19. American War of Independence, French Revolution, Industrial Revolution, Russian Revolution — Full Notes

CORE Key Points at a Glance

1. 1

   American War of Independence (1775–83)

   • First successful anti-colonial revolution
   • Established that government derives legitimacy from the consent of the governed
   • Declaration of Independence (4 July 1776) proclaimed "all men are created equal"
   • Listed 27 grievances against King George III
2. 2

   Enlightenment Roots of the American Revolution

   • John Locke — natural rights of life, liberty, property; right to revolt against tyranny
   • Montesquieu — separation of powers (legislative, executive, judicial)
   • Rousseau — social contract and popular sovereignty
3. 3

   French Revolution (1789–99) — Core

   • Dismantled the Ancien Régime (old order of monarchy, clergy, nobility)
   • Established Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité as governing principles
   • Triggered by financial crisis (France bankrupt after American war support), crop failures, and Enlightenment ideas
4. 4

   Storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789)

   • Paris prison-fortress stormed; its seven prisoners released
   • Symbolic start of the French Revolution
   • Bastille Day is still France's national day
   • Marked the people's defiance of royal authority
5. 5

   Industrial Revolution — Origin and Key Inventions

   • Began in Britain around 1760
   • Driven by James Watt's steam engine (1769), Hargreaves's spinning jenny (1764), Arkwright's water frame, Cartwright's power loom
   • Britain had coal, iron, capital, colonies, and institutions that enabled the transformation
6. 6

   Industrial Revolution → Marx → Russian Revolution

   • Created the modern proletariat (industrial working class)
   • Marx described the conditions in Das Kapital (1867): surplus value extraction, alienated labour, class struggle
   • This theoretical foundation for socialism and communism led directly to the Russian Revolution
7. 7

   Russian Revolution of 1917 — Two Phases

   • February Revolution (March 1917 NS) — mass protests ousted Tsar Nicholas II (last Romanov)
   • October Revolution (November 1917 NS) — Bolsheviks under Lenin seized power from the Provisional Government
   • Slogan: "Peace, Land, Bread"
8. 8

   Bolshevik Revolution and USSR

   • Established the world's first communist state
   • Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918) ended Russia's WWI involvement
   • Civil War (1918–21): Red Army (Bolsheviks) defeated White Army (anti-Bolshevik forces)
   • USSR formally constituted on 30 December 1922
9. 9

   Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (26 August 1789)

   • Men are born free and equal in rights
   • Sovereignty resides in the nation
   • Freedom of speech, press, and thought guaranteed
   • Property is inviolable; no one disturbed for opinion
   • Influenced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
10. 10

    The Communist Manifesto (1848)

    • By Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
    • Declared: "Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains."
    • Identified capitalism's internal contradictions; predicted class revolution
    • Called for abolition of private property — ideological foundation of the Russian Revolution
11. 11

    Industrial Revolution — Social Consequences

    • Rapid urbanisation: Manchester grew from 25,000 (1772) to 303,000 (1850)
    • Rise of trade unions (TUC founded 1868)
    • Child labour in factories; cholera epidemics in industrial cities
    • Early socialist thought emerged (Owen's New Lanark model factory)
12. 12

    Treaty of Paris (1783) and American Constitutional Legacy

    • Treaty of Paris (3 September 1783) ended the American War; Britain recognised 13 colonies' independence
    • US Constitution (1787) became the world's first written national constitution
    • Bill of Rights (1791) — first 10 amendments — guaranteed freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition