1500–1830 Age of Revolution...the French Revolution. French rebels in 1789 fought in defense of Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité(Liberty, Equality, Fraternity). In draft-ing their

A Global Chronology

ScientificScientific

Michelangelo finishes work on Medici chapel in Florence, Italy.

1521

Cortés conquers the Aztec Empire.

1521 Charles II is restored to the English throne.

1660

A Dutch optician invents the telescope.

1600

PoliticalPolitical

Social/CulturalSocial/Cultural

1500 1570 1640

1500–1830

Age of Revolution

Chapter 9Scientific Revolution

Chapter 10English and AmericanRevolutions

Chapter 11The French Revolution

The discoveries and writings of the Age of Revolu-

tion ignited a fuse of knowledge that exploded in a

scientific revolution so complete and far-reaching that the years

from 1500 to 1830 are often called “the beginning of the modern age.”

Every time you have your temperature taken with a mercury

thermometer, receive medication through a fine-needled syringe, let

a doctor listen to your heartbeat through a stethoscope, or have

your tooth drilled by a dentist, you are seeing instruments invented

during the Age of Revolution. When you study a cell through a

microscope or a star through a telescope, you are using equipment

developed to fill the needs of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century

scientists for precise, accurate scientific instruments. Even the

simple multiplication symbol × was proposed during this age of

scientific revolution.

henNow

286

U n i t3

See pages 366–367 forprimary source readingsthat accompany Unit 3.

Frederick the Greatintroduces freedom of the pressand of worship in Prussia.

1740 Ludwig van Beethoven composes his Third Symphony, the Eroica.

1804

The FrenchRevolution begins.

1789 The BritishParliament passesthe Reform Bill.

1832

Isaac Newtonstates the theory of gravity.

1687 Rosetta stone foundin Egypt makes decipheringhieroglyphics possible.

1799

1710 1780 1850

287

Armillary sphere of the Copernican universe

Throughout the 18th centuryin France, great changes tookplace in the way peoplethought about political rightsand freedoms, culminating inrevolution.

To better understandthe development of theFrench Revolution, viewvideodisc Chapter 11: FrenchRevolution in Turning Pointsin World History.

and

The United StatesRevolutionary Ideas

In 1776 the colonists fought a revolution, making clear the principles of freedom and rights in the Declaration ofIndependence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are createdequal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certainunalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and thepursuit of happiness.

These ideas bounced back across the Atlantic to influencethe French Revolution. French rebels in 1789 fought in defense ofLiberté, Egalité, Fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity). In draft-ing their declaration of freedom, French revolutionaries repeatedthe principles of the American Declaration of Independence:“Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.”

288 Unit 3 Age of Revolution

In the 1600s and 1700s, revo-lution bounced back and forthacross the Atlantic. The pat-

tern started with the arrival of the firstEnglish colonists in North America.They carried with them ideals born of theEnglish Revolution. They believed thatgovernments existed to protect the rightsand freedoms of citizens.

Signing of the Declaration of Independence

SpreadThe

of

The

ofSpread

IdeasIdeas

United States

Haiti

Italy

Revolution

Unit 3 Age of Revolution 289

HaitiExporting Revolution

In 1791 the ideals of the American and French Revolutionstraveled across the Caribbean and the Atlantic to the French-held island colony of Saint Domingue. Inspired by talk of free-dom, enslaved Africans took up arms. Led by Toussaint-Louverture, they shook off French rule. In 1804 SaintDomingue, present-day Haiti, became the second nation in theAmericas to achieve independence from colonial rule. “Wehave asserted our rights,” declared the revolutionaries. “Weswear never to yield them to any power on earth.”

Toussaint-Louverture

ItalyThe Age of Revolution

The spread of ideas—specifically, revolu-tionary ideas—forms the subject of Unit 5.The spark that sent the spirit of revolutionflashing across Europe and the Americasbegan in the minds of sixteenth-centuryEuropean scientists. These thinkers chal-lenged established ideas defended by the RomanCatholic Church. Church officials tried to stop thespread of new scientific ideas. But once unleashed,the ideas respected neither authority nor geographicboundary. Defiance of one authority, in this case, theChurch, soon led people to question other authori-ties as well. The result was the intellectual and political upheavals that historians call the Age of Revolution.

Early telescope

LINKING THE IDEAS

1. What was the role of government according tothe American colonists?

2. What ideals did the Americans and the Frenchshare?

Critical Thinking3. Cause and Effect Why do you think revolu-

tionary ideas respect neither authority norgeographic boundaries?

Denis Diderot publishes the Encyclopédie.

1751

John Lockeadvocates governmentby “social contract.“

1690

William Harveydiscovers the circulationof blood.

1628 Nicolaus Copernicuspresents a new view of theuniverse.

1543

1800170016001500

9C h a p t e r

1600–1830

Scientific Revolution

> Innovation European interest inscience leads to discoveries andideas based on reason. Section 1

> Conflict Changing views based onscience and reason conflict with tra-ditional beliefs. Section 2

> Reaction Reason and order areapplied to many human endeavors.Section 3

SThetoryteller

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch cloth merchant in the

late 1600s, found that his unusual hobby unlocked the door to

an unknown world. By carefully grinding very small lenses out

of clear glass, van Leeuwenhoek discovered that he could make

things look much bigger than they appeared to the naked eye.

Soon the Dutch merchant turned his lenses to everything

he could find—from the cloth he had just bought to the

scales of his own skin. His most remarkable find was tiny

microorganisms, which he described as “wretched beasties” with

“incredibly thin feet” swimming through a tiny universe.

New technology such as van Leeuwenhoek’s microscope

and scientific study in general captured the imagination of

many European people in the 1600s. A scientific revolution

would lead to a new era in Western thought.

How did the scientific revolution of the 1600s and 1700stransform European society? What impact has the growth ofscience had on the world today?

Historical Significance

290

Chapter Themes

Chapter 9 Scientific Revolution 291

The Establishment of the Academy of Science and theFoundation of the Observatory by Louis XIV by Henri Testelin.

Musée National du Chateau de Versailles, Versailles, France

Art&History

Research a scientific discovery orinvention from the 1600s. Write thestory of the discovery or invention as itmight have appeared in a publication atthe time.

Your History JournalChapter Overview

Visit the World History: The Modern Era Web site at worldhistory.me.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 9—Chapter Overviewto preview the chapter.

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/socialstudies/worldhistory/whme2001/chapter9/overview.html

Magic, mysticism, and ancient writ-ings ruled scientific thought inEurope throughout the Middle

Ages. Scholars based their ideas on theories pro-posed almost a thousand years before by ancientGreek thinkers such as Aristotle, Ptolemy, andGalen. During the Middle Ages, most Europeansbelieved that the earth was flat, and they acceptedthe Catholic Church’s view that the earth was thecenter of the universe. According to church doctrine,God created the universe to serve people. Therefore,the Church reasoned, the people’s home—theearth—must be at the center of the universe.

