Current Events:
Matthew Hoh, a high-ranking administration advisor in Afghanistan, resigned and he explained his reasoning in a letter: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/hp/ssi/wpc/ResignationLetter.pdf
The former Marine captain resigned stating he no longer knows why his nation is fighting.
In a move that has sent ripples all the way to the White House, Matthew Hoh, became the first U.S. official known to resign in protest over the Afghan war, which he had come to believe simply fueled the insurgency. He wrote a four-page letter questioning the current strategy. In his opinion, we are fighting for the corrupt, viewed as illegitimate, urban elite of Afghanistan, and as such, we oppose the overwhelming population of Afghanistan who are rural peasants, and united by their religion against all outsiders. They do not seek American governance.
The rural peasantry, as we can observe in the example of the Vendee peasantry during the French Revolution, united themselves on the basis of their religion and opposed the urban, educated Revolutionary class.
The rural outlying districts in Afghanistan are treacherous territories for Americans. For example, October was the deadliest month of the war for U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban. Obama stated: "I will never rush the solemn decision of sending you into harm's way."
The Noble Peace Prize winner sent 17,000 troops in harm's way on 17 January; 4,000 more troops in March, and most recently, deployed an additional 14,000 troops. His surge thus far totals 35,000 troops.
Obama has stated he needs time to evaluate the situation in Afghanistan; he promises an answer soon.
Obama has been in office for just over nine months; he has already hit the golf links as much as Bush did in two years and ten months, according to CBS' Mark Knoller, an unofficial statistician of the White House. Also, in about nine months, Obama has already attended more than two dozen Democratic fund raising events, while Bush did only six in his first year in office, according to Knoller.
Today's lesson plan and HW is available on the blog: http://gmicksmithsocialstudies.blogspot.com/
Email: gmsmith@shanahan.org
The Shanawiki page (http://shanawiki.wikispaces.com/) has updated class information.
The online version of a portion of the Textbook is available.
LibraryThing has bibliographic resources.
I moved the "Blog Archive" to the top right on the blog page so it should be easier to find the daily lesson, HW, and other class material.
Sr. has advised students to check online teaching materials (as we have been doing since the first day of school).
All grades are posted and visible (except for October HW).
Tentative Grade Breakdown, Chapter 11 Section 1 Test
Period 3
Number of Grades 22
Range of Grades (60% - 90%)
Mean 77.4%
Median 78.5%
Mode 70%
Grade Distribution by Grouping
%
0 - 9
10 - 19
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 69 (1)
70 - 79 (11)
80 - 89 (8)
90 - 99 (2)
Grade Distribution of each Grade
%
60 (1)
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70 (4)
71
72
73 (4)
74
75
76
77 (3)
78
79
80 (4)
81
82
83 (2)
84
85
86
87 (2)
88
89
90 (2)
Period 4
Number of Grades 32
Range of Grades (43% - 93%)
Mean 79%
Median 83%
Mode 87%
Grade Distribution by Grouping
%
0 - 9
10 - 19
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49 (1)
50 - 59 (1)
60 - 69 (2)
70 - 79 (10)
80 - 89 (12)
90 - 99 (6)
Grade Distribution of each Grade
%
43 (1)
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53 (1)
54
55
56
57
58
59
60 (1)
61
62
63
64
65
66
67 (1)
68
69
70 (2)
71
72
73 (3)
74
75
76
77 (5)
78
79
80 (2)
81
82
83 (4)
84
85
86
87 (6)
88
89
90 (4)
91
92
93 (2)
Period 5
Number of Grades 33
Range of Grades (60% - 93%)
Mean 78.8%
Median 77%
Mode 77%
Grade Distribution by Grouping
%
0 - 9
10 - 19
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 69 (5)
70 - 79 (12)
80 - 89 (13)
90 - 99 (3)
Grade Distribution of each Grade
%
60 (1)
61
62
63 (2)
64
65
66
67 (2)
68
69
70 (1)
71
72
73 (1)
74
75
76
77 (10)
78
79
80 (3)
81
82
83 (5)
84
85
86
87 (5)
88
89
90 (1)
91
92
93 (2)
Period 7
Number of Grades 34
Range of Grades (50% - 93%)
Mean 81.6%
Median 83%
Mode 83%
Grade Distribution by Grouping
%
0 - 9
10 - 19
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59 (1)
60 - 69 (1)
70 - 79 (8)
80 - 89 (16)
90 - 99 (8)
Grade Distribution of each Grade
%
50 (1)
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63 (1)
64
65
66
67
68
69
70 (1)
71
72
73 (2)
74
75
76
77 (5)
78
79
80 (5)
81
82
83 (6)
84
85
86
87 (5)
88
89
90 (6)
91
92
93 (2)
Chapter 11 Section 2 Radical Revolution and Reaction
Checkpoint
What occurred after radicals took control of the Assembly?
