Chapter 10, Section 1The Scientific Revolution

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Chapter 10, Section 1 The Scientific Revolution
Medieval scientists relied on ancient
authorities, especially Aristotle, for their
scientific knowledge. Changes in the 1400s
1500s caused European scientists to adopt new
views methods. Technical problems new
instruments (telescope microscope) made
observation, measurement, and discovery
necessary possible. Printing spread new ideas
more quickly than ever before. The study
of mathematics in the Renaissance contributed to
the scientific achievements of the 16th
17th centuries. Intellectuals like Copernicus,
Kepler, Galileo, Newton, others developed new
theories that became the foundation of the
Scientific Revolution.
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A Revolution in Astronomy Medieval
philosophers constructed a geocentric model of
the universe called the Ptolemaic system with
the Earth fixed at the center. Nicholas
Copernicus published On the Revolutions of the
Heavenly Spheres in 1543. Copernicus put forth
the heliocentric theory, arguing that the Sun
is the center of the universe around which
all the planets revolve.
German mathematician
Johannes
Kepler confirmed that the Sun was at

the center of the universe, he tracked
the
elliptical orbits of the planets.
Italian
scientist mathematician Galileo Galileis

observations indicated that the heavenly bodies
were
composed of material substance like Earth
and were not pure
orbs of light. Isaac
Newton, a mathematics professor in England,
wrote Mathematical Principles of Natural
Philosophy in which he defined the three laws
of motion in the universe. Newtons universal
law of gravitation claims that every object in
the universe is attracted to every other
object by a force called gravity.
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Breakthroughs in Medicine Chemistry In the
Late Middle Ages, medicine was still dominated by
the teaching of the Greek physician Galen.
The new anatomy of the 16th century was based on
Andreas Vesalius On the Fabric of the Human
Body (1543), in which Vesalius presented a
careful accurate examination of human
anatomy. William Harveys On the Motion of the
Heart and Blood (1628) showed that the heart
was the beginning point of the bloods
circulation. Robert Boyles work in chemistry
led to Boyles Law about gases the volume of a
gas varies with the pressure exerted on it.
In the 18th century, Antoine Lavoisier, the
founder of modern chemistry, invented a
system of naming the chemical elements.
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Descartes and Reason The Scientific Method
In Discourse on Method (1637), Rene Descartes
asserted that he could rationally be sure of
only one thing his own existence. Descartes
claimed he would accept only those things his
reason said were true. Descartes has been
called the father of modern rationalism, a system
of thought based on the idea that reason is
the chief source of knowledge. During the
Scientific Revolution, people were concerned
about how they could best understand the
physical universe. Philosopher Francis Bacon
was most responsible for the creation of the
scientific method. Bacon emphasized
arriving at conclusions about nature using
inductive reasoning, or making
generalizations from particular observations and
experiments organized to test hypotheses.
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Chapter 10, Section 2 The Enlightenment
Path to the Enlightenment The Enlightenment
was an 18th century philosophical movement built
on the achievements of the Scientific
Revolution. Enlightenment philosophers hoped
to improve society by applying the scientific
method reason to social problems, they
believed that society was governed by natural
laws. John Lockes theory of knowledge (tabula
rasa people are molded by their
experiences) greatly influenced Enlightenment
thinkers. Enlightenment thinkers believed they
could use reason to solve every political,
social, economic problem.
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Philosophes and Their Ideas Enlightenment
intellectuals were called by the French name
philosophe, most of whom were writers,
professors, economists, journalists, social
reformers. The three greatest French
philosophes were Montesquieu, Voltaire,
Diderot. Baron de Montesquieu studied
governments to find natural laws governing social
and political relationships published his
ideas in The Spirit of the Laws (1748).
Republics, monarchies, despotism were the
three kinds of governments he identified.
Montesquieu argued that separation of powers
within government a system of checks and
balances was the best way to protect peoples
liberty. Voltaire most strongly believed in
freedom of speech religious toleration, and he
used biting wit to expose the abuses of his
day in works like Candide. Denis Diderot
produced a 28 volume Encyclopedia that explained
the new thinking on government, philosophy,
and religion.
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Toward a New Social Science The
Enlightenments belief that the methods of the
Scientific Revolution could discover the
natural laws of society led to the social
sciences like economics political science.
The French Physiocrats Scottish philosopher
Adam Smith founded modern economics. They
developed the doctrine of laissez-faire which
argued that the natural economy should not be
interfered with by government regulations. In
The Wealth of Nations, Smith said the government
had only three legitimate functions
protecting society from invasion, defending
citizens from injustice, maintaining public
works. For centuries, punishments for crimes
had often been quite cruel. In 1764, the
philosophe Cesare Beccaria argued in his essay On
Crimes and Punishments that punishments
should not be exercises in brutality.
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The Later Enlightenment Jean-Jacques Rousseau
was the most famous philosophe to emerge by the
late 1700s. In The Social Contract (1762),
he presented the idea of a social contract in
which members of society agree to be governed
by the general will. Unlike many Enlightenment
thinkers, Rousseau believed that emotions, as
well as reason, were important to human
development. Rights of Women Mary
Wollstonecraft argued that women were as rational
as men as capable of being responsible free
citizens. In A Vindication of the Rights of