In the 1600s, however, such ideas would toppleas a scientific revolution spread throughoutEurope. New technology, combined with innova-tive approaches to seeking knowledge, led to abreakthrough in Western thought. At the forefrontof this scientific revolution was a Polish astronomernamed Nicolaus Copernicus.

A Scientific RevolutionCopernicus started his scientific career at the

University of Kraków in Poland in 1492—the sameyear in which Christopher Columbus reached theAmericas. Like Columbus, Copernicus began hisquestioning in a time when few people dared toquestion age-old beliefs and superstitions.

As Copernicus delved into his studies, hebecame convinced that ideas commonly acceptedabout the universe were wrong. Copernicusbelieved that the earth was round and that it rotat-ed on its axis as it revolved around the sun. The sunstayed still at the center of the universe.

Copernicus realized, however, that his ideaswere revolutionary and even dangerous. Disputingor even questioning traditional views about theuniverse could mean persecution, excommunica-tion, or even imprisonment. To avoid this risk,Copernicus worked in privacy, without publishing

> Terms to Definehypothesis, ellipses, scientific method, calculus, alchemist

> People to MeetNicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Francis Bacon, RenéDescartes, Isaac Newton, Andreas Vesalius, William Harvey, Robert Hooke,Robert Boyle, Joseph Priestley, Antoineand Marie Lavoisier

> Places to LocatePoland

Joseph Priestleydiscovers oxygen. 1774 Galileo Galilei

stands trial for his ideas. 1633 Isaac Newton

publishes the Principia.1687

17001600 1800

Christina, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, wasintrigued. She had asked the renowned Galileo todescribe his studies to her. “Nature,” he explained inhis letter, “never transgresses the laws imposedupon her, or cares whether her reasons and methodsof operation are understandable to men.” ButChristina knew that others might find Galileo’sopinions dangerous, for he also claimed that onecould learn truth from these studies as much as fromreligion. “I do not feel obliged to believe that thesame God who has endowed us with senses, reason,and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”

—adapted from Letter toChristina of Tuscany,reprinted in WesternCivilization: Sources,Images, and Interpretations,Dennis Sherman, 1995

S e c t i o n 1

New Scientific Ideas

Galileo Galilei

Read to Find Out Main Idea The basis for scientificthought changed during the 1600s.

SThetoryteller

his ideas. The Polish scientist spent more than 30years writing his treatise. Friends helped publishhis work just before his death.

New Theories About the Universe

Other scientists took Copernicus’s ideas andventured even further into a scientific understand-ing of the universe. Copernicus had based hishypotheses, or theories that attempt to explain a setof facts, on study and observations. He could not pro-vide proof, however, because the necessary mathe-matics was not available to him at the time. In the late1500s, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (TEE•kohBRAH•uh) set up an observatory to study heaven-ly bodies and accumulated much data on planetarymovements. After Brahe’s death, the Germanastronomer and mathematician Johannes Keplerused Brahe’s data with the goal of providing math-ematical proof for Copernicus’s hypotheses.

Using mathematical formulas, Kepler did showthat the planets revolve around the sun. His find-ings also refuted some of Copernicus’s views. Forexample, Kepler proved that the planets move inoval paths called ellipses—not in circles asCopernicus had believed. He also found that plan-ets move faster as they approach the sun and slow-er as they move away from it.

Challenging the ChurchKepler challenged the teachings of many acad-

emic and religious leaders. Because Kepler was aProtestant, however, he did not have to fear theCatholic Church. His Catholic contemporary, theItalian mathematician Galileo Galilei, did face con-siderable opposition from church leaders.

In 1609 Galileo built his own telescope andobserved the night skies. His discovery of moonscircling a planet convinced him that the Copernicantheory about the earth revolving around the sunwas correct. Because these moons revolved aroundJupiter, Galileo reasoned, not all heavenly bodiesrevolved around the earth. It was possible thatsome planets did move around the sun.

In 1632 Galileo published his ideas. Soon after-ward, the Catholic Church banned the book. TheChurch would not tolerate ideas that contradicted itsown position. Pope Urban VIII demanded thatGalileo come to Rome and stand trial.


In 1633, the Inquisition in Rome found Galileo guilty of heresy and sentenced himto life imprisonment. Recanting many of his views, Galileo was allowed to serve his

sentence at home. Why was Galileo charged with heresy?

HistoryVisualizing

Student Web Activity 9

Visit the World History: The Modern Era Web site at worldhistory.me.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 9—Student Web Activities for an activity relating to Nicolaus Copernicus.

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/socialstudies/worldhistory/whme2001/chapter9/webact.html

Urban’s threats of torture and death forcedGalileo to recant many of his statements and publiclysay that he had gone too far in some of his writing:

I, Galileo Galilei, … swear that with hon-est heart and in good faith I curse … thesaid heresies and errors as to the move-ment of the earth around the sun and allother heresies and ideas opposed to theHoly Church; and I swear that I willnever assert or say anything either orallyor in writing, that could put me undersuch suspicion.

Galileo continued his work after the trial. As heexperimented with the motion of objects on theearth, he helped to establish the universal laws ofphysics. Among these was the law of inertia, bywhich an object remains at rest or in straight-linemotion unless acted upon by an external force.Investigations into the workings of the pendulumadvanced its use as a time controller in clocks.

New Ways of Thinking As European scientists revolutionized the

world of astronomy, philosophers such as FrancisBacon and René Descartes incorporated scientificthought into philosophy. Bacon, an English philoso-pher, claimed that ideas based solely on tradition orunproven facts should be discarded completely.

To Bacon, truth resulted only from a thoroughinvestigation of evidence. He helped develop thescientific method. This method is made up of sev-eral steps. The scientist begins with careful obser-vations of facts or things. Then the scientist tries tofind a hypothesis to explain the observations. Byexperimenting, the scientist then tests the hypothe-sis under all possible conditions and in every possi-ble way to see whether it is true. Finally, if repeatedexperiments show that the hypothesis does provetrue under all conditions, it is considered a scientif-ic law. In other words, a scientific truth is notassumed—it is deduced from observations and aseries of thorough experiments.

Like Bacon, French philosopher and mathe-matician René Descartes believed that truth mustbe reached through reason. The inventor of analyt-ic geometry, Descartes saw mathematics as the per-fect model for clear and certain knowledge. In 1637he published Discourse on Method to explain his phi-losophy. In the book, Descartes began by doubtingeverything except his own existence. He believedhe had found one unshakable and self-evidenttruth in the statement “I think, therefore I am.”