Crises and Response
By early 1793, danger threatened France on all sides. The country was at war with much of Europe, including Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, and Prussia. In the Vendée (vahn day) region of France, royalists and priests led peasants in rebellion against the government. In Paris, the sans-culottes demanded relief from food shortages and inflation. The Convention itself was bitterly divided between Jacobins and a rival group, the Girondins.
The Girondins, here identified, now that we have covered the Jacobins, are defined in The Crowd in the French Revolution by George Rude.
Cf. The Vendee: A Sociological Analysis of the Counter-Revolution of 1793 by Charles Tilly.
The Convention Creates a New Committee
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. Description: Comite de Salut, 1794 18th century print Licensing:To deal with the threats to France, the Convention created the Committee of Public Safety. The 12-member committee had almost absolute power as it battled to save the revolution. The Committee prepared France for all-out war, issuing a levée en masse, or mass levy (tax) that required all citizens to contribute to the war effort. In addition, the 12 members of the Committee were in charge of trials and executions.
This is a faithful photographic reproduction of an original two-dimensional work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:
Public domain This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.
Spurred by revolutionary fervor, French recruits marched off to defend the republic. Young officers developed effective new tactics to win battles with masses of ill-trained but patriotic forces. Soon, French armies overran the Netherlands. They later invaded Italy. At home, they crushed peasant revolts. European monarchs shuddered as the revolutionaries carried “freedom fever” into conquered lands.
Robespierre “the Incorruptible”
At home, the government battled counterrevolutionaries under the guiding hand of Maximilien Robespierre (rohbz pyehr). Robespierre, a shrewd lawyer and politician, quickly rose to the leadership of the Committee of Public Safety. Among Jacobins, his selfless dedication to the revolution earned him the nickname “the incorruptible.” The enemies of Robespierre called him a tyrant.
Robespierre had embraced Rousseau’s idea of the general will as the source of all legitimate law. He promoted religious toleration and wanted to abolish slavery. Though cold and humorless, he was popular with the sans-culottes, who hated the old regime as much as he did. He believed that France could achieve a “republic of virtue” (I'll have more to say on this topic below) only through the use of terror, which he coolly defined as nothing more than “prompt, severe, inflexible justice.” “Liberty cannot be secured,” Robespierre cried, “unless criminals lose their heads.”
Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre (1758–1794) did not have an easy childhood. His mother died when he was only 6 years old. Two years later, his father abandoned him and his three siblings. The children’s aunts and grandfather then raised them. Because of this, Robespierre assumed responsibilities at an early age. Eventually, he went to study law at the University of Paris. His performance was so noteworthy that he was chosen to deliver a speech to Louis XVI on the occasion of the king’s coronation. But young Robespierre was snubbed. After listening to the address in a pouring rainstorm, the king and queen left without acknowledging Robespierre in any way. Years later, in 1789, Robespierre was elected to the Estates-General, where his career as a revolutionary began.
The Guillotine Defines the Reign of Terror
Robespierre was one of the chief architects of the Reign of Terror, which lasted from September 1793 to July 1794. Revolutionary courts conducted hasty trials. Spectators greeted death sentences with cries of “Hail the Republic!” or “Death to the traitors!”
