The English Civil War
Democratic principles developed on the island-nation of England as a result of conflict.
  • English democracy rooted in the Magna Carta.
  • The English throne reluctantly gave power to the people.
  • Revolutionary conflict created the most change in the shortest amount of time, however.
  • The mid-1600's, conflicting ideologies at work in the government.
  • The monarchy wanted absolute power over Parliament.
  • Parliament desired more power.
  • Add religious chaos to the mix.
  • The result of this power struggle was the English Civil War.
  • King Charles is beheaded.
  • Oliver Cromwell, takes control of the English Republic.
  • The oppressive dictatorship of Cromwell reminds everyone that a king is not so bad.
  • Charles II is pronounced King by Parliament Cromwell dies.
  • Charles II favors a return to the democratic principles, to smooth over the devastating effects of the Civil War.
  • James II takes a different path of rule after the death of his father Charles II.
  • Parliament using its limited powers invites William and Mary to take the throne from James II.
  • This is called The Glorious Revolution, with no bloodshed.
  • William and Mary sign the English Bill of Rightsmaking Parliament the supreme governing body in England.
  • Political and religious conflict directly resulted in the establishment of democracy in England, which would, in turn, directly impacted the formation of the United States of America.

The American Revolution
Before and during the French and Indian War, from about 1650 to 1763, Britain essentially left its American colonies to run themselves in an age of salutary neglect.
  • Given relative freedom to do as they pleased, the North American settlers created their own forms of governments to meet their needs as Americans.
  • They established representative legislatures and democratic town meetings.
  • They also enjoyed such rights as local judiciaries and trials by jury where a defendantwas innocent until proven guilty.
  • American shipping of goods, although regulated by the Navigation Acts, functioned apart from the British fleet for more than a hundred years.
  • Finally, the promise of a large, untamed land gave all settlers a sense of freedom and the ability to start fresh in the New World.
After the French and Indian War, the age of salutary neglect was finished.
  • Britain, needed to replenish its drained treasury.
  • They did so by placing a large tax burden on the colonists and tightened regulations.
  • Over the years, colonists were forbidden to:
  • circulate local printed currencies
  • they were ordered to provide shelter and food for British troops in their homes,
  • forced to comply with restrictive shipping policies,
  • and forced to pay unpopular taxes such as the Stamp and Sugar Acts.
  • Anyone failing to comply with the new rules found themselves facing a British judge without jury.
  • Colonists were shocked and offended by what they felt were violations of their liberties.
Over time, this shock turned to resentment, which grew into desire for rebellion.
  • In a less than twelve years—between the end of the French and Indian War in 1763 and the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775—the colonists moved from offering nightly toasts to King George III’s health to demonstrations of outright hostility toward the British Crown.
The American Revolution had profound consequences, not only for the American colonists but for the rest of the world as well.
  • Never before had a body of colonists so boldly declared their monarch and government incapable of governing a free people.
  • Thomas Jefferson who authored the Declaration of Independence, which was as unique as it was reasonable, presented a strong, concise case for American rebellion against a tyrannical government.
Since then, his declaration has been a model for many groups and peoples fighting their own uphill battles.
The French Revolution
The democratic principles developed in England were only one facet of the Age of Reason.
  • Within a century's time, other European countries began calling for democracy.
  • However, the revolution that sparked the others was not in Europe, but across the Atlantic Ocean.
  • The American Revolution established the United States of America as a democratic nation and inspired people in other nations to revolt against long-established, undemocratic governments.
  • The French Revolution was a result of these forces of change.
  • The causes of the French Revolution are concerned with the class differences that were existent in France.
  • The monarchy and the nobility of France gained much of their power, influence, and wealth at the expense of the lower classes.
  • Classes were arranged into Estates.
  • The First Estate was made up of the church Officials-Clergy
  • The Second Estatewas comprised of the rich nobility.
  • These estates made up only a small fraction of the population. About 2-3%
  • Well over 95% of the population belonged to the Third Estate.
  • including both the bourgeoisie (middle class)
  • the peasant lower class.
  • Conflict arose between the Estates when the Third Estate demanded an equal say in government.
  • The majority of people were being out-voted because the first two Estates always voted together.
  • Voting restrictions, coupled with excessive taxes and the lack of land privileges forced the common people of France into action.
  • Demanding a fair democracy that represented all people resulted in a series of important events and documents.
  • A constitution called the Declaration of the Rights of Man.
  • The revolutionaries did not end with achieving political equality, but set out to eradicate any existence of class distinction.
  • The outcome was the systematic execution of the many in the noble class, including King Louis XVI.
  • The government of the Revolution, the National Convention, lost control of events in France and placed power in the hands a few.
  • Led by Robespierre, the Reign of Terror saw the ironic execution of anybody who used their freedom of speech to criticize the government.
  • A series of expensive wars and resentment at home eventually led to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte who, in turn, declared himself Emperor of France.
  • Therefore, in a series of revolutionary conflicts, France went from an absolute monarchy to a democratic republic to an oligarchy and then returned to the absolute rule of an emperor.

Independence in Latin America
  • Spain's control had been steadily weakening in the late 1700's into the 1800's.
  • Spanish America had grown prosperous on its own through trade with America, the English, and the Dutch. Therefore, itsdependence on Spain had decreased.
  • Spain was further weakened after Napoleon's invasion in the early 1800's.
  • The ideas of the Enlightenment and the lack of Spanish control resulted in movements for independence and democracy in Latin America.
  • The Caribbean Islands and the mainland of South America made successful drives to push Spanish authority out.
  • Jose de San Martin played a tremendous role in the independence of Argentina and Chile.
  • The greatest of all liberators was Simon Bolivar who freed Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru from Spanish rule.
  • Brazil and a number of Caribbean Islands followed suit.
  • Constitutions were drafted and democratic institutions were established.