Newton’s UniverseIn 1642, after Bacon and Descartes had both

transformed European thinking, one of the mostinfluential figures in modern science was born inEngland. His name was Isaac Newton. Newtonemployed the scientific method in science and math-ematics. He once commented, “Asking the correctquestion is half the problem. Once the question isformulated there remains to be found only proof.… ”

At Cambridge University, Newton was a below-average student with few friends. He almost leftschool without realizing his mathematical genius.But one of his teachers recognized his ability andbegan tutoring him. With this help Newton quicklybecame an eager and successful student. Heexplored the most complicated mathematics of hisday, reading the writings of Copernicus and Galileo.

In 1665 an outbreak of the plague closed theuniversity and forced Newton to return to his fam-ily’s farm. There, he began his ground-breakingstudies in mathematics and physics. The legend ofNewton’s apple originated during these years. Itwas claimed that while sitting in his garden oneday, Newton watched an apple fall to the ground.The apple’s fall led him to the idea of gravity.

Nearly 20 years later, in 1687, Newton pub-lished his theories about gravity and other scientif-ic concepts in his book Mathematical Principles ofNatural Philosophy, often called Principia. Newtonoffered in the Principia a new understanding of theuniverse, explaining and expanding the work ofCopernicus, Galileo, and Kepler.

The book stated Newton’s theory of universalgravitation, explaining why the planets move asthey do. According to this theory, the force of grav-ity not only prevents objects from flying off the

294 Chapter 9 Scientific Revolution

The CircusIdentified by Newton, cen-tripetal force pulls an

object traveling in a circular path toward the cen-ter of the circle. In 1768 the English performerPhilip Astley relied on centripetal force to per-form stunts on horseback while the horse ran in acircle at full gallop. He took his horse show toParis in 1774, beginning the first circus. Circus isthe Latin word for “circle.”

CON

NECTIONSC

ON

NECTIONS

revolving earth, but it also holds the entire solarsystem together by keeping the sun and the planetsin proper orbits. To prove his theory, Newton devel-oped calculus, a system of mathematics that calcu-lates changing forces or quantities.

Newton’s work greatly influenced the thinkingof his own age and all later scientific thought. It sug-gested that precise mathematical formulas could beused to describe an orderly universe.

Studying the Natural WorldAs astronomy, philosophy, and mathematics

advanced at an incredible pace, so too did the sci-ences of anatomy and chemistry. Like astronomyand physics, anatomy had been based on ancientworks. Most knowledge of anatomy had come fromthe work of Galen, an ancient Greek.

Because Roman law forbade the dissection ofhuman corpses, Galen formulated his theories ofhuman anatomy by dissecting dogs and apes.Galen did make many anatomical discoveries, suchas the existence of blood within the arteries, but healso held many mistaken views. Galen believed, forexample, that the liver digested food and processedit into blood. A thousand years would pass beforeanyone began to question his findings.

Investigating the Human BodyFrench lawmakers in the 1500s also considered

dissecting human bodies illegal. This limitation,however, did not stop a young medical student frommaking great advances in anatomy. Self-assured andoutspoken, Andreas Vesalius made it clear to hisprofessors that because Galen’s views were basedon dissected apes and dogs, his beliefs about humananatomy could not be accepted as truth. By dissect-ing human bodies, Vesalius made groundbreakingdiscoveries in anatomy. In 1543 he published hiswork in On the Structure of the Human Body.

Almost 100 years later, English physicianWilliam Harvey made a discovery that also dis-proved many of Galen’s hypotheses. From hisdirect observations of humans, Harvey concludedthat blood circulates throughout the body, pumpedby the heart and returning through the veins. Hisfindings astounded a medical world that had basedits beliefs about circulation on Galen.

As Vesalius and Harvey explained the workingsof the human body, English scientist Robert Hookemade a more fundamental biological discovery—the cell. Using the newly invented microscope,Hooke recognized cells in vegetable tissue. Hecalled them “cells” because they reminded him ofthe cells in a honeycomb.


Bubbling Waters

Have you ever sipped a fizzy soft drinkto settle an upset stomach? People have

long believed that bubbling waters con-tain healing properties. For centuriesroyalty and wealthy Europeanssought the health benefits of themineral-rich, bubbling springs scat-tered throughout Europe.

Scientists in Europe and theUnited States attempted to repro-duce these effervescent waters. In1775 the French chemist AntoineLavoisier identified the gaseous

compound as carbon dioxide. In 1782the English chemist Thomas Henrydescribed how to make artificial carbonatedwaters commercially. Factories and bottling

plants soon began operating in London,Paris, Dublin, and Geneva.

“Soft drinks” were originally sold indrugstores in the United States as syrupy ton-ics used for medicinal purposes. In the early1800s it became popular to combine thesetonics with carbonated water. Bottled colasappeared on the market in the late 1800s.

Today mineral waters and carbonatedbeverages are popular throughout theworld. People like the tangy, sparkling tasteprovided by carbonation, which also pre-vents spoilage.

Soft drinkadvertisement

Determine whether or not carbonated soda has a positive or negative effect on your health. Canyou think of any inventions or tech-nologies that have been produced bythe soft-drink industry?

Experimenting With ChemistryEuropean scientists working in the field of

chemistry joined their peers in astronomy, mathe-matics, and medicine in challenging traditionalideas. By careful scientific experimentation, RobertBoyle was primarily responsible for taking chem-istry from its mystical and unscientific origins andestablishing it as a pure science.

When Boyle was born into an Irish noble fami-ly in 1627, the chemistry of the day was alchemy.People who practiced alchemy, called alchemists,spent much of their time trying to transform basemetals, such as lead and copper, into precious metals, such as silver and gold. They also held tothe age-old belief that all matter was made up offour elements: earth, fire, water, and air.


Main Idea1. Use a diagram like the one

below to identify new scientificideas that appeared during the1600s.

Recall2. Define hypothesis, ellipses,

scientific method, calculus,alchemist.

3. Identify Nicolaus Copernicus,Johannes Kepler, GalileoGalilei, Francis Bacon, René Descartes, Isaac Newton,Andreas Vesalius, WilliamHarvey, Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle, Joseph Priestley,

Antoine and Marie Lavoisier.Critical Thinking4. Analyzing Information

Describe the scientific revolu-tion and its effects onEuropean thought.

Understanding Themes5. Innovation How did Robert

Boyle revolutionize chemistryby applying the scientificmethod?

Philadelphia

PENNSYLVANIA

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1752American scientist and inventor Benjamin Franklin performed an experiment to prove his theory that lightning is electricity. During a thunderstorm, Franklin flew a homemade kite with a wire attached to it. A bolt of lightning struck the wire and traveled down the wet kite string to a key fastened at the end, where it caused an electric spark. Franklin reported the results in his pamphlet Experiments and Observations in Electricity.

