Politics
The American Revolution 1776 — 1781
americanrevolution.mp3 – -Transcript of the above audio – Sorry folks – the audio has disappeared. If you’d like a longer discussion try
The Reasons
- Taxation: Stamp Act
- Trials without Juries: Judges paid by the fines they levied on the guilty
- Housing and accommodating troops: Writs of Assistance, Billeting Act
The Results
- Declaration of Independence
- A Sovereign Nation
- Founded on Enlightenment Ideals
- Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
- The Foundations for Democracy Based on Classical Antiquities
- Bill of Rights
The French Revolution 1789-1799
frenchrevolution.mp3 – Transcript of the above audio
The Reasons
- Growing Belief in Self-Governance
- Inspired by the American Revolution
- Huge National Debt
- Tensions between the Clergy, Aristocrats, and the Middle Class (bourgeois)
- Rioting in the Streets
- Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Situation progresses
- Demise of the Monarchy
- Reign of Terror
Coup D’Etat
Napoleon Bonaparte 1769-1821
For more indepth study
- Roman Model — First Consul
- Triumph of the Common man
- Voted in as Consul for Life
- Declared Himself Emperor
- Napoleonic Code
The Industrial Revolution –
- Adam Smith 1727-90 — Inquiry into the Nature and Cause of the Wealth of Nations- 1776
Religion
- No Longer on the Cutting Edge
- Relative Religious Stability
- Overshadowed by Secular Concerns
- Overshadowed by the Philosophy of Enlightenment
Sciences
The Revolution of Sciences
Sir Isaac Newton – 164-1727
Physics and the Forces of the Universe
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxavuVznsdA
- Denis Diderot 1713-84
- The Menace of the Encyclopedia
- 28 volumes containing all of human knowledge
- Thousands of illustrations
The Classification System
Carolus Linnaeus 1707-78
Not only can humans know everything, but they can catalog it too!
The Discovery of Pompeii – 1738
Architecture
Rococo Architecture – an overview
Rococo – The term is possibly related to rocaille — decorative work made from pebbles and shells
- Strongly connected to Baroque sensibilities
- Refined some of the elaborate aspects of the Baroque style
- The preferred style of the French aristocracy
The Enlightenment defined itself by its conflict with this style
Fanciful interior spaces — The Salon – Click on image link to view…
Photograph of a Rococo Revival Parlor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Dressing room in the Gatchina Palace. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
- Gilded
- Ornate scrolls
- Asymmetrical
- Curved lines
- Very light and feminine
Use of elements from Greek and Roman Ruins
- Columns
- Arches
- Symmetry
- Proportion
- Flat interior walls
- Dominated by regularity, reason and logic
Neoclassical Architecture and America – short video lecture
European Neoclassical Architecture
- La Madeleine — Paris, France
- Chiswick House — London, England