Current Events:
Cf. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/10/21/juan_williams_npr_fired_him_for_making_bigoted_statement.html
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four Islamic caliphates established after the death of Muhammad and was dominated by Arabs.
The Abbasid caliphate was the third of the Islamic caliphates in which non-Arabs participated in civil affairs.
John Stuart Mill approached the problem of authority versus liberty from the viewpoint of a 19th century utilitarian: The individual has the right of expressing himself so long as he does not harm other individuals. The good society is one in which the greatest number of persons enjoy the greatest possible amount of happiness. Applying these general principles of liberty to freedom of expression, Mill states that if we silence an opinion, we may silence the truth. The individual freedom of expression is therefore essential to the well-being of society.
Mill’s application of the general principles of liberty is expressed in his book On Liberty: "If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and one, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind".
Ch. 11 Sec. 1 Quiz is on Tuesday.
The Chapter 10 Test Make-Up is today if you have not already taken it.
Cf. http://shanawiki.wikispaces.com/Honors+World+History+II+Fall+2010+Chapter+10+Test+Prep+Page
HW is available below (per our usual procedure HW is also posted at the bottom of the daily blog post as well as being posted on GradeConnect):
Chapter 11 The French Revolution and Napoleon, 1789–1815
Section 1 The French Revolution Begins
Poverty and deep social divisions were the backdrop of the French Revolution. On the eve of the revolution, financial crisis gripped the government of Louis XVI. Rather than accept higher taxes, the commoners in France's legislative body, the Estates-General, broke off to form a National Assembly. Anticipating an attack by the king's forces, commoners then stormed the Bastille prison, marking the start of the Revolution. The new Assembly took control of the Catholic Church and adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. The document was inspired in part by the American Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The Assembly then wrote a constitution establishing a limited monarchy and a Legislative Assembly. France was soon at war with Austria, where some feared the revolution might spread. Louis XVI was taken captive by the Paris Commune. The Commune called for a National Convention and forced the revolution into a more violent phase.
Chapter Overviews
After surveying the Chapter, we begin in Section 1 The French Revolution Begins
Chapter 11 Section 1 The French Revolution Begins
Objectives
The Conquerors of the Bastille before the Hotel de Ville, painted by Paul Delaroche
Fall of the Bastille
Background to the Revolution
The Three Estates
Analyzing Political Cartoons
Financial Crisis
A representative of a faction: the sans-culotte were radical revolutionaries demanding a republic.
As 1788 came to a close, France tottered on the verge of bankruptcy. Bread riots were spreading, and nobles, fearful of taxes, were denouncing royal tyranny. A baffled Louis XVI finally summoned the Estates-General to meet at Versailles the following year.
In preparation, Louis had all three estates prepare cahiers (kah yayz), or notebooks, listing their grievances. Many cahiers called for reforms such as fairer taxes, freedom of the press, or regular meetings of the Estates-General. In one town, shoemakers denounced regulations that made leather so expensive they could not afford to make shoes. Servant girls in the city of Toulouse demanded the right to leave service when they wanted and that “after a girl has served her master for many years, she receive some reward for her service.”
The cahiers testified to boiling class resentments. One called tax collectors “bloodsuckers of the nation who drink the tears of the unfortunate from goblets of gold.” Another one of the cahiers condemned the courts of nobles as “vampires pumping the last drop of blood” from the people. Another complained that “20 million must live on half the wealth of France while the clergy . . . devour the other half.”
Delegates of the Third Estate declare themselves to be the National Assembly, representing the people of France. They take the Tennis Court Oath, vowing to create a constitution. The National Assembly later issues the assignat as currency to help pay the government’s debts.
Delegates to the Estates-General from the Third Estate were elected, though only propertied men could vote. Thus, the delegates were mostly lawyers, middle-class officials, and writers