Franklin ExperimentsFranklin ExperimentsWith ElectricityWith Electricity

AROUND THE Boyle criticized alchemists and attacked thetheory of the four elements in his book The SkepticalChymist, published in 1661. Boyle proved that aircould not be a basic element because it was a mix-ture of several gases. He also defined an element asa material that cannot be broken down into simplerparts by chemical means.

A century later, in 1774, an English chemist andclergyman named Joseph Priestley conducted further experiments into the properties of air and discovered the existence of oxygen. His study of theproperties of carbon dioxide resulted in his inven-tion of carbonated drinks. Toward the end of hiscareer, Priestley wrote, “Every year of the last twenty or thirty has been of more importance to science … than any ten in the preceding century.”

In France, Antoine Lavoisier contributed stillmore to knowledge about oxygen. Lavoisier con-ducted scientific experiments that probed thenature of air and discovered that materials do notthrow off a substance called phlogiston whenburned, as commonly believed, but rather they con-sume oxygen. Lavoisier discovered the nature ofcombustion, which results from the chemical unionof a flammable material with oxygen.

Marie Lavoisier contributed significantly toher husband’s work. She translated English andLatin scientific essays and books for him. She alsocondensed articles so that he could be informed onmany scientific subjects. Lastly, she illustrated herhusband’s writing.

Perhaps more significant than any single discov-ery in the 1700s was the application of the scientificview to an understanding of the world. Influenced bythe discoveries in science, European philosophers inthe 1700s began to apply the scientific method to allhuman ideas and practices. Most people, caught upin the daily struggle for survival, at first took littlenotice. In the years to come, however, science wouldprofoundly alter humanity’s view of the world.

SECTION 1 ASSESSMENT

New Scientific Ideas


As scientists made revolutionary dis-coveries about people, nature, andthe universe, popular interest in

science spread throughout Europe. Using new tech-nology such as the microscope, scientists and ama-teurs alike looked with wonder at the world insidea drop of pond water. Others tinkered and proddedin their home laboratories, studying gases andother substances. At social gatherings acrossEurope, people discussed the latest findings withlively interest.

Monarchs helped the new sciences by support-ing scientific academies, observatories, and muse-ums. In England Charles II established the RoyalSociety of London in 1662. The group includedIsaac Newton and Robert Boyle among its mem-bers. In 1666 Louis XIV of France supported thefounding of the French Academy of Science. Thesesocieties provided financial support to scientistsand published scientific books and journals.

Exploring Political Ideas The advances in science led philosophers and

other thinkers to believe that if systematic lawsgoverned the workings of nature and the universe,it followed that political, economic, and social rela-tionships could also be understood through rea-soned analysis. Scientific thought and method profoundly influenced political theory. Politicalphilosophers believed in the idea of natural law, ora universal moral law that, like physical laws, couldbe understood by applying reason.

Two English philosophers, Thomas Hobbesand John Locke, grappled with their ideas of nat-ural law and government during the 1600s, asEngland struggled with the political tensions of a civil war. The country was torn between peoplewho wanted the king to have absolute power and those who thought the people have the right togovern themselves.

Thomas Hobbespublishes Leviathan. 1651 Deism becomes

popular in Europe and America.

1700s Charles IIestablishes the Royal Society ofLondon.

1662

17001600 1800

> Terms to Definenatural law, natural rights, pacifism,deism

> People to MeetThomas Hobbes, John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Hugo Grotius, William Penn

> Places to LocatePennsylvania

Donald MacAdam bent forward to hear bet-ter. The lecturer was about to read from a newpoem from the pen of Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux.

“What-e’er you write of Pleasant or Sublime,Always let sense accompany your Rhyme:Falsely they seem each other to oppose;Rhyme must be made with Reason’s Laws to

close: And when to conquer her you bend your force,The Mind will Triumph in the Noble Course.”

Donald wondered,how would poetry sur-vive if it must always beso rational?

—adapted from TheReasonableness of Poetry,reprinted in FromAbsolutism to Revolution,edited by Herbert H.Rowen, 1964

S e c t i o n 2

Impact of Science

European salon conversation

Read to Find Out Main Idea Changes in scientific thoughtalso affected thinking in other fields.

SThetoryteller


In a modern re-creation (left) of Galileo’s famousexperiment from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, twolighted plastic balls, one heavier than the other,plummet to the ground at once—a result the sci-

entific community of Galileo’s day refused toacknowledge. In 1591 Italian scientist Galileo Galilei(right) wanted to test the Aristotelian theory ofmotion—the idea that when two bodies of unequalweight are dropped simultaneously, the heavierobject will hit the ground first. So he dropped a ten-pound weight and a one-pound weight from the top ofthe bell tower.

Galileo’s experiment demonstrated that objects ofdifferent weights fell at the same rate—hit the groundat the same time—if one allowed for the impact of air

resistance. Galileo proved Greek philosopherAristotle’s theory of motion wrong. In investigatingthe science of the motion of bodies, Galileo was partof the scientific revolution, a reformulation of ideasthat overturned those held by medieval thinkers andthe Catholic Church. Scientists began carefully test-ing old theories of how the material world worked;they used careful measurements, exact observations,and precise experiments. The conflict between thesenew ideas and the power of the older theories forcedthe new scientists to develop techniques to provetheir claims. Today we call this the scientificmethod—and admire men like Galileo, who soughtto understand motion by dropping things from thetallest building in Pisa. �

Tower Physics�

PICTURING HISTORY

Luis

Mar

den

Jean

-Leo

n H

uens

Hobbes Explores GovernmentThomas Hobbes used the idea of natural law to

argue that absolute monarchy was the best form ofgovernment. He believed that violence and disor-der came naturally to human beings and that with-out an absolute government, chaos would occur. Inhis book Leviathan, published in 1651, Hobbeswrote about a state in which people lived withoutgovernment. The book showed how “nasty, brutish,and short” life in such a world would be.

Hobbes believed that people should form asocial contract, an agreement to give up their free-dom and live obediently under a ruler. In this way,they would be governed by a monarch who wouldprotect them and keep their world peaceful andorderly. According to Hobbes, people generally donot have the right to rebel against their govern-ment, no matter how unjust it might be.

Locke Offers a Different ViewAnother English philosopher, John Locke, also

based his theories on the idea of natural law. LikeHobbes, Locke held that government was based ona social contract and that it was necessary to estab-lish order. Unlike Hobbes, he believed that peoplein a state of nature are reasonable and moral andhave natural rights, or rights belonging to allhumans from birth. These included the right to life,liberty, and property.

