World History Terms to Review for Assessment

Ideologies – systems of thought and belief.

Universal manhood suffrage – all adult men have the right to vote.

Autonomy – self-rule, such as within the Ottoman Empire.

Conservatives – This group includes monarchs, members of the government, noble landowners, church leaders. They supported the political and social order that had come under attack during the French Revolution. They wanted to restore to power the royal families that had lost their thrones when Napoleon swept across Europe. They accepted the hierarchy of social classes. The lower classes, they felt, should respect and obey their social superiors. They backed an established church—Catholic in Austria and southern European countries, Orthodox in Eastern Europe, and Protestant in Britain, the Netherlands, Prussia, and the Scandinavian lands.

Liberals – This group embraced Enlightenment ideas spread by the French Revolution. They spoke out against divine right monarchy, the old aristocracy, and established churches. They defended the natural rights of individuals to liberty, equality and property. They spoke mostly for the bourgeoisie, or middle class. The group included business owners, bankers and lawyers, as well as politicians, newspaper editors, writers, and others who helped shape public opinion. They wanted government to be based on written constitutions and separation of powers. They called for rulers elected by the people and responsible to them. Thus, they favored a republican form of government over a monarchy, or at least wanted the monarch to be limited by a constitution.

Nationalists – This group was an outgrowth of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. It ignited a number of revolts against established rule. Empires had included many nationalities but unifying and gaining independence for people with a common national heritage became this group’s major goal. Each national group, they believed, should have its own state. This group gave people with a common heritage a sense of identity and a goal—establishment of their own homeland. It also had negative effects. It often bred intolerance and led to persecution of national and ethnic minorities.

Greeks – In 1821, these people revolted, seeking and end to centuries of Ottoman rule. They justified their struggle as “a national war, a holy war, a war the object of which is to reconquer the rights of individual liberty.”

Charter of French Liberties – When the Congress of Vienna restored Louis XVIII to the French throne, he prudently issued a constitution. This created a two-house legislature and allowed limited freedom of the press. While Louis was careful to shun absolutism, the king retained much power.

Charles X – brother of Louis XVIII (died in 1824) who inherited the throne. He was a strong believer in absolutism, rejected the very idea of the Charter of French Liberties. In July, 1830, he suspended the legislature, limited the right to vote, and restricted the press. Liberals and radicals responded forcefully to the king’s challenge. In Paris, angry citizens threw up barricades across the narrow streets. This person abdicated and fled to England.

Louis Phillipe – The French called this person the “citizen king” because he owed his throne to the people. He got along well with the liberal bourgeoisie. Like them, he dressed in a frock coat and top hat. Sometimes he strolled the streets, shaking hands with well-wishers. However, discontent grew. As the turmoil spread, he abdicated.

Louis Napoleon– This is the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. The “new” Napoleon attracted the working classes by presenting himself as a man who cared about social issues such as poverty. However, he grew in power and proclaimed himself Emperor, taking the title of Napoleon III. He used a plebiscite to win public approval of his policies.

Louis Kossuth – Hungarian nationalist who demanded an independent government. He also called for an end to serfdom and a written constitution to protect basic rights. In Prague, the Czechs made similar demands. Overwhelmed by events, the Austrian government agreed to the reforms.

Frankfurt Assembly – Throughout 1848, delegates from many German states met. “We are to create a constitution for Germany, for the whole land,” declared one leader with boundless optimism.

Peninsulares – Dominated Latin American political and social life. Only they could hold the top jobs in government and the Church. This group were Spanish-born settlers.

Creoles – These are the European descended Latin Americans who owned the haciendas, ranches, and mines—who bitterly opposed their second-class status.

Mestizos – This group is a bi-racial mix of Spanish and Native American background limited as a lower social class.

Mulattos – This group is a bi-racial mix of Spanish and African background limited as a lower social class.