In a speech given on February 5, 1794, Robespierre explained why the terror was necessary to achieve the goals of the revolution:
Primary Source
“It is necessary to stifle the domestic and foreign enemies of the Republic or perish with them. . . . The first maxim of our politics ought to be to lead the people by means of reason and the enemies of the people by terror. . . . If the basis of popular government in time of peace is virtue, the basis of popular government in time of revolution is both virtue and terror.”
—Maximilien Robespierre, quoted in Pageant of Europe (Stearns)
Suspect were those who resisted the revolution. About 300,000 were arrested during the Reign of Terror. Seventeen thousand were executed. Many were victims of mistaken identity or were falsely accused by their neighbors. Many more were packed into hideous prisons, where deaths from disease were common.
The engine of the Terror was the guillotine (gil uh teen). Its fast-falling blade extinguished life instantly. A member of the legislature, Dr. Joseph Guillotin (gee oh tan), had introduced it as a more humane method of beheading than the uncertain ax. But the guillotine quickly became a symbol of horror.
Within a year, the Terror consumed those who initiated it. Weary of bloodshed and fearing for their own lives, members of the Convention turned on the Committee of Public Safety. On the night of July 27, 1794, Robespierre was arrested. The next day he was executed. After the heads of Robespierre and other radicals fell, executions slowed dramatically.
The Reign of Terror
Infographic
Go Online
For: Interactive French Revolution
Visit: PHSchool.com
Web Code: nap-1821
Thinking Critically
1. Identify Point of View
What were the goals of the Committee of Public Safety?
2. Predict Consequences
How do you think life (it should read "life") in France changed after the Terror came to an end?
Crushing Rebellion
"The Republic of Virtue”
The "Republic of Virtue" was a period in French history (1793-1794) where Maximilien Robespierre remained in power. Many proponents of the Republic of Virtue developed their notion of civic virtue from the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The "Republic of Virtue" was part of the de-Christianization of the French Revolution. The de-Christianization process included the closing of churches, Protestant and Catholic, as well as selling many church buildings to the highest bidders. Many churches became store-houses for arms or grain. The statues of kings on the cathedral at Notre Dame were beheaded. However, the largest step in the de-Christianization of France was the establishment of the Cult of Reason to replace Christianity. This, however, was rejected by Maximilien Robespierre because he was opposed to the atheistic ideals of the Cult of Reason. He establishes the Cult of the Supreme Being in June 1794 but neither cult attracted many followers. The new French Revolutionary Calendar was created during the Republic of Virtue as well. The first year started on September 22, 1792, the beginning of the Republic. Twelve months of exactly thirty days each received new names derived from nature. Ten-day décades replaced the seven-day week, allowing for only one day of rest, eliminating the Sunday of the Christian calendar. This new calendar remained in practice for only nine years.
Reading Check
Identifying
Whom did the Committee of Public Safety consider to be enemies of the state?
A Nation in Arms
End of the Terror
Audio
In reaction to the Terror, the revolution entered a third stage. Moving away from the excesses of the Convention, moderates produced another constitution, the third since 1789. The Constitution of 1795 set up a five-man Directory and a two-house legislature elected by male citizens of property. The middle class and professional people of the bourgeoisie were the dominant force during this stage of the French Revolution. The Directory held power from 1795 to 1799.
Weak but dictatorial, the Directory faced growing discontent. Peace was made with Prussia and Spain, but war with Austria and Great Britain continued. Corrupt leaders lined their own pockets but failed to solve pressing problems. When rising bread prices stirred hungry sans-culottes to riot, the Directory quickly suppressed them. Another threat to the Directory was the revival of royalist feeling. Many émigrés were returning to France, and devout Catholics, who resented measures that had been taken against the Church, were welcoming them. In the election of 1797, supporters of a constitutional monarchy won the majority of seats in the legislature.
As chaos threatened, politicians turned to Napoleon Bonaparte, a popular military hero who had won a series of brilliant victories against the Austrians in Italy. The politicians planned to use him to advance their own goals. To their dismay, however, before long Napoleon would outwit them all to become ruler of France.
