Political Reorderings

As Enlightenment ideals spread, certain groups in the colonies began seeking a new relationship with their respective motherlands. More sought involvement in politics and claimed to serve the interests of the "people." Ideas like independence, freedom, and equality had power and could be defined to fit the needs of anyone. Ironically, therefore, even as Europe’s middle class sought greater freedom from the king, it repressed calls for freedom from natives exploited under colonization. From these views came revolution, which often split between the moderates and radicals. By 1800, the moderates had won, leaving slaves, natives, and women in subordinate positions.

The North American War of Independence, 1776–1783

Competition over land between estate owners and small farmers pushed American colonists into the interior where they fell into conflict with Amerindian peoples. Aligning with the French, Amerindians battled the British, but lost their ally when France was defeated in the Seven Years’ War. Seeking to make the colonies pay for the war against France, King George III moved to restrain American smuggling and raise taxes. War broke out, encouraging talk of independence from England and the writing of the Declaration of Independence.

As they fought, Americans began constructing a new government system. Elections produced delegates to represent the "people"—head-of-household landowners. Women and slaves participated in the war, believing they would be rewarded for their efforts with greater freedoms. Landed elites, however, convened the Constitutional Convention to prevent the revolution from falling into anarchy. There the new federal government was empowered and the power of the legislature was reduced to moderate the popular will. The Constitution and a Bill of Rights formed the basis for government.

New lands deflected the slave issue but the problem did not go away. For the moment, white elites maintained their privilege by suppressing black uprisings.

The French Revolution

Also inspired by Enlightenment ideas, the French Revolution had global impact. In France, peasant suffering and widespread hostility toward the court, aristocracy, and church raised tensions. Visions of an Enlightenment-based polity and France’s extraordinary fiscal problems opened the door for revolution. Sustaining huge debts in support of the American bid for independence, the French court convened the Estates-General in order to raise taxes. The Third Estate (wealthy commoners), however, condemned the nobles and clergy as parasites and formed the National Assembly—a body claiming to speak for the people of France.

After news spread of the storming of the Bastille, crowds attacked aristocratic manors and records of feudal dues with such ferocity that frightened aristocrats renounced their privileges. The "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen" championed individual rights and the right of the people to representative government. Women were granted some rights, but not equal to men. As aristocracy fled the country, the Revolution splintered into factions with the more radical Jacobins eventually taking control. They executed the king and launched a Reign of Terror to rid France of counterrevolutionaries. Universal conscription made the Revolution’s armies the world’s largest and spread revolutionary ideas to other parts of Europe. The transformation of France into a revolutionary system led to new names, time, and even religion.

With time, however, enthusiasm for the radicals heading the Revolution waned and was eclipsed by the rise the Napoleon. Napoleon’s reign marked a return to more moderate policies. The bloodletting ended. Catholicism returned. A constitution and legal system were adopted.

Napoleon’S Empire

French expansion into neighboring states was accompanied by promises of liberty for those who supported the revolutionary armies. As French successes mounted, however, many so-called liberated peoples began to resist. Even as Napoleon sought to unify Europe, he awakened nationalism in people, such as the Germans, who had not noticed it before. A world war developed as Napoleon struggled against all of Europe’s powers. Forced to retreat from Moscow, Napolean was defeated at Paris and later Waterloo, and dreams of a French empire collapsed.

At the Congress of Vienna, Europe’s old aristocratic interests moved to build a new order capable of meeting the revolutionary threat. Rejecting the option of a constitution, the Congress based itself on a system of mutual support and balancing power politics. Although destructive, Napoleon’s expansion also planted the seeds for German and Italian unification.

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