In Two Treatises of Government, Locke stated thatpeople created government to protect naturalrights. A government functioned best when itspowers were limited and it was accepted by all thecitizens. If a government failed in its duty of pro-tecting natural rights, the people had the right tooverthrow it.

Locke’s writings were widely read throughoutEurope and the Americas. Ironically, many of theideas that the American colonists later used to jus-tify their independence from Britain came from

Locke and other British thinkers. For example,Thomas Jefferson based much of the Declarationof Independence on Locke’s ideas about the socialcontract and the right of people to overthrow anunjust government.

Reason Influences LawAs Europeans searched for new principles that

would meet the standards of reason, great changeswere made in the practice of law. Applying scientificor reasoned thought to the law helped to end unjusttrials. Lawmakers placed less value on hearsay andon confessions made under torture in determiningthe guilt or innocence of suspected criminals.

In the 1600s attempts were made to create abody of international law. A Dutch jurist namedHugo Grotius called for an international code basedon natural law. He believed that one body of rulescould reduce the dealings of governments to a sys-tem of reason and order. In the American colonies,William Penn, founder of the Quaker colony ofPennsylvania, believed in pacifism, or opposition toviolence as a means of settling disputes. Penn advo-cated an assembly of nations committed to worldpeace.

Examining ReligionMany Europeans also applied reason to religious

beliefs. Members of the upper and middle classesincreasingly turned away from traditional religiousviews, and Europe became a more secular society. Inthe 1700s a new religious philosophy called deismswept through Europe and America. Althoughbelieving in God, Deists often denounced organizedreligion, declaring that it exploited people’s igno-rance and superstitions. Deism was intended to con-struct a simpler and more natural religion based onreason and natural law. Its followers asserted therightness of humanity’s place in an orderly universe.



below to list other fields ofthought that were affected bynew scientific thought.

Recall2. Define natural law, natural

rights, pacifism, deism. 3. Identify Thomas Hobbes,

John Locke, Thomas Jefferson,Hugo Grotius, William Penn.

Critical Thinking4. Making Comparisons

Contrast Hobbes’s and Locke’sviews.

Understanding Themes5. Conflict What was deism’s

purpose, and how did it con-flict with traditional religion?

Cause:

Effects:

New Scientific Thought


Compared to their ancestors, who livedin a world that seemed to be run byinexplicable forces and filled with

magic, Europe’s new thinkers believed that theirscientific approach helped illuminate and clarifyboth the natural world and the study of humanbehavior. As a result, the period in Europe from thelate 1600s through the 1700s came to be called theAge of Enlightenment.

Men and women of the Enlightenment studiedthe world as though they were looking at it for thefirst time. No longer held back by tradition, theydefined the world in their own way, using scienceas their base. Natural scientists analyzed and classi-fied thousands of animals, insects, and plants.Geologists drew maps of the earth’s surface.Astronomers continued to make discoveries aboutthe universe.

Largely due to reading Newton’s Principia,Enlightenment thinkers perceived the universe as amachine governed by fixed laws. They saw God asthe master mechanic of the universe—the builder ofa machine who provided laws and then allowed itto run on its own, according to these orderly princi-ples. They also believed in progress, or the idea thatthe world and its people could be improved.

Such radically new perceptions and ideas start-ed a philosophical revolution. Jean Le Rondd’Alembert, a French mathematician, claimed thatthe new method of thinking and the enthusiasm thataccompanied it had “brought about a lively fermen-tation of minds, spreading through nature in alldirections like a river which has burst at its dams.”

Spreading IdeasThe thinkers of the Enlightenment who spread

these exciting new ideas came to be calledphilosophes (FEE•luh•ZAWFS), the French wordfor “philosopher.” Most philosophes passionatelybelieved in Locke’s political philosophy and


> Terms to Definephilosophe, salon, enlightened despot, classicism, metaphysics, romanticism

> People to MeetMadame de Pompadour, Denis Diderot, Baron de Montesquieu, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, John Wesley

> Places to LocateParis

John Wesley promotes religious revival in Great Britain. c. 1736

1700 1800

Joseph II of Austria introduces Enlightenment reforms.

1780s Baron de Montesquieu publishes The Spirit of Laws.

1748

1750

The notorious criminal Jean Chatel hadjust been executed. Moments before his

death, the priests announced that themurderer had confessed all his sins

and received absolution. Therefore,he had died in a state of graceand his soul would eventuallyreach Paradise. The proclama-tion greatly disturbed JosephLeveque and his friends. They

had just read Voltaire’s commentsabout universal toleration. How

could good and bad be defined insuch absolute terms? They asked them-selves and each other, would the Creatorcondemn Confucius and Socrates to lim-

itless torment, while blessing a villain simplybecause he died according to a prescribed formula?

—adapted from Treatise on Toleration,Voltaire, reprinted in The HumanRecord, Alfred J. Andrea and JamesH. Overfield, 1990

S e c t i o n 3

Triumph of Reason

Voltaire

Read to Find Out Main Idea A number of cultural factorshelped Enlightenment ideas to spreadthroughout Europe.

SThetoryteller

Newton’s scientific theories. Most disapproved ofsuperstition and religious opposition to new scien-tific endeavors. They believed in both freedom ofspeech and the individual’s right to liberty. Manyphilosophes were talented writers whose essaysand books helped to spread and popularize ideasand beliefs of the Enlightenment.

Activity in ParisFrance was the most active center of ideas. In

Paris especially, the new intellectuals delighted ingatherings called salons held in the homes ofwealthy patrons. In a salon, writers, artists, andeducated people of the growing middle class min-gled with men and women of the nobility. Besidesdiscussing the philosophies of the day, salon guestsprized the art of conversation and often engaged incontests to see who had the sharpest wit.

Wealthy and influential women ran many ofthe popular salons. Madame de Pompadour wasperhaps the most celebrated. A mistress to LouisXV, Pompadour’s intelligence and courtly charmwon the admiration of many philosophes.

A remarkable achievement compiled by some ofthe most prominent philosophes of the En-lightenment was the Encyclopédie. First published in1751, these 28 volumes covered everything thenknown about the sciences, technology, and history inmore than 3,000 pages crammed with illustrations.

The Encyclopédie was initially conceived to besimply a French translation of a two-volumeEnglish encyclopedia, but its editor, Denis Diderot(dee•DROH), had a work of much greater scope inmind. Diderot devoted much of his life to this

project. Among other things, the Encyclopédie criti-cized the Church and government and praised reli-gious tolerance.

The Catholic Church banned the Encyclopédie.When Diderot discovered that the printer, fright-ened by the controversial material in the volumes,had omitted passages that might offend theChurch’s leaders, he became enraged and screamedat the printer:

You have massacred … the work of twentygood men who have devoted to you theirtime, their vigils, their talents, from a love of truth and justice, with the simplehope of seeing their ideas given to thepublic….

