American Rev
What is a Republic?
Who was the 3rd Estate?
This was the class that led the Haitian Revolution and constituted 90% of Saint Domingue's population.
Who were the enslaved?
This is the name of the class that ruled before the start of the South American Revolutions.
Who were the Peninsulares.
This is the name of the man who began the Mexican War of Independence with his famous Grito de Dolores on September 16, 1810
Who was Miguel Hidalgo?
This is the name of 3 leaders of the American Revolution
Who is:
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams
Benjamin Franklin
etc.
This is the name of the man who came out on top of the French Revolution and ended up siezing power in a coup in 1799
Who was Napoleon?
his formerly enslaved revolutionary leader helped organize the uprising in Saint-Domingue but died in French captivity before Haiti achieved independence.
Who was Toussaint Louverture?
These American-born people of Spanish ancestry often led South America's independence movements and resented the privileges that Spanish-born officials enjoyed.
Who were the Creoles?
These two groups made up much of the popular movement in the early Mexican independence struggle, which included demands for greater equality and changes to the colonial social order.
Who were the Mestizos and Indigenous peoples?
This 1776 document declared the American colonies independent from Great Britain and drew on Enlightenment ideas about natural rights and government by consent.
What is the Declaration of Independence?
Explain TWO causes of the French Revolution and how they contributed to unrest in France. (no need to answer as a question)
Answers vary: but could include France's financial crisis and debt, the unequal tax burden placed on the Third Estate, food shortages and rising bread prices, Enlightenment ideas challenging absolute monarchy, or resentment of the privileges of the clergy and nobility. Students should explain how their examples contributed to anger or demands for change.
List the names of the main leaders of the Haitian Revolution that we discussed in class and explain their roles. (no need to answer as a question)
Vincent Oge -- started revolts early on
Toussaint L'Ouverture -- led Haitian Revolution and founded Independent Haiti before his death
Jean Jacques Dessalines -- successfully won Haiti's independence and began Haitian Empire.
Known as the "Liberator," this revolutionary leader helped free Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia from Spanish rule.
Who was Simon Bolivar?
In 1821, this former royalist military leader switched sides, allied with independence forces, and helped bring Mexican independence to victory. This is his name and also the class he came from on the social pyramid in New Spain.
Who was Agustín de Iturbide?
Explain TWO weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and why these weaknesses made it difficult for the United States to govern itself after winning independence. (no need to answer as a question)
Answers vary but could include the national government's inability to tax directly, lack of a strong executive branch, difficulty regulating interstate commerce, or difficulty enforcing national laws. These weaknesses made it difficult to pay debts, resolve disputes, and maintain order. Shays' Rebellion demonstrated concerns about the government's ability to respond to unrest.
The Moderate Phase: pushing for Constitutional Monarchy, Marquis de Lafayette, King left alive, small changes, getting rid of 3 Estates, etc.
The Radical Phase: pushing for full Republic, Jacobins, Robespierre, Reign of Terror, major changes, abolishing of slavery, etc.
What made the Haitian Revolution "more revolutionary" than the American Revolution? (no need to answer as a question)
Unlike the American Revolution, the Haitian Revolution overthrew slavery itself. This made it a more radical challenge to the racial and social hierarchy of the Atlantic world, even as Haiti faced hostility and economic isolation from foreign powers afterwards.
Explain TWO reasons why the South American independence movements did not lead to equal political or economic power for all social groups.
Answers vary but should include: the continued dominance of Creole elites, the persistence of racial and social hierarchies, the limited distribution of land and wealth, and the exclusion or marginalization of Indigenous, mixed-race, and formerly enslaved populations. Students should explain why political independence did not automatically produce social equality.
Miguel Hidalgo and José María Morelos were both important leaders in the Mexican independence movement. Explain what happened to these two leaders and how the independence struggle continued after their deaths.
Answers vary but should include: Hidalgo launching the uprising with the Grito de Dolores in 1810, his capture and execution in 1811, and Morelos continuing the struggle before his capture and execution in 1815. The independence movement continued through guerrilla resistance and eventually succeeded when Agustín de Iturbide joined the independence cause and Mexico achieved independence in 1821.
The American Revolution was inspired by Enlightenment ideas about liberty, equality, and natural rights. Explain TWO ways the new United States reflected these ideals and TWO ways it failed to live up to them after independence.
Answers vary but may include: the creation of a republic, representative government, and protections for certain individual rights as examples of reflecting Enlightenment ideals. Failures will include the continuation of slavery, the exclusion of women from political equality, restrictions on voting based on property or other qualifications, and the dispossession of Indigenous peoples.
Napoleon preserved some ideas of the French Revolution but rejected others. Explain TWO ways he continued revolutionary changes and TWO ways he limited or reversed them.
Answers vary but should include: the Napoleonic Code's protection of some legal equality for men, the end of some feudal privileges, or promotion based on merit as continuities. Limitations will include his authoritarian rule, censorship, restrictions on women's rights, and restoration of slavery in French colonies. Students should explain how these examples show both continuity and reversal.
Haiti won independence, but its victory came at a tremendous cost. Explain TWO challenges Haiti faced after independence and how foreign powers or the legacy of colonialism contributed to those challenges.
Answers vary but will include diplomatic isolation, threats from slaveholding powers, economic disruption caused by the destruction of plantations and war, and France's demand for an indemnity in exchange for recognition in 1825. Students should explain how these factors limited Haiti's economic or political development.
Simón Bolívar hoped that newly independent South American territories could cooperate in a larger political union, but his efforts largely failed. Explain TWO challenges that made it difficult to unite the new nations after independence.
Answers vary but could include: regional rivalries, geographic barriers, different local interests, resistance from powerful regional elites, and disagreements over centralized versus federal government.
Students should explain how these challenges contributed to political fragmentation and the emergence of separate states.
Compare the goals of the early popular leaders of Mexican independence with the goals of the conservative elites who helped secure independence in 1821. Explain how their different goals influenced the outcome of the revolution. (no need to answer as a question)
Answers vary but could include: early leaders such as Hidalgo and José María Morelos advocating independence alongside varying demands for social reform, including greater equality and changes affecting Indigenous and mixed-race populations. Conservative elites and Agustín de Iturbide helped secure independence partly to protect the existing social hierarchy from liberal change. Independence was achieved, but many colonial inequalities persisted.