Unit 5 shows what happens when people start asking a dangerous question: “Why do they get to rule us?” Between 1750 and 1900, old political systems built on monarchy, hierarchy, and tradition faced a direct challenge from new ideas about liberty, equality, nationalism, and popular sovereignty. Revolutions erupted across the Atlantic world and beyond, toppling kings, reshaping empires, and redefining what it meant to be a citizen. At the same time, industrialization transformed how people worked, lived, and organized society, fueling both reform and resistance.

This unit explores how Enlightenment ideals, economic change, and social inequality sparked revolutionary movements—and why the outcomes were often messy, violent, and uneven. You’ll analyze who led these revolutions, who was left out, and how new political systems struggled  ...