III. Population shifts and growing commerce caused the expansion of cities, which often found their traditional political and social structures stressed by growth. Population recovered to its pre-Great Plague level in the 16th century, and continuing population pressures contributed to uneven price increases; agricultural commodities increased more sharply than wages, reducing living standards for some. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Migrants to the cities challenged the ability of the merchant elites and craft guilds to govern and strained resources. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Social dislocation, coupled with the weakening of religious institutions during the Reformation, left city governments with the task of regulating public morals. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 IV. The family remained the primary social and economic institution of early modern Europe and took several forms, including the nuclear family. Rural and urban households worked as units, with men and women engaged in separate but complementary tasks. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 The Renaissance and Reformation movements raised debates female roles in the family, society, and the church. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 From the late 16th century forward, Europeans responded to economic and environmental challenges, such as the “Little Ice Age, ” by delaying marriage and
Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Despite censorship, increasingly numerous and varied printed materials served a growing literate public and led to the development of “public opinion”. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Natural sciences, literature, and popular culture increasingly exposed Europeans to representations of peoples outside of Europe. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 III. New political and economic theories challenged absolutism and mercantilism. Political theories, such as John conceived of society as composed of individuals driven by self-interest and argued that the state originated in the consent of the governed (i.e., a social contract) rather than in divine right or tradition. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Mercantilist theory and practice were challenged by new economic ideas, such as Adam Smith’s, espousing free trade and a free market. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 IV. During the Enlightenment, the rational analysis of religious practices led to natural religion and the demand for religious toleration. Intellectuals, including Voltaire and Diderot, developed new philosophies of deism, skepticism, and atheism. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3
I. Industrialization promoted the development of new classes in the industrial regions of Europe. In industrialized areas of Europe (i.e., western and northern Europe), changes created divisions of labor that led to the development of classes, such as the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 In some of the less industrialized areas of Europe, the dominance of agricultural elites persisted into the 20th century. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Class identity developed and was reinforced through participation in philanthropic, political, and social associations among the middle classes, and in mutual aid societies and trade unions among the working class. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 II. Europe experienced rapid population growth and urbanization, leading to social dislocations. Along with better harvests caused in part by the commercialization of agriculture, industrialization promoted population growth, longer life expectancy, and lowered infant mortality. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 With migration from rural to urban areas in industrialized regions, cities experienced overcrowding, while affected rural areas suffered declines in available labor as well as weakened communities. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 conscious
IV. During the 20th century, the arts were defined by experimentation, self-expression, subjectivity, and the increasing influence of the United States in both elite and popular culture. New movements in the visual arts, architecture and music demolished existing aesthetic standards, explored subconscious and subjective states, and satirized Western society and its values. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Throughout the century, a number of writers challenged traditional literary conventions, questioned Western values, and addressed controversial social and political issues. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Increased imports of United States technology and popular culture after World War II generated both enthusiasm and criticism. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Key Concept 4.4: Demographic changes, economic growth, total war, disruptions of traditional social patterns, and competing definitions of freedom and justice altered the experiences of everyday life. I. The 20th century was characterized by large-scale suffering brought on by warfare and genocide as well as tremendous improvements in the standard of living. War I created a “lost generation,” fostered disillusionment and cynicism, transformed the lives of women, and democratized societies. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 World War II decimated a generation of Russian and German men, virtually destroyed European Jewry, forced large-scale ethnic migrations, and undermined prewar class hierarchies.