The Enlightenment and the Age of Revolutions
Aligned to C3.D2.His.1 — C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.
What this lesson teaches
Enlightenment thinkers argued that governments get their authority from the consent of the people and can be overthrown if they abuse it. These ideas of natural rights, liberty, and equality spread across the Atlantic world in the late 1700s and early 1800s, sparking revolutions in the American colonies, France, Haiti, and Spanish America.
Worked example
In 1804, enslaved Africans in the French colony of Saint-Domingue defeated Napoleon's army and founded Haiti — the first nation created by a successful slave revolt, turning the Enlightenment claim that 'all men are born free' into reality.
Practice questions
- Name two rights that Enlightenment thinkers said all people possess.
- Explain how one Enlightenment idea influenced the American or French Revolution.
- Analyze why the Haitian Revolution challenged European ideas about who deserved liberty and equality.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
La Ilustración y la Era de las Revoluciones
Los pensadores de la Ilustración sostenían que los gobiernos obtienen su autoridad del consentimiento del pueblo y pueden ser derrocados si abusan de ella. Estas ideas de derechos naturales, libertad e igualdad se difundieron por el mundo atlántico a finales del siglo XVIII y principios del XIX, provocando revoluciones en las colonias americanas, Francia, Haití y la América española.
Ejemplo: En 1804, los africanos esclavizados de la colonia francesa de Saint-Domingue derrotaron al ejército de Napoleón y fundaron Haití — la primera nación creada por una revuelta de esclavos exitosa, convirtiendo en realidad la afirmación ilustrada de que 'todos los hombres nacen libres'.
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