Checkpoint
What changes occurred after the Reign of Terror came to an end?
By 1799, the 10-year-old French Revolution had dramatically changed France. It had dislodged the old social order, overthrown the monarchy, and brought the Church under state control.
New symbols such as the red “liberty caps” and the tricolor confirmed the liberty and equality of all male citizens. The new title “citizen” applied to people of all social classes. All other titles were eliminated. Before he was executed, Louis XVI was called Citizen Capet, from the name of the dynasty that had ruled France in the Middle Ages. Elaborate fashions and powdered wigs gave way to the practical clothes and simple haircuts of the sans-culottes.
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. Description: Louis le dernier
Louis XVI of France wearing a phrygian cap, drinking a toast to the health of the sans-culottes. Etching and mezzotint, with watercolor. Scanned from a photographic slide.
Captions, in English:
"Long live the nation" (from bottle to mouth)
Below:
Louis XVI, having put on the Phrygian cap, cried 'long live the nation'. He drank to the health of the sans-culottes and affected a show of great calm. He spoke high-sounding words about how he never feared the law, that he had never feared to be in the midst of the people; finally he pretended to play a personal part in the insurrection of June 20. Well! The same Louis XVI has bravely waited until his fellow citizens return to their hearths to wage a secret war and extract his revenge.
Date: 1792 Source: Library of Congress Author: unknown Permission Public domain: This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. Summary: Cabinet des médailles de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France Description: Attis as a child, wearing the Phrygian cap. Parian marble, 2nd century AD, probably during the reign of Emperor Hadrian.
Nationalism Spreads
Revolution and war gave the French people a strong sense of national identity. In earlier times, people had felt loyalty to local authorities. As monarchs centralized power, loyalty shifted to the king or queen. Now, the government rallied sons and daughters of the revolution to defend the nation itself. Nationalism, a strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one’s country, spread throughout France. The French people attended civic festivals that celebrated the nation and the revolution. A variety of dances and songs on themes of the revolution became immensely popular.
By 1793, France was a nation in arms. From the port city of Marseilles (mahr say), troops marched to a rousing new song. It urged the “children of the fatherland” to march against the “bloody banner of tyranny.” This song, “La Marseillaise” (mahr say ez), would later become the French national anthem.
Revolutionaries Push For Social Reform
Revolutionaries pushed for social reform and religious toleration. They set up state schools to replace religious ones and organized systems to help the poor, old soldiers, and war widows. With a major slave revolt raging in the colony of St. Domingue (Haiti), the government also abolished slavery in France’s Caribbean colonies.
Evaluating
How did the French revolutionary army help to create modern nationalism?
The Directory
Reading Check
Describing
Describe the government that replaced the National Convention.
The Radical Revolution
HW send to gmsmith@shanahan.org.
1. How do you think Robespierre’s early life might have influenced his political ideas?
Checkpoint
2. Why did Robespierre think the Terror was necessary to achieve the goals of the revolution?
Reading Check
Examining
3. What were the differences between the Girondins and the Mountain?
The Mountain:
The Mountain (French: La Montagne) refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly.
At the opening of the National Convention the Montagnard group comprised men of very diverse shades of opinion, and such cohesion as it subsequently acquired was due rather to the opposition of its leaders to the Girondist leaders than to any fundamental hostility between the two groups. The chief point of distinction was that the Girondists were mainly theorists and thinkers, whereas the Mountain consisted almost entirely of uncompromising men of action.
During their struggle with the Girondists, the Montagnards gained the upper hand in the Jacobin Club, and for a time "Jacobin" and "Montagnard" were synonymous terms. The Mountain was successively under the sway of such men as Marat, Danton, and Robespierre.
The group was to become one of the prime movers in the eventual downfall of Robespierre.
Bibliographic References
The Sans-Culottes
by Albert Soboul.
The Vendee: A Sociological Analysis of the Counter-Revolution of 1793
by Charles Tilly.
The Crowd in the French Revolution (Galaxy Books) by George Rude
