Chapter 16 - Atlantic Revolutions & Documents

Chapter 16 – Atlantic Revolutions, Global Echoes and Documents

Atlantic Revolutions (pages 798- 811):

During this chapter Strayer discusses what happened during the Atlantic Revolution and how these changes greatly impacted the world. A major change that occurred during this time period was the abolishment of slavery. During this time, the Enlightenment thinkers had become increasingly critical of slavery as a violation of the natural rights of every person. This idea of antislavery was first expressed by the Quakers and then by the Protestant evangelicals in Britain and the U.S. This sparked people to believe that slavery was wrong and a “crime in the sight of God” which ultimately lead to more people accepting that slavery as not essential for economic progress. In addition, the dramatic but successful Haitian Revolution was then followed by three rebellions were slavery was frowned upon and abolished because people felt that it was not only morally wrong but also economically inefficient and politically unwise. This type of thinking and change that occurred during this time was revolutionary in so many aspects. Strayer also goes on to talk about nations and nationalism and how slavery abolishment also gave way to a relatively recent kind of human community – by nation. Additionally, the Atlantic Revolutions also gave rise to the beginning of feminism and foreshadowed the future of equality between men and women.

Documents (pages 812 – 825):

16.1 – This document was about the French Revolution and the “Rights of a Man.” It is about the language of rights that were found and expressed during the French Revolution in the Declaration of the Rights of a Man and Citizen. It talks about that document was made in the French National Assembly and has long been viewed as the philosophical core of the French Revolution.

16.2 – This document was about the Rights and National Independence and how the “rights of a man” could be mobilized on behalf of colonial subjects. The most prominent political military leader of the struggle during this time period was Simon Bolivar. He wanted to create a federation among the Latin American countries like the U.S. The document “The Jamaica Letter” is his case for independence of his continent.

16.3 – This document was about rights and slavery. The document “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” is about Fredrick Douglas and his famous speech that forcefully highlighted that great contradiction in the new American nation.

16.4 – This document is about the Rights of Women and is about how during the French Revolution, women’s rights were heavily debated. “The Solitude of Self” is about Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her address of women’s rights to the U.S congress committee.