weary
of the Terror. They were also tired of the skyrocketing
prices for bread, salt, and other necessities of life. In 1795,
moderate leaders in the National Convention drafted a new
plan of government, the third since 1789.
Closure Assignment #6
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1.
2.
3.
Answer the following questions based on
what you have learned from Chapter 23,
Section 2:
What similarities and differences do you see
between the political factions in the
Legislative Assembly and those in the U.S.
government today?
What conditions led to the Reign of Terror?
(At least 1 sentence)
How did the Reign of Terror come to an end?
(At least 1 sentence)
Napoleon Bonaparte
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Military genius and First Emperor of France crowned in
1804; Napoleon’s success in defeating Austrian armies in
Italy in 1796 made him a hero to the French people. In
1799, He took part in the coup d'état that established a
new government, the Consulate. Napoleon ruled France
until 1815, when he was exiled to St. Helena, a small island
in the south Atlantic.
Napoleon was born in 1769 in Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean, only a few months after France had
annexed the island. His father came from minor nobility in Italy, but the family was not rich. Napoleon was
talented, however, and won a scholarship to a famous military school. When he completed his studies, Napoleon
was commissioned as a lieutenant in the French army. Although he became one of the world’s greatest generals
and a man beloved by his soldiers, there were few signs of his future success at this stage. He spoke with an
Italian accent and was not popular with his fellow officers.
Napoleon devoted himself to his goals. He read what French philosophers had to say about reason, and he
studied famous military campaigns. When revolution and war with Europe came about, there were many
opportunities for Napoleon to use his knowledge and skills. Napoleon rose quickly through the ranks. In 1792 he
became a captain. Two years alter, at the age of 24, the Committee of Public Safety made him a brigadier
general. In 1796 he became a commander of the French armies in Italy. There Napoleon won a series of battles
with qualities he became famous for – speed, surprise, and decisive action. Napoleon defeated the armies of the
Papal States and their Austrian allies. These victories gave France control of northern Italy. Throughout the
Italian campaigns, Napoleon’s energy and initiative earned him the devotion of his troops.
Closure Question #1: What personal qualities/achievements gained Napoleon so
much popular support? (At least 2)
Coup D’etat
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“Blow to the state”; Term used to describe a sudden
seizure of power. In 1799, with the support of the
military, Napoleon Bonaparte established himself as the
supreme ruler of France.
Napoleon Bonaparte’s role in the French Revolution is complex. In one sense, he brought it to
an end when he came to power in 1799. Yet he was a child of the revolution as well. Without
it, he would never have risen to power, and he himself never failed to remind the French that
he had preserved the best parts of the revolution during his reign as emperor.
At the time of Napoleon’s coup, France was still at war. In 1799, Britain, Austria, and Russia
joined forces with one goal in mind, to drive Napoleon from power. Once again, Napoleon
rode from Paris at the head of his troops. Eventually, as a result of war and diplomacy, all
three nations signed peace agreements with France. By 1802, Europe was at peace for the
first time in ten years. Napoleon was free to focus his energies on restoring order in France.
Napoleon once claimed that he had preserved the gains of the revolution. Since he destroyed
the republican form of government when he took power, how could Napoleon make this
assertion? As we look at Napoleon’s domestic policies, it will be possible to judge whether the
emperor’s claims had any merit. One of Napoleon’s first moves at home was to establish
peace with the Catholic Church, the oldest enemy of the revolution. In matters of religion,
Napoleon himself was a man of the Enlightenment. He believed in reason and felt that
religion was at most a social convenience. Since most of the French were Catholic, Napoleon
felt it was good policy to mend relations with the Church. In 1801 Napoleon came to an
agreement with the pope, which recognized Catholicism as the religion of a majority of the
French people. In return, the pope would not ask for the return of church lands seized in the
revolution.
Plebiscite / Lycees
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Plebiscite – “Vote of the People”; In 1800 a plebiscite was
held in France to approve a new constitution with
Napoleon leader. Desperate for strong leadership, the
people voted overwhelmingly in favor of Napoleon and the
constitution.
Lycees – “Government-run public schools”; In order to
provide the government with trained officials, Napoleon
established lycees which were open to male students of all
backgrounds. Graduates were appointed to public office
on the basis of merit rather than family connections.
Napoleon did not try to return the nation to the days of Louis XVI. Rather, he kept many of
the changes that had come with the Revolution. In general, he supported laws that would
both strengthen the central government and achieve some of the goals of the Revolution.
