Age of Revolutions
The Age of Revolutions was a century of upheaval fueled by Enlightenment ideas and bold political demands. Starting in the Atlantic world and spreading across the globe, these revolutions toppled old systems and transformed governments and societies forever. Our classroom-ready lessons and teaching materials help students uncover what sparked this wave of change, explore its far-reaching impacts, and connect this pivotal era to the world they live in today.
How to Teach the Age of Revolutions
OER Project Map Index
Dive into our collection of thematic maps on topics like revolution and empire as well as world political maps for 1750, 1789, 1815, and more!
Graphic Biographies Guide
Learn to incorporate graphic biographies in your teaching of the Age of Revolutions and the Enlightenment.
Blog Post: The Little Ice Age – Taking a Lesson from Climate History
Read how climate change rattled the early modern world, launching wars, revolutions, and massive social changes.
Community Forum: Taylor Swift or Enlightenment?
Check out teachers’ ideas for putting a fun spin on introducing students to thinkers of the Enlightenment.
Ready to Go: Age of Revolutions Lesson Plans
Lesson 7.3
Atlantic Revolutions
The revolutions of the Americas, France, and Haiti were linked by shared ideas about freedom, but each movement had its own goals and its own struggles.
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Lesson 2.3
What Causes Revolutions?
No single cause explains every revolution. Some begin with ideas while others start with hunger, injustice, or fear. Understanding why they happen means asking deeper questions about power and possibility.
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Lesson 2.5
An Age of Revolution?
Explore the innovations and technologies that made industrialization possible and then apply your understanding in an activity by examining the historical context that gave rise to industrialization.
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Easy to Implement: Age of Revolutions Activities and Resources
Source Collection: Words of the Enlightenment
Article
Source Collection: Words of the Enlightenment
Consider the words of thinkers and statesmen from Locke to Bolívar, people whose deeds reshaped how the world viewed sovereignty, rights, and freedom.
Recipe for a Revolution
Activity
Recipe for a Revolution
A dash of unrest here, a sprinkle of bad harvests there, tossed in with some new ideas…. It’s time for you to design a recipe for revolution.
Haitian Revolution
Video
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution defeated the French Empire, abolished slavery, and shook the foundations of the Atlantic slave economy. But the struggle didn’t end there.
Colonization and Resistance: Through a Pueblo Lens
Video
Colonization and Resistance: Through a Pueblo Lens
In 1680, Pueblos in Nuevo México revolted against their Spanish colonizers. Was this the first successful revolt against European colonialism in the Americas?
West Africa in the Age of Revolution
Article
West Africa in the Age of Revolution
Were West African revolutions part of this Atlantic Age of Revolution? Did these conflicts share causes and impacts with those across the ocean?
Edmund Burke
Graphic Biographies
Edmund Burke
The “father of modern conservatism” was a British political figure and philosopher who was an important leader of the liberal transformation of the eighteenth century.
Writing Assessments: Age of Revolutions
Prewriting: Political Revolutions of the Long Nineteenth Century
Assessment
Prewriting: Political Revolutions of the Long Nineteenth Century
Get ready for writing by crafting a claim and gathering supporting evidence.
DBQ Sources: Political Revolutions of the Long Nineteenth Century
Assessment
DBQ Sources: Political Revolutions of the Long Nineteenth Century
Analyze these sources and gather evidence to support your argument.
Writing: Political Revolutions of the Long Nineteenth Century
Assessment
Writing: Political Revolutions of the Long Nineteenth Century
Time to write! Demonstrate your understanding of this unit’s content by creating a written argument in response to a prompt.
Community: Ask, Connect, Share
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Recipe for Revolution
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Haitian Revolution
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Alternate History: What If the British Defeated the Americans in the American Revolution?
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