Women, Wollstonecraft argued that, as rational
beings, women should have the same educational,
economic, and political rights as men.
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Social World of the Enlightenment
Enlightenment ideas were most known among the
urban upper class, and spread among the
literate elite. Literacy, the availability of
books, magazines for the general public, daily
newspapers increased and spread during this
time. Enlightenment ideas also spread at
salons (gatherings in the elegant homes of the
wealthy) where guests discussed new
philosophical ideas, art, music, literature,
etc. Religion in the Enlightenment Most
philosophes attacked the Christian churches
adhered to the idea of deism. The desire of
ordinary Protestants for a greater depth of
religious experience led to new religious
movements. John Wesley founded Methodism and
became a missionary who appealed mostly to the
lower classes in England. Methodists played
an important role in abolishing the slave trade
in the early 1800s.
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Chapter 10, Section 3 The Impact of the
Enlightenment
The Arts The Enlightenment had an impact on
European culture. By the 1730s, the new
artistic style of rococo, which emphasized grace,
charm, and gentle action, emerged. The
18th century was one of the greatest in history
for European music. Johann Sebastian Bach
George Frederick Handel were the two baroque
standouts at the beginning of the century. Bach
was a great organist composer, and Handel
is best known for his Messiah. Franz Joseph
Haydn Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were the two
standouts of the classical style in the second
half of the 18th century. Haydns The
Creation is one of his greatest works. Mozart
was a child prodigy, known for symphonies,
concerti, operas like The Marriage of
Figaro, The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni.
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Enlightenment and Enlightened Absolutism The
philosophes believed in natural rights for all
people, and that enlightened rulers were to
establish preserve these rights. According
to enlightened absolutism, monarchs of this time
tried to govern by Enlightenment principles
while retaining royal power. Frederick the
Great (Frederick II) of Prussia, one of Europes
most cultured kings, knew adopted some
Enlightenment ideas but he also enlarged the
army to maintain his absolute control.
Joseph II of Austria was also influenced by the
philosophes, enacting more Enlightenment
ideas reforms than any other enlightened
despot but his program largely failed.
Catherine the Great of Russia ruled from 1762 to
1796 adopted few Enlightenment ideas
because she needed the support of the Russian
nobility. Catherine did, however, expand
serfdom as well as Russias territory.
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The Seven Years War In the mid 1700s, a
common interest in the Ohio River valley led to
tensions between the French and the British.
Fighting broke out in 1754, and from 1755 to
1757, the French Indian War was fought
primarily on the frontier. Fighting
between Britain France spread to Europe in
1756 and became known as the Seven Years War.
The British French were also fighting to
control India at this time. When the
fighting finally ended in 1763, the Treaty of
Paris gave Great Britain control of India and
all lands east of the Mississippi River in North
America, making it the worlds greatest
colonial power.
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Chap. 10, Section 4 Colonial Empires the
American Revolution
Colonial Empires in Latin America After the
Spanish Portuguese colonized the Americas, a
new civilization arose that we call Latin
America. Latin America was a multiracial
society. Europeans Native Americans
intermarried, and their offspring were known as
mestizos. The offspring of Europeans
Africans, known as mulattoes, were also part
of the unique society of Latin America.
Spain Portugal gained great wealth from their
colonies, and spread Catholicism throughout
the lands that they controlled. Britain and
British North America The Glorious Revolution
English Bill of Rights guaranteed limited
monarchy in Britain that carried over into
the 18th century. In 1714, the Hanoverian
dynasty began in Britain. During the rule of
the Hanoverian kings, a cabinet system began to
develop with a chief minister taking on many
powers of the executive branch of
government. 1721 to 1742, Robert Walpole
served as head of cabinet is therefore
considered to be Britains first prime minister.
1760, George III succeeded to the throne of
England and attempted to re-exert royal
authority over Parliament.
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The American Revolution After the Seven
Years War, Britain needed more revenue from the
colonies. 1765, Parliament imposed the Stamp
Act which was eventually repealed due to
strong opposition from the colonists. The
American colonies Britain had numerous crises
throughout the 1770s. (Boston Massacre,
Gaspee Affair, Boston Tea Party, Intolerable
Acts) The First Continental Congress
met in 1774, and fighting between Britain the
colonists erupted at Lexington Concord in
1775. The Second Continental Congress approved
signed Thomas Jeffersons Declaration of
Independence on July 4, 1776.
1781, American
forces won the
war after defeating Cornwallis

at Yorktown.
The Treaty of Paris in 1783 recognized the
independence of the United States gave the
Americans control of the western territory from
the Appalachians to the Mississippi River.
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The Birth of a New Nation The first American
constitution was the Articles of Confederation,
but under the Articles the national
government had too little power therefore could
not deal with the new nations problems.
In 1787 delegates met at the Constitutional
Convention to revise the Articles. Instead of
revision, the delegates wrote a plan for a
new national government called the
Constitution of the United States which
created a federal system where power is shared
between the national state governments. The
federal government is divided into three
branches legislative, executive, judicial.
The promise of a Bill of Rights (the first 10
amendments to the Constitution that guarantee
certain freedoms) helped get the Constitution
adopted by the states.