His first task was to get the economy on a solid footing. Napoleon set up an efficient method
of tax collection and established a national banking system. In addition to ensuring the
government a steady supply of tax money, these actions promoted sound financial
management and better control of the economy. Napoleon also took steps to end corruption
and inefficiency in government. He dismissed corrupt officials and, in order to provide the
government with trained officials, set up lycees.
Closure Question #2: Napoleon had to deal with forces both inside and outside
the French Empire. In your judgment, which area was more important to control?
Napoleonic Code / French Empire
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
Napoleonic Code - Introduced in 1804, the code gave
France a uniform set of laws and guaranteed equality of all
men before the law, but restricted women’s rights.
French Empire – From 1805 to 1807, Napoleon’s Grand
Army defeated the Austrian, Prussian, and Russian armies.
From 1807 to 1812, Napoleon was the master of Europe.
His Grand Empire was composed of 3 major parts: the
French Empire, dependent states, and allied states.

The French Empire was the inner core of the Grand Empire. It consisted of an enlarged
France extending to the Rhine in the east and including the western half of Italy north of
Rome. Dependent states were kingdoms ruled by relatives of Napoleon. Eventually these
included Spain, Holland, the kingdom of Italy, the Swiss Republic, the Grand Duchy of
Warsaw, & the Confederation of the Rhine – a union of all German states except Austria
and Prussia. Allied states were countries defeated by Napoleon & then forced to join his
struggle against Britain. These states included Prussia, Austria, Russia, & Sweden.

Napoleon’s most famous domestic achievement was to codify the laws. Before the revolution,
France had almost 300 different legal systems. During the revolution, efforts were made to
prepare a single law code for the entire nation. However, the work was no completed until
Napoleon’s reign. Seven law codes were created, but the most important was the Civil Code, or
Napoleonic Code, introduced in 1804. It preserved many of the principles that the
revolutionaries had fought for: equality of all citizens before the law; the right of the individual
to choose a profession; religious toleration; and the abolition of serfdom and all feudal
obligations.
Battle of Trafalgar


(1805) In his drive for European control, Trafalgar was
the only defeat suffered by Napoleon. The battle took
place off the southwest coast of Spain between the naval
forces of the British and French. British commander
Horatio Nelson split the larger French fleet, capturing
many ships in ensuring the supremacy of the British
navy. This battle prevented Napoleon from conquering
Britain.
Napoleon was never able to conquer Great Britain because of its sea power, which made it almost
invulnerable. Napoleon hoped to invade Britain, but the British defeated the combined FrenchSpanish fleet at Trafalgar in 1805. Napoleon then turned to his Continental System to defeat
Britain, which attempted to prevent British goods from being sold in European markets, but this
failed as well. Napoleon’s true downfall began in 1812 when he decided to invade Russia. He
knew the risks in invading such a large country, but he also knew that if he did not punish the
Russians for ignoring the Continental System, other nations would follow suit. In June 1812,
600,000 soldiers entered Russia. Napoleon’s hopes depended on a quick victory. The Russian
forces, however, refused to do battle. Instead they retreated for hundreds of miles. As they
retreated they burned their own villages and countryside to keep Napoleon’s army from finding
food. When the Grand Army finally reached Moscow, they found the city ablaze. Lacking food and
supplies for his army, Napoleon abandoned the Russian capital in late October. Retreating
through the Russian winter, fewer than 40,000 of the original 600,000 soldiers arrived back in
Poland in January 1813.
Closure Question #3: If your opinion, was Napoleon the creator or the creation of
his times? Explain your answer.
Closure Assignment #7
Answer the following questions based on
what you have learned from Chapter 23,
Section 3:
1. What personal qualities/achievements
gained Napoleon so much popular
support? (At least 2)
2. Napoleon had to deal with forces both
inside and outside the French Empire. In
your judgment, which area was more
important to control?
3. If your opinion, was Napoleon the
creator or the creation of his times?
Explain your answer.
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Blockade / Continental System
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Blockade – A forcible closing of ports. In November 1806
Napoleon set up a blockade to prevent all trade and
communication between Great Britain and other European
Nations.
Continental System – Term used by Napoleon to describe
his blockade. He believed that by limiting European
contact with Great Britain he would make continental
Europe more self-sufficient and destroy Great Britain’s
trade-based economy.