For their writings, Diderot and several otherswent to prison. Still, the Encyclopédie was widelyread and its ideas spread all through Europe.

MontesquieuA contributor to the Encyclopédie and one of

the most learned of the philosophes in politicalmatters was Charles-Louis de Secondat, the Baronde Montesquieu (MAHN•tuhs•KYOO). His master-work, The Spirit of Laws, appeared in two volumesin 1748.

After studying various existing governments,Montesquieu wrote about his admiration for theEnglish government and promoted the idea of sep-arating governmental powers. Montesquieubelieved that power should be equally dividedamong the branches of government: the legislative


This device isan orrery, or

model of the solar system thatdemonstrates the motions ofthe planets about the sun. Thetypical orrery shows the planetsas they appear from outside thesolar system and provides anaccurate scale model of theplanets’ periods of revolution.Earth, for example, completes ayear’s rotation in about 10 min-utes. The first orrery was proba-bly invented in England duringthe 1700s. What English mathe-matician saw the universe as amachine governed by fixed laws?

HistoryVisualizing

branch, which made the laws; the executive branch,which enforced them; and the judicial branch,which interpreted the laws and judged when theywere violated.

Montesquieu strongly believed in the rights ofindividuals. His work powerfully influenced thewriting of the constitutions in many countries,including the United States.

VoltairePerhaps the most celebrated of the philosophes

was François-Marie Arouet, known to the world byhis pen name, Voltaire. A French author and Deist,Voltaire wrote poetry, plays, essays, and books in astyle that was entertaining and often satirical.Candide, his most celebrated satire, challenged thenotion that everything that happens is for the bestin “the best of all possible worlds.”

In his youth, Voltaire twice served time in theBastille, the notorious prison in Paris. His satirical

works that mocked the Church and the royal courtof France earned him one prison term; he receivedthe other term when he was accused of insulting anobleman. After his second offense, Voltaire wasgiven a choice between further imprisonment andexile from France. He chose the latter. WhenVoltaire moved to England, he felt unfettered in anatmosphere of political and religious freedom.

During the three years he spent in England,Voltaire wrote books promoting Bacon’s philoso-phy and Newton’s science. Voltaire deeply admiredthe English ideal of religious liberty and its relativefreedom of the press. Voltaire is credited with thefamous statement in defense of free speech, “I dis-approve of what you say, but I will defend to thedeath your right to say it.”

Women and the EnlightenmentEnlightenment ideas about equality and free-

dom spread throughout Europe, but they were not

of theof the

Salon SocietyDuring the Enlightenment, Europe’s high

society gathered in the salons of wealthy patronsto discuss the ideas and events of the day.

Upper-class society of the 1700senjoyed card games as well as intellectual discussions.

applied to women. Although some upper- and mid-dle-class women hosted salons, women generallydid not participate in public life on an equal basiswith men. Their rights were limited to the homeand family. By the mid-1700s, a small but vocalnumber of women began to affirm women’s equal-ity with men. In A Vindication of the Rights of Women,the British author Mary Wollstonecraft favoredequal education for women and men so that bothsexes could contribute equally to society.

Some Leaders Initiate ReformThe Enlightenment attracted the support of

European monarchs eager to bring political andsocial change to their countries. These leadersbecame enlightened despots, or rulers who soughtto govern by Enlightenment principles while main-taining their royal powers.

Prussia’s Frederick II, the most famous of theenlightened despots, ruled as an absolute monarch.

Yet he believed that as king, he was the “first ser-vant of the state,” dedicated to the welfare of hisrealm. Frederick’s reforms included abolishing theuse of torture except for treason and murder, estab-lishing elementary schools, and promoting indus-try and agriculture. Frederick corresponded withVoltaire, and it was the French philosophe who firsthonored Frederick with the title “the Great.” In oneletter Frederick wrote to Voltaire:

My chief occupation is to fight the igno-rances and the prejudices in this country.… I must enlighten my people,cultivate their manners and morals, andmake them as happy as human beingscan be; as happy as the means at my dis-posal permit me to make them.

Catherine II of Russia also exchanged letterswith Voltaire and other philosophes. She madereforms in law and government but was inclined topraise Enlightenment values more than practice

REFLECTING ON THE TIMES

1. How did salon gatherings in Europe during the1700s reflect Enlightenment ideals?

2. What role do you think women played in thesalon society of the 1700s?

303

Madame de Geoffrin’sSalon by Jean-BaptisteLemoyner shows one ofthe Paris salons that influ-enced art, literature, andpolitics.

Parisian aristocraticwomen often posedfor their portraitsdressed as classicalmythological figures.

them. For example, Catherine spoke out againstserfdom but forced more peasants into serfdomthan ever before. When groups of serfs revolted,she brutally crushed the uprisings.

The most far-reaching measures of enlighteneddespotism occurred in Austria. As a Catholic,Empress Maria Theresa disagreed with the secular-ism of the Enlightenment. However, she introducedhumanitarian reforms, including setting up ele-mentary schools and freeing all serfs who workedon her estates. Her son, Joseph II, carried reformseven further. He abolished serfdom completely,made land taxes equal for peasants and nobles, andnamed middle-class officials instead of nobles togovernment posts. He gave freedom to the pressand took property from the Catholic Church, usingthe money to support hospitals. The Austrianmonarch also granted religious freedom to theempire’s Protestants and Jews.

Most of Joseph’s reforms failed, however. Hisabrupt changes antagonized too many people.Rebellion by the nobles forced him to repeal manyreforms. Joseph’s brother and successor, Leopold II,revoked most of Joseph’s remaining laws.

Throughout Europe, nobles and church lead-ers, afraid of losing too much political power to thecommon people, frustrated many reform effortsmade by enlightened despots. In addition, many

monarchs backed away from Enlightenment idealswhen they realized that their own positions wouldbe threatened by giving too much power to theirsubjects. In doing so, they struck down many of thepolitical reforms that might have prevented the vio-lent revolutions that were to come.

Classical MovementsThe worlds of art, music, and literature also

shared in the Enlightenment beliefs. Writers, artists,and architects strove to achieve the ideals of Greekand Roman classicism, which to them representedultimate order and reason. Using classical titles andimitating classical themes and styles, artists of theEnlightenment attempted to capture the refinedand simplified spirit of the ancients.

Architects built palaces, opera houses, andmuseums based on the architecture of ancientRome. They used simple forms, such as squaresand circles, rather than the elaborate swirls of thebaroque style.

