Revolutions: every key term you need (+ practice quiz)
69 flashcard terms for AP World History Unit 5, written to match the course framework. Study them here, then drill them as interactive flashcards, or test yourself with the 25-question quiz — free, no account needed.
An 18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, individual rights, and scientific inquiry as the basis for reforming government and society.
John Locke — Natural Rights
English philosopher who argued that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and that governments derive authority from the consent of the governed.
Voltaire — Free Speech and Religious Tolerance
French philosopher who championed freedom of speech, religious tolerance, and separation of church and state. He used satire to criticize the Catholic Church and absolute monarchy.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau — Social Contract
French philosopher who argued that legitimate government rests on a 'social contract' between the people and their rulers, and that sovereignty belongs to the general will.
Montesquieu — Separation of Powers
French philosopher who advocated dividing government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent tyranny. His ideas influenced the U.S. Constitution.
Adam Smith — Wealth of Nations
Scottish economist whose 1776 work argued for free markets, laissez-faire economics, and the 'invisible hand' of supply and demand, challenging mercantilist policies.
Mary Wollstonecraft — Rights of Woman
English writer whose 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman' (1792) argued that women deserved equal education and political rights, extending Enlightenment ideals to gender.
Diderot — Encyclopédie
French philosopher who edited the Encyclopédie, a massive reference work that compiled Enlightenment knowledge and challenged religious and political authority.
Popular Sovereignty
The Enlightenment idea that political authority comes from the people, not from divine right or tradition. It underpinned democratic revolutions worldwide.
Deism
An Enlightenment religious belief that God created the universe but does not intervene in human affairs — a 'clockmaker God.' It rejected miracles and organized religion.
American Revolution — Overview
The thirteen British colonies declared independence in 1776 and won their freedom by 1783, creating a republic based on Enlightenment principles of natural rights and self-governance.
Declaration of Independence (1776)
Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, it proclaimed that 'all men are created equal' with 'unalienable rights' to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — directly reflecting Locke's philosophy.
U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights
The 1787 Constitution established a federal republic with separation of powers; the Bill of Rights (1791) guaranteed individual freedoms including speech, religion, and assembly.
American Revolution — Global Influence
The American Revolution inspired revolutionary movements worldwide, proving that a colonial people could overthrow a powerful monarchy and establish a republic.
Republicanism
The political philosophy that government should be based on elected representatives and civic virtue rather than hereditary monarchy or aristocracy.
French Revolution — Causes
Financial crisis (debt from wars), social inequality (three estates), Enlightenment ideas, food shortages, and weak leadership by Louis XVI all contributed to revolution.
Estates-General (1789)
The French representative assembly, divided into three estates (clergy, nobility, commoners). Louis XVI convened it for the first time since 1614 to address the financial crisis.
Tennis Court Oath (1789)
Third Estate delegates, locked out of their meeting hall, swore not to disband until they had written a constitution — a pivotal act of defiance against the king.
Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789)
A Parisian mob attacked the Bastille fortress-prison, symbolizing the overthrow of royal tyranny. July 14 became France's national holiday.
Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789)
A foundational document declaring that 'men are born free and equal in rights,' including liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression — echoing Enlightenment ideals.
Great Fear (1789)
A wave of peasant panic and violence across the French countryside, during which peasants attacked noble estates and destroyed feudal records.
Reign of Terror (1793–1794)
The most radical phase of the French Revolution, led by Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety. An estimated 16,000–40,000 people were executed, mostly by guillotine.
Maximilien Robespierre
Leader of the radical Jacobins who dominated the Committee of Public Safety during the Terror. He was eventually guillotined himself in the Thermidorian Reaction (1794).
Jacobins vs. Girondins
Jacobins were radical revolutionaries favoring centralized power and aggressive reform; Girondins were more moderate, favoring federalism and gradual change.
Committee of Public Safety
The de facto executive government during the Terror, led by Robespierre. It directed the war effort, crushed internal dissent, and imposed revolutionary ideology.
Napoleon Bonaparte — Rise to Power
A military genius who rose through the revolutionary army, seized power in a 1799 coup d'état (18 Brumaire), and crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804.
Napoleonic Code
Napoleon's comprehensive legal code that guaranteed equality before the law, property rights, and religious freedom, but restricted women's rights. It influenced legal systems worldwide.
Congress of Vienna (1815)
After Napoleon's defeat, European powers (led by Metternich) met to restore conservative order, redraw borders, and establish a balance of power to prevent future revolutions.
Napoleon's Continental System
An economic blockade aimed at isolating Britain from European trade. It ultimately failed, harming French allies more than Britain and contributing to Napoleon's downfall.
Napoleon's Invasion of Russia (1812)
Napoleon invaded Russia with 600,000 troops; Russian scorched-earth tactics and the brutal winter destroyed his army — only ~100,000 returned. It was the beginning of his downfall.
Abolition of Feudalism in France
The French Revolution abolished feudal privileges, titles, and obligations on August 4, 1789, fundamentally restructuring French society around legal equality.
Haitian Revolution — Overview
The only successful large-scale slave revolution in history (1791–1804). Enslaved people in the French colony of Saint-Domingue overthrew their masters and created the free republic of Haiti.
Toussaint Louverture
A formerly enslaved man who became the leader of the Haitian Revolution. A brilliant military strategist and politician, he was captured by the French and died in prison in 1803.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines
Toussaint's successor who declared Haitian independence on January 1, 1804, making Haiti the first free Black republic and the second independent nation in the Americas.
Haitian Revolution — Significance
It was the only successful slave revolution, challenged racial hierarchy worldwide, terrified slaveholding societies, and proved that Enlightenment ideals of liberty applied to all races.