Napoleon’s blockade, however, was not nearly tight enough. Aided by the British, smugglers
managed to bring cargo from Britain into Europe. At times, Napoleon’s allies also
disregarded the blockade. Even members of Napoleon’s family defied the policy, including
his brother Louis, whom he had made king of Holland. While the blockade weakened British
trade, it did not destroy it. In addition, Britain responded with its own blockade. And
because the British had a stronger navy, they were better able than the French to make the
blockade work.To enforce the blockade, the British navy stopped neutral ships bound for the
continent and forced them to sail to a British port to be searched and taxed. American ships
were among those stopped by the British navy. Angered, the U.S. congress declared war on
Britain in 1812. Even though the War of 1812 lasted two years, it was only a minor
inconvenience to Britain in its struggle with Napoleon.
Closure Question #1: Why did people in other European countries resist
Napoleon’s efforts to build an empire?
Guerrillas / Peninsular War
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Guerrillas – Fighters which work in small groups to
ambush an enemy and then flee into hiding; From 1808
to 1814, Spanish guerrillas struck at French armies in
Spain, weakening French control of the country.
Peninsula War – Conflict between France and the
combined forces of Spain and England. In the conflict
Napoleon lost 300,000 men. Like the Spanish guerrillas,
Germans and Italians and other conquered peoples
turned against the French.
In Spain and elsewhere, nationalism, or loyalty to one’s own country, was becoming a
powerful weapon against Napoleon. People who had at first welcomed the French as their
liberators now felt abused by a foreign conqueror. Napoleon’s most disastrous mistake of
all came in 1812. Even though Alexander I had become Napoleon’s ally, the Russian czar
refused to stop selling grain to Britain. In addition, the French and Russian rulers
suspected each other of having competing designs on Poland. Because of this breakdown
in their alliance, Napoleon decided to invade Russia.
Closure Question #1: Why did people in other European countries resist
Napoleon’s efforts to build an empire?
Scorched-Earth Policy
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The practice of burning grain fields, slaughtering livestock and destroying anything that could be of use to an
invading army before they arrive. During the French
invasion into Russia in 1812 the Russians employed a
scorched-earth policy, leading to starvation among
Napoleon’s army.
On September 7th, 1812, the Russian and French armies finally clashed in the Battle of
Borodino. After several hours of indecisive fighting, the Russians fell back, allowing
Napoleon to move on Moscow. When Napoleon entered Moscow seven days later, the city
was in flames. Rather than surrender Russia’s holy city to the French, Alexander had
destroyed it. Napoleon stayed in the ruined city until the middle of October, when he
decided to turn back toward France. As the snows – and the temperature – began to fall
in early November, Russian raiders mercilessly attacked Napoleon’s ragged, retreating
army. Many soldiers were killed in these clashes or died of their wounds. Still more
dropped in their tracks from exhaustion, hunger, and cold. Finally, in the middle of
December, the last survivors straggled out of Russia. The retreat from Moscow had
devasted the Grand Army – only 10,000 solders were left to fight of the 420,000 that had
originally set off on the invasion. Napoleon’s enemies were quick to take advantage of his
weakness. Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Sweden joined forces against him. Austria also
declared war on Napoleon, despite his marriage to Marie Louise. All of the main powers of
Europe were now at war with France.
Closure Question #1: Why did people in other European countries resist
Napoleon’s efforts to build an empire?
Waterloo / Hundred Days
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Hundred Days – Napoleon’s last bid for power; after being
defeated by a combined European army in 1814 Napoleon
had accepted exile on the island of Elba. Upon hearing of
French unhappiness in 1815 with their newly appointed
king, Louis XVIII, Napoleon escaped to Paris, where he
was welcomed by thousands of volunteers who re-joined
his army and made him Emperor of France.
Waterloo – Location in Belgium at which, on June 18th,
1815, the Duke of Wellington, commander of a combined
British and Prussian army, defeated Napoleon’s army,
leading to Napoleon’s exile on the island of St. Helena.
Taking no chances following Napoleon’s second defeat, the British shipped Napoleon to St.
Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic. There, he lived in lonely exile for six years,
writing his memoirs. He died in 1821 of a stomach ailment, perhaps cancer. Without doubt,
Napoleon was a military genius and brilliant administrator. Yet all his victories and other
achievements must be measured against the millions of lives that were lost in his wars. The
French writer Alexis de. Tocqueville summed up Napoleon’s character by saying, “He was as
great as a man can be without virtue.” Napoleon’s defeat opened the door for the freed
European countries to establish a new order.