Sculptors and painters also emulated the idealsand forms of antiquity. Whereas artists followingthe baroque style tended to appeal to their viewerswith elegant, swirling forms, these artists sought areturn to a calm, rational style of art that would


The Grand Théâtre was built by the French architect VictorLouis in the mid-1700s. Located in the French city of Bordeaux,

this magnificent theater reflects the dominant classical style of the time. Whatwere two major characteristics of the classical style?

HistoryVisualizing

appeal to the mind through the logic and geometryof its forms.

Sculptors such as Antonio Canova createdworks based on subjects from classical mythology.Jean-Antoine Houdon carved sculptures of contem-porary figures, such as Voltaire, in poses that recallportraits of ancient philosophers.

In painting, Jacques-Louis David (dah•VEED)also drew from classical subjects and forms. The Oathof the Horatii—showing Roman soldiers vowing tofight for Rome—and other David works reveal abalance and simplicity that results in monumentalimages. David used uncomplicated primary col-ors—reds, yellows, and blues—to create powerfulcontrasts and accent the clarity of his forms.

Writers worked to achieve the classical idealwhile maintaining their devotion to the concept ofreason. Often, imitation of a classical model result-ed in an ornate and affected style that was focusedmore on form than on content. French dramatistsMolière, Jean Racine, and Pierre Corneille as well asEnglish poets John Dryden, Alexander Pope, andJohn Milton mastered the classical tradition.

Musical composers of the Enlightenment alsostressed classical elements such as balance, contrast, and refined expression of emotion. At thesame time, they witnessed a great evolution inmusic. Music made the transition from merely sup-porting religious services and dance and operacompanies, to being an “art” in its own right. Forthe first time, people began going to concerts for thepleasure of listening to the music itself.

The piano, evolving in the 1700s, allowed musi-cians to produce much greater ranges of loudnessand softness. The violin was perfected at the sametime, changing the sound of music. As composersgrouped similar instruments, they laid the founda-tions for chamber music and the modern orchestra.Germany’s Johann Sebastian Bach, Great Britain’sGerman-born George Frideric Handel, andAustria’s Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang AmadeusMozart were among the musicians of this era.

Enlightenment Opponents Not everyone agreed with the ideas of the

Enlightenment. Some saw the structured and orderedview of the universe as overly rational and devoidof emotion and feeling. English poet William Blakeexclaimed, “God is not a mathematical diagram!”

Jean-Jacques RousseauDuring the 1700s the French philosopher

Jean-Jacques Rousseau criticized what he saw as his

era’s excessive reliance on reason and claimed thatpeople should rely more on instinct and emotion.Born in Geneva, Switzerland, to French Huguenotparents, Rousseau became a leading thinker andwriter of his day. He believed that human beingswere naturally good but that civilization and insti-tutions were corrupting. He urged people to throwoff civilization and return to nature, as far as thatwas possible. In 1760 he published La NouvelleHéloise, a novel that described the beauties of natureand the pleasures of simple country life. The bookinfluenced people from every level of society. Eventhe queen of France, Marie Antoinette, had a cot-tage built for herself at Versailles, where sheenjoyed pretending to be a milkmaid.

A second book, Émile (1762), used the novelform to emphasize the role of education in thedevelopment of personality. In Émile, Rousseaucalled for a type of education that would preservewhat he believed was a child’s natural goodness.

In 1762 Rousseau also published his mostfamous work, The Social Contract. It began, “Man isborn free, and everywhere he is in chains.”According to Rousseau, sovereignty, or the right torule, rested in the people. Therefore, the people hadthe right to remove the “chains” of an oppressivesociety and to create a government devoted to thecommon good. The basis of government, Rousseauheld, is a social contract through which people giveup their individual rights to the “general will,” the


The Austrian composer WolfgangAmadeus Mozart died before the

age of 36, but he still left the world more than 600musical works. Who were three other noted classical musicians?

HistoryVisualizing

will of the majority. Those opposing the “generalwill,” however, must accept it or “be forced to befree.” By opposing injustice and supporting gov-ernment by the people, The Social Contract hasshaped democratic thought from the 1700s to thepresent. However, dictators have used its ideasabout the “general will” to justify their policies.

Immanuel KantAnother critic of the Enlightenment was

the German thinker Immanuel Kant. He believedthat reason could not answer the problems of metaphysics—the branch of philosophy that dealswith spiritual issues such as the existence of God. Inhis work Critique of Pure Reason (1781), Kant assert-ed that reality consisted of separate physical andspiritual worlds and that the methods for knowing

varied greatly in these two realms. In the physicalworld, knowledge came through the senses andreason; in the spiritual world, it came through faithand intuition. Thus, ideas and feelings about reli-gion, morality, and beauty were true even thoughreason and science could not explain them.

Religious MovementsNot only philosophers, but ordinary men and

women found something lacking in theEnlightenment’s emphasis on reason. Many reject-ed deism, the religion of reason, and searched for areligion that was more emotionally satisfying.

In Germany, Count von Zinzendorf establishedthe Moravian Brethren, which emphasized theemotional and mystical side of Christianity. InEngland, a movement called Methodism, led byJohn Wesley, also stressed the value of personalreligious experience. Methodism was a reaction tothe cold formality of the Church of England.

The need for a religion with more feeling alsoled to a Catholic revival in France. In eastern Eur-ope, Hasidism, which promoted mysticism andreligious zeal—as opposed to an emphasis on exter-nal ritual—spread among Jews. All of these reli-gious movements rejected reason in favor of anenthusiastic faith.

As people questioned the philosophies of theEnlightenment, classicism in the arts gave way toromanticism, a cultural movement that celebratedemotion and the individual. These developmentsmarked the end of the Age of Enlightenment. Tiredof the privileged ruling classes and inspired by newideas such as the writings of Rousseau, the lowerclasses began to demand more rights. World historymoved on to a period of tumult and revolution.



below to identify factors thathelped spread Enlightenmentideas through Europe.

Recall2. Define philosophe, salon,

enlightened despot, classicism,metaphysics, romanticism.

3. Identify the Enlightenment,Madame de Pompadour, Denis Diderot, Baron deMontesquieu, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau,Immanuel Kant, John Wesley.

Critical Thinking4. Making Comparisons How

do John Locke’s ideas aboutgovernment compare withthose of Jean-JacquesRousseau?

Understanding Themes5. Reaction How did many

Europeans of the 1700s reactto the development andspread of Enlightenment ideasand values?

John Wesley, a clergyman of theChurch of England, founded the

Protestant movement known as Methodism. Whatvalue did Methodism stress?

HistoryVisualizing

Factors That Spread

Enlightenment



You have been assigned a research reportto present to your class. You want toreally hold the attention of your class-

mates. How can you do this? One way is to usea variety of media.

Learning the SkillAt its most basic, a multimedia presentation

involves using several types of media. To dis-cuss the Age of Enlightenment, for example, youmight show photographs or slides of the art,play and listen to recordings of the music or literature, or present a video of a play writtenduring this time period.

