Echoes of Revolution

The echos for revolution can be seen with the abolition of slavery, feminist movements, the Haitian Revolution and the Spanish American Revolution.

Haitian Revolution
To the slaves, the French Revolution was a promise to personal freedom for themselves. They held a massive revolt in 1791, burning 1,000 plantations and killing hundreds of white landowners. In the end, the slaves were successful in obtaining their freedom. They had thrown off French colonial rule and created a second independent republic.

Spanish American Revolution
Spanish Colonies were offended by the Spanish monarchy's attempts to get a greater grip of control and power over its colonies. They wanted their colonies to be subjected to heavier tariffs and taxes just like their North American counterparts. They were successful in their revolution, but it had little benefits for slaves and women.

Abolition of Slavery 
As enlightenment ideas spread, the idea of natural rights was put into question. Many enlightenment thinkers began to think about whether or not slavery evaded African American's natural rights and whether or not it was critical for economic advancements. Some believed that slavery was repugnant to religion and therefore should be abolished. Slaves attempted to revolt in North America, which hastened the coming of their freedom. Latin American countries abolished slavery in the 1850's, but did not receive equality. The only place that slaves received political equality was in Haiti. Radical reconstruction helped freed Blacks in the United States obtain some form of equality.

Feminist Movements
A concern for women's rights was established in Western Europes, the United States and beyond these two places. Feminists newspaper were put up in Mexico as well as schools for girls. Women in the Atlantic sought to obtain the same rights as men and saw themselves as equals. The first expression of feminism took place at the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca. Women from America and Europe traded ideas and read each other's work as a way to bounce off ideas from each other. These movements had oppositions to them as did all of the others, but women were prompted some accomplishments for their work. They were able to go and study at universities, and literacy rates were increasing.