This time around, we’re looking at the revolutions that swept across Europe and the Americas in the 18th century. We’re going to focus on four of them: the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions as well as Simón Bolívar’s struggle to create an independent state in what’s now Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela. There’s a lot going on here, but by the time we’re done you should be able to explain the causes and goals of each of these, describe the consequences of the revolutions, and compare and contrast the relative success of these four nations. You should also be able understand and describe the rise and fall of Napoleon as well as the impact of his reign.
Please read pages 726 – 730, 733 – 735, and 738 – 748 in Worlds of History. It’s four sources this time, each of which corresponds to one of the four main revolutions we’re looking at. From the United States, you have the Declaration of Independence, which was primarily written by Thomas Jefferson. From France, you have the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, primarily written by the Abbé Sieyès and the Marquis de Lafayette. From Haiti, you have a letter from François-Dominique Toussaint L’Ouverture to the Haitian government. Finally, from South America, the Jamaica Letter (the Carta de Jamaica) from Simón Bolívar to Henry Cullin. In the interests of time, I’m not going to go into the backgrounds for these, but you can find those in your book.
If you want to start a discussion, I’d like you to compare and contrast these four sources. All four of them will give you insights into their authors’ ideals. Think about why Jefferson, L’Ouverture, and Bolívar were fighting for independence and what that meant to them. Think about why Sieyès and Lafayette wanted to overthrow the monarchy. For all four of them, think about what they wanted their new nations to look like and compare and contrast their visions.
Discussion: The Revolutions
Please read pages 726 – 730, 733 – 735, and 738 – 748 in Worlds of History. They represent the views of Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Laffayette and the abbé Sieyès, Toussaint L’Ouverture, and Simón Bolívar. Their views are indicative of the American, French, Haitian, and South American revolutions, respectively. If you want to start a discussion this week, I want you to do two things. First, I want you to compare and contrast their views. Second, talk about why you think France, Haiti, and Gran Colombia failed to build stable democratic nations while the United States managed to succeed.
Explain the causes and goals of each of these, describe the consequences of the revolutions,
Compare and contrast the relative success of these the United States, France, Haiti, and Gran Colombia
Understand and describe the rise and fall of Napoleon as well as the impact of his reign.
