Nationalism and Revolutions in the Period from c. 1750-1900 CE
Teacher Resources
Lesson Guide
This guide includes all the usual stuff on pacing, guiding questions, and sample answers, but it will be especially useful as you prepare to teach the Recipe for a Revolution and Revolutionary Women activities.
Blog: Māori Fly Flags for Their Nation
Help students expand their ideas of where new national identities emerged by reading this blog post on Māori nationalism.
Driving Question: How did different parts of the world experience the revolutionary transformations that occurred from c. 1750 to 1900 CE?
Revolutionary ideas came from a desire to change how society and government were structured. These ideas challenged old traditions and called for fairness and equality. Enlightenment thinkers helped shape these beliefs by promoting rights of the individual and the notion that power came from the people. Combined with economic struggles and political complaints, these ideas led to movements for more just and inclusive societies.
Learning Objectives
- Explain the causes and effects of the various revolutions in the period from 1750 to 1900.
- Use graphic biographies to support, extend, or challenge the overarching narratives from this period.
- Analyze primary source documents to evaluate the intellectual and ideological causes of political revolutions from c. 1750 to 1900 CE.
Vocab Terms:
Revolutions are a key concept in this lesson. What is a revolution? And how similar is it to evolution?
In advance, give students all the video comprehension questions or highlight anything you want them to focus on to help orient their attention. (Note that students will be prompted to preview the questions and transcript for all videos on the OER Project site.) If you’re looking for closed captioning or subtitles in other languages, you can watch all our videos on the OER Project YouTube channel.
Sometimes a revolution is just the beginning of real change. Was this the case with the Haitian Revolution? This video may provide some answers.
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Guiding Questions
OER Project teachers share activity adaptations in this community conversation, including a handout and template that help students make sense of the recipe analogy—perfect for those who haven’t spent a lot of time in the kitchen.
Want to prepare students for this activity using hexagonal thinking? Check out this community conversation where teachers share digital worksheets and ideas for this activity.
What are the ingredients for a revolution? A dash of discontent? A sprinkle of disruptive events? The materials below may help you cook up some ideas about the causes of revolution!
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Guiding Questions
Need guidance on how to adapt this activity for your classroom? Check out an experienced teacher’s take in this blog post, which includes tips on ways to tweak timing, the selection of candidates, and the research and judging processes.
What makes someone a revolutionary? You will research some women who exhibited revolutionary behavior—and even create a public relations campaign for one!
Is nationalism a good or bad thing? The answer is probably more nuanced than a binary choice might suggest. This video will help you clarify your ideas about the effects of nationalism.
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Guiding Questions
The revolutions of 1848 are sometimes called a “successful failure.” These revolutions united people across the political left in vast movements that shook the foundations of the status quo in Europe. But almost universally, the diversity of these coalitions proved to be their undoing. Historian Immanuel Wallerstein claims that 1848 was a “world revolution” and that there has only ever been one other—1968. If you’re interested in learning more or having your students compare these two world revolutions, check out this blog post: “Back to the Barricades (Again): What 1968 Can Teach Students Today.”
Colonialism and industrialization benefitted a few countries but created a massive amount of conflict as well. What led to multiple revolutions during this era of increased global connection?
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Guiding Questions
How did the revolutions of this era impact the themes of governance, economic systems, social interactions, and cultural developments? The primary sources in this collection will help you formulate a response to this question. We recommend you use the Quick-Sourcing Tool to complete this exercise.
It’s time to take the knowledge you have acquired and make some claims about history!
From Italy to Germany, to West Africa and Latin America, the resources below offer a global look at calls for national unification or liberation during this period of revolution.
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You’ve learned a lot about revolutions during this period. In this article, you’ll explore how changes in demographics, climate, economics, and ideas helped spark political revolutions.
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