You can also develop a multimedia presen-tation on a computer. Multimedia as it relates tocomputer technology is the combination of text,video, audio, and animation in an interactiveprogram.

In order to create multimedia productions orpresentations on a computer, you need to havecertain tools. These may include traditional com-

puter graphic tools and draw programs, anima-tion programs that make still images move, andauthoring systems that tie everything together.Your computer manual will tell you which toolsyour computer can support.

Practicing the SkillThis chapter focuses on the Age of

Revolution from 1500 to 1830. Ask yourselfquestions such as the following to develop amultimedia presentation on the politics of that era: • Which forms of media do I want to include?

Video? Sound? Animation? Photographs?Graphics? Other?

• Which of these media forms does my com-puter support?

• What kind of software programs or systemsdo I need? A paint program? A draw pro-gram? An animation program? A program tocreate interactive, or two-way, communica-tion? An authoring system that will allow meto change images, sound, and motion?

• Is there a “do-it-all “ program I can use todevelop the kind of presentation I want?

Applying the SkillKeeping in mind the four guidelines given

above, write a plan describing a multimedia pre-sentation you would like to develop. Indicatewhat tools you will need and what steps youmust take to make the presentation an excitingreality.

For More PracticeTurn to the Skill Practice in the Chapter

Assessment on page 309 for more practice indeveloping multimedia presentations.

Developing Multimedia Presentations

TechnologyTechnology

Reviewing Facts1. Culture Use a chart like the one below to list

reasons why some thinkers in Europe opposedthe Enlightenment.

2. Science Explain how Copernicus, Galileo,Kepler, and Newton each added something newto an understanding of the solar system.

3. Culture Describe the ways in which Europeanthinking about the universe, philosophy, andlaw changed during the Enlightenment.

4. History Explain how the study of history wasinfluenced by the Enlightenment.

5. Government State the political idea advocatedby Montesquieu that can be found in the UnitedStates Constitution.

6. Culture Identify one philosopher whom youthink embodies the ideas of the Enlightenment.What were his views?

Critical Thinking1. Apply How did classical art reflect the values of

the Enlightenment? Give examples to supportyour answer.

2. Synthesize Why do you suppose a belief inwitches and ghosts largely became a thing of thepast in Europe after the period of theEnlightenment?

3. Evaluate Were the 1700s an era of optimism or pessimism? Explain.

Using Key TermsWrite the key term that completes each sentence. Then write a sentence for each term not chosen.

a. philosophes g. pacifismb. classicism h. enlightened despotsc. salons i. scientific methodd. hypotheses j. deisme. natural law k. metaphysicsf. romanticism l. natural rights

1. ___________, with its emphasis on emotion and the individual, opposed the values of theEnlightenment.

2. Political philosophers of the Enlightenment believed in the idea of ___________, or a universal moral law that, like physical laws,could be understood by applying reason.

3. William Penn believed in __________ andfavored the creation of an assembly of nationscommitted to world peace.

4. Enlightenment writers, artists, and architectsstrove to achieve the ideals of _______, which tothem represented ultimate order and reason.

5. The philosophy of ________ favored a simpler religion based on reason.


Rewrite the story of a scientific dis-covery or invention from the 1600s as atelevision news story. Include an inter-view with the inventor or discoverer.

Using Your History Journal

CHAPTER 9 ASSESSMENT

Opposition to the Enlightenment

Self-Check Quiz

Visit the World History: The Modern EraWeb site at worldhistory.me.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 9—Self-Check Quiz to prepare for the Chapter Test.

Using a Word ProcessorSearch the Internet or alibrary for information aboutthe achievements of European scientists during thescientific revolution. Use a word processor to orga-nize your research into a chart. Include headingssuch as name of the scientist, country, year of discovery, and achievements. Write a paragraphexplaining which discovery you believe had thegreatest impact on modern civilization.

Technology Activity

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/socialstudies/worldhistory/whme2001/quiz.shtml?BOOK=005&CHAPTER=9&TITLE=Scientific+Revolution

4. Synthesize Do scientific laws apply to humansociety in the way that they apply to the physi-cal universe? Why or why not?

5. Analyze Why were the enlightened despotsunable to carry out thorough reforms?

6. Evaluate Has science fulfilled the promise ofprogress that it seemed to hold in the 1700s?Why or why not? Give examples.

Geography in History1. Region Refer to the map below. What conclu-

sion can you draw about European interest inscience and learning during the period of the1500s and 1600s?

2. Place In what two nations were organizationsfounded for people interested in sharing scien-tific information?

3. Movement How do you think scientific ideasand theories spread from one nation of Europeinto other nations?

2. Conflict Catholic Bishop Bossuet said that theskepticism of the philosophes was an “unend-ing error, a risk-all boldness, a deliberate dizzi-ness, in a word, a pride that cannot accept itsproper cure, which is legitimate authority.”Explain the bishop’s view in your own words.What does he mean by “legitimate authority”?

3. Reaction What religious movements formed asa reaction to the ideas of the Enlightenmentthinkers? Why?

1. William Penn envisioned an assembly ofnations working for world peace. Whatmodern organization reflects Penn’s idea?

2. Classical movements in music, art, and liter-ature reflected the spirit of the Enlight-enment. Does popular music, art, and litera-ture reflect how people feel about societytoday? Why or why not? Give examples.

3. Do you agree or disagree with Jean-JacquesRousseau’s view that people are naturallygood but that civilization and institutionsmake them evil? Give examples from mod-ern life to support your viewpoint.

Skill PracticeStudy the list of topics below. Choose one of the

topics and explain how you would use at least threetypes of media in a presentation to best teach the topicto a class.

1. Michelangelo’s work2. The causes of the French Revolution3. The American Revolution4. The Scientific Revolution of the 1600s

and 1700s5. The Salon Society of the 1700s6. Religious movements of the 1700s


ENGLAND

IRELAND

ITALY

GERMANY

FRANCE

POLANDCopernicusUniversity of Kraków

Galileo Galilei

Robert Boyle

Francis BaconIsaac Newton

William HarveyRoyal Society

of London

Johannes Kepler

René Descartes Andreas VesaliusFrench Academy

of Science

NorthSea

Mediterranean Sea

ATLANTICOCEAN

BalticSea

Centers of Science A.D. 1500s and 1600s

Understanding Themes1. Innovation How did the scientific revolution

change the ways in which Europeans investigatedthe natural world?

CHAPTER 9 ASSESSMENT

Documents

1500–1830 Age of Revolution...the French Revolution. French rebels in 1789 fought in defense of Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité(Liberty, Equality, Fraternity). In draft-ing their