Napoleon's Failure in Haiti
Napoleon sent 40,000 troops to reconquer Saint-Domingue, but disease (yellow fever) and Haitian resistance destroyed the French army. The loss prompted Napoleon to sell Louisiana to the U.S.
Latin American Independence — Overview
Inspired by the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions, Latin American colonies won independence from Spain and Portugal between roughly 1810 and 1830.
Simón Bolívar
'The Liberator' — a Venezuelan Creole who led independence movements across northern South America (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia).
José de San Martín
Argentine general who liberated the southern part of South America (Argentina, Chile, Peru) from Spanish rule through brilliant military campaigns.
Miguel Hidalgo
A Mexican priest whose 1810 'Grito de Dolores' (Cry of Dolores) launched Mexico's independence movement, appealing to indigenous and mestizo populations.
Creole Elites and Revolution
Latin American independence was largely led by Creoles (American-born people of Spanish descent) who resented peninsulare privilege but did not always extend freedom to indigenous or African populations.
Peninsulares vs. Criollos
Peninsulares (Spanish-born) held top colonial positions; criollos (American-born Spanish) resented this exclusion despite their wealth and education, fueling revolutionary sentiment.
Gran Colombia
Bolívar's attempt to unite Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama into one nation. It collapsed in 1831 due to regional rivalries and political disagreements.
Monroe Doctrine (1823)
U.S. President Monroe's declaration warning European powers against recolonizing the newly independent Latin American nations, asserting American hemispheric influence.
Brazilian Independence (1822)
Uniquely, Brazil achieved independence peacefully when Prince Pedro declared himself Emperor Pedro I, maintaining the monarchy rather than becoming a republic.
Industrial Revolution — Overview
A transformation of manufacturing from hand production to machine production, beginning in Britain around 1760. It fundamentally changed economies, societies, and daily life worldwide.
Spinning Jenny
James Hargreaves' invention (1764) that allowed one worker to spin multiple threads simultaneously, dramatically increasing textile production.
Water Frame
Richard Arkwright's water-powered spinning machine (1769) that produced stronger thread, leading to the factory system by concentrating production in one location.
Steam Engine — James Watt
Watt's improved steam engine (1769) provided reliable mechanical power for factories, mines, and eventually transportation (trains and steamships).
Factory System
The shift from cottage industry (home-based production) to centralized factories where workers operated machines. It created new patterns of labor, discipline, and urban life.
Coal and Iron
Coal powered steam engines and smelted iron, which was used for machines, tools, railroads, and buildings. Access to coal and iron was essential for industrialization.
Child Labor
Children as young as 5 worked in factories and mines during the Industrial Revolution, enduring long hours, dangerous conditions, and minimal pay.
Urbanization
The rapid growth of cities as workers moved from rural areas to factory towns. Cities like Manchester grew from villages to major industrial centers within decades.
Railroad Expansion
Railroads transformed transportation, enabling rapid movement of goods and people. They drove industrialization, connected markets, and reshaped landscapes.
Luddites
English workers who destroyed textile machinery (1811–1816) to protest industrial unemployment and worsening working conditions. The term now means anyone opposed to technology.
Enclosure Movement
The consolidation of common agricultural lands into privately owned plots in Britain. It displaced rural peasants and pushed them into factory work in cities.
Manchester — Industrial City
The epicenter of the British textile industry, Manchester symbolized both the productive power and the social costs (pollution, poverty, overcrowding) of industrialization.
Nationalism — Overview
The belief that people sharing a common language, culture, and history should have their own sovereign state. It was a powerful force for both unity and conflict in the 19th century.
Italian Unification (Risorgimento)
Italy unified as a nation-state between 1859–1871 through the efforts of Garibaldi (military campaigns), Cavour (diplomacy), and Mazzini (nationalist ideology).
German Unification
Otto von Bismarck unified Germany through 'blood and iron' — using wars against Denmark, Austria, and France (1864–1871) to forge a German empire under Prussian leadership.
Abolition of Slavery
A global movement to end slavery, achieving success in Britain (1833), France (1848), the United States (1865), and Brazil (1888). Driven by moral arguments, economic shifts, and slave resistance.
Women's Suffrage Movement
The campaign for women's right to vote, beginning with the Seneca Falls Convention (1848) in the U.S. and spreading globally throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
Seneca Falls Convention (1848)
The first women's rights convention in the U.S., organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. It produced the Declaration of Sentiments demanding gender equality.
Tanzimat Reforms (Ottoman Empire)
A period of modernizing reforms (1839–1876) in the Ottoman Empire, including legal equality for non-Muslims, secular education, and military modernization — inspired partly by European models.
Meiji Restoration (Japan, 1868)
The overthrow of the Tokugawa Shogunate and restoration of imperial rule, followed by rapid Western-style modernization of Japan's military, economy, education, and government.
Meiji Modernization
Japan adopted Western military technology, industrialization, railroad construction, a constitution, universal education, and a conscript army — transforming from feudal to modern in decades.
Labor Unions
Workers organized collectively to negotiate for higher wages, shorter hours, and safer conditions. Unions emerged as a response to the harsh realities of industrial capitalism.
Chartism (Britain)
A British working-class movement (1838–1857) that petitioned Parliament for universal male suffrage, secret ballots, and other democratic reforms. Most of its goals were eventually achieved.
Enlightenment Influence on Revolutions
Locke's natural rights, Rousseau's social contract, and Montesquieu's separation of powers provided the intellectual foundation for the American, French, Haitian, and Latin American revolutions.