Closure Question #2: Do you think that Napoleon was a great leader? Explain.
Congress of Vienna / Klemens von Metternich
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Congress of Vienna - Meeting of European allies –
Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia – who defeated
Napoleon in 1814 to arrange a final peace settlement.
Klemens von Metternich – Austrian foreign minister and
the most influential leader at the Congress of Vienna;
von Metternich’s idea that lawful monarchs from royal
families that ruled before Napoleon should be restored
to their thrones, was accepted by the Congress of
Vienna.
Practical considerations of power were addressed at the Congress of Vienna. The great
powers rearranged territories in Europe, believing that this would form a new balance of
power. The powers at Vienna wanted to keep any one country from dominating Europe.
This meant balancing political and military forces that guaranteed the independence of
the great powers. To balance Russian territorial gains, for example, new territories were
given to Prussia and Austria. The arrangements worked out at the Congress of Vienna
were a victory for rulers who wanted to contain the forces of change that the French
Revolution had unleashed. These rulers, like Metternich, believed in the political
philosophy known as conservatism.
Conservatism is based on tradition and a belief in the value of social stability. Most
conservatives at that time favored obedience to political authority. They also believed
that organized religion was crucial to keep order in society. Conservatives hated
revolutions and were unwilling to accept demands from people who wanted either
individual rights or representative governments. To maintain the new balance of power,
Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Austria (and later France) agreed to meet at times.
The purpose of these conferences was to take steps needed to maintain peace in
Europe. These meetings came to be called the Concert of Europe.
Balance of Power / Legitimacy
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Balance of Power – An international political
environment in which no country is threatened by
another country. Establishing a balance of power in
Europe was a key goal of the Congress of Vienna.
Legitimacy – The belief that the traditional rulers of
European nations should maintain their power; At
Vienna European powers decided that the ruling families
of countries, such as France and Spain, which had been
removed from their throne by Napoleon should be
restored to power.
Metternich distrusted the democratic ideals of the French Revolution. Like most other
European aristocrats, he felt that Napoleon’s behavior had been a natural outcome of
experiments with democracy. Metternich wanted to keep things as they were and
remarked, “The first and greatest concern for the immense majority of every nation is the
stability of laws – never their change.” Metternich had three goals at the Congress of
Vienna. First, he wanted to prevent future French aggression by surrounding France with
strong countries. Second, he wanted to restore a balance of power. Third, he wanted to
restore Europe’s royal families to the thrones they had held before Napoleon’s conquests.
Closure Question #3: What do you think is meant by the statement that
the French Revolution let the “genie out of the bottle”?
Holy Alliance / Concert of Europe
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Holy Alliance – Agreement signed by King Frederick
William III of Prussia, Czar Alexander I of Russia, and
Emperor Francis I of Austria in which they pledged to
base their relations with other nations on Christian
principles in order to combat the forces of revolution.
Concert of Europe – A series of alliances devised by
Metternich which ensured that nations would help each
other if any revolutions broke out.
The Congress of Vienna was a victory for conservatives. Kings and princes resumed power
in country after country, in keeping with Metternich’s goals. Nevertheless, there were
important differences from one country to another. Britain and France now had
constitutional monarchies. Generally speaking, however, the governments in Eastern and
Central Europe were more conservative. The rulers of Russia, Prussia, and Austria were
absolute monarchs.
Across Europe, conservatives held firm control of the governments, but they could not
contain the ideas that had emerged during the French Revolution. France after 1815 was
deeply divided politically. Conservatives were happy with the monarchy of Louis XVII and
were determined to make it last. Liberals, however, wanted the king to share more power
with the legislature. And many people in the lower classes remained committed to the
ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Similarly, in other countries there was an
explosive mixture of ideas and factions that would contribute directly to revolutions in
1830 and 1848.
Closure Question #3: What do you think is meant by the statement that
the French Revolution let the “genie out of the bottle”?
Closure Assignment #8
Answer the following questions based on
what you have learned from Chapter 23,
Sections 4 & 5:
1. Why did people in other European
countries resist Napoleon’s efforts to
build an empire?
2. Do you think that Napoleon was a
great leader? Explain.
3. What do you think is meant by the
statement that the French Revolution
let the “genie out of the bottle”?
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