What social & political norms did Enlightenment thinkers challenge?What were the effects of their questioning?

Citizens upset with the social and political norms in their countries rebelled and proceeded to replace the corrupt governments and social systems that they viewed as ineffective or unfair. Russian citizens were unsatisfied with the idea of serfdom and took up arms in what was known as the Pugachev Rebellion. In the Western Hemisphere, the American Colonies began to protest British taxation without representation and saw the need for a federation. The French Revolution occured to a dissatisfaction with the current corrupt monarchy, and in turn a republic was formed as an alternative form of government. However, after the conquering of Napoleon, the French returned to their previously used government of monarchy, but with limitations. The United States formed a republic, where the interests of the citizens were to be represented in the government, after it's war with England. Uprisings usually occured due to abuses of the current government, such as excessive spending or violations of the rights of citizens. Social systems, such as serfdom, were also regarded as irrational and unfair. New forms of government were used in an attempt to avoid the mistakes made by past leaders and to efficiently and fairly run a country. Documents such as the Declaration of Independece and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizens were created in order to establish laws and outline the intentions of the new government.

See below: the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, 1776

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trt024.html
Smith, Bonnie G., Richard Von Glahn, and Kris E. Lane. Crossroads and Cultures: A History of the World's Peoples. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. Print.

What is the basis of national identity and nationalism?

Soon after the revolutions in the Americas and France, nationalism and national identity became prominent in these nations. Nationalism, a belief in the importance of one's nation, stemmed from the recent victories of the revolutionaries, and their newfound rights. Pride of their own unique laws, traditions, language, and history, were the basis of each country's national identity, the qualities that defined them as a nation. National identity also proved a uniting factor among peoples and helped cement them together to overcome future obstacles.

Source for photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_the_Flag_on_Iwo_Jima

Smith, Bonnie G., Richard Von Glahn, and Kris E. Lane. Crossroads and Cultures: A History of the World's Peoples. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. Print.

How did the Enlightenment evaluate the role of religion in public life?

The curiosity and spirit of reform that was inspired by the Enlightenment did not stop at government, Enlightened philosophers and the educated challenge their government which is evident in the revolutions and reforms that took place during this time but they also began to question relgion and the role it played in their daily lives. Philosophers and everday ctizens began to become critical of relgious truths and explanations of the unknown phenomenon of that time. People soon began to turn to science and inductive reasoning to solve mysteries and unexplainable circumstance. For the most part people in the Enlightement and onward began to reduce the value they placed on religous explanations and restrictions on everyday life. Even thoguh some began to rely entirely on inductive reasoning the majority of the population still followed religious doctrine and explanation on many matters and most did not go so far as to believe only in thier own reasoning.

Source for photo: http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/philosophy/jw/reasoning/teaching.htm

Smith, Bonnie G., Richard Von Glahn, and Kris E. Lane. Crossroads and Cultures: A History of the World's Peoples. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. Print.

How did political rebellions affect the political structures and ideologies around the world?

Many times, political rebellions were caused by the protests of unsatisfied citizens, who, as Locke said was there right, deemed their government unworthy and proceeded to take it down. These rebellions spawned new interesting forms of government such as federalism (a union of states), in the U.S., republic (government expressing the interests of the people), and the increase of constitutional governments. These revolutions also reinforced new ideologies in the minds of the common people. The ideas of natural rights and equality for all -with the exception of women and slaves- became more widely accepted and were expressed in the U.S. Declaration of Independence as well as France's Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. Nationalism inspired the people of the United States and France while those opposes to the rebellions adopted conservatism in support of aged traditions. Liberalism also became closely associated with nationalism because governments gave their people free opportunities in commerce. Romanticism also grew, inspiring art and imagination. Napoleon's conquests spread these ideas across Europe as well as the new philosophy that women should be submissive (contrary to the few gains in rights they had initially made). These ideologies both helped and hindered these nations as they moved on into the industrial revolution.


French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen
http://www.humanrights.com/what-are-human-rights/brief-history/declaration-of-human-rights.html

Smith, Bonnie G., Richard Von Glahn, and Kris E. Lane. Crossroads and Cultures: A History of the World's Peoples. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. Print.

How did Enlightenment thinkers affect understandings of therelationship between the natural world and humans?

Enlightenment thinkers proposed new ideas regarding the relationship between the natural world and humans that led to a new understanding of the physical world. A key component of the Enlightenment was that the human world could be understood in the same way as the natural world; both the natural and  human world can be manipulated once understood. New thinkers used reason and rationality to understand their world. As far as religious doctrines were concerned, they were considered irrelevant regarding the human and physical world. Thinkers of the seventeenth century began to diverge away from religious reasoning and more towards using science and observation to understand the nature of humans. The scientific revolution and empiricism both supported the idea that human observation is an accurate indicator for future natural events, as well as the focus on questioning through science. Religious reasoning became second to science and natural laws.

Source:

http://www.csudh.edu/phenom_studies/western/lect_8.html

Video on Enlightenment: Intellectual and Social Revolution (and how observation moved from religious to scientific):


a painting depicting aspects of the scientific revolution
http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/story.php?title=baroque-in-protestant-north--scientific-revolution

http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-american-enlightenment-intellectual-and-social-revolution.html#lesson

Smith, Bonnie G., Richard Von Glahn, and Kris E. Lane. Crossroads and Cultures: A History of the World's Peoples. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. Print.

How did both the Enlightenment and the colonized peoples' actions affect political developments after 1750?

In the mid 18th century, increased literacy in Europe led to the spread of knowledge among the "common" people and created frequent debates over political change in a process called the Enlightenment. Philosophers proposed new political ideas concerning forms of government and published their theories, sparking resentment among European citizens against their ruling governments. Citizens took matters into their own hands and they began to rebel against the governments which they believed had become corrupted and no longer expressed the views and needs of the people. The ideas of the Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke became adopted in new forms of government, specifically governance by citizen representation. Other ideas included themes of freedom and opportunity, contract governments, and liberalism.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hogarth
Rebelling Citizens

"All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions." -John Locke

This quote shows new ideas concerning the rights of man, which became a common aspect of political reform.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnlocke169395.html#vzsJ50UiHflKkL3c.99
Smith, Bonnie G., Richard Von Glahn, and Kris E. Lane. Crossroads and Cultures: A History of the World's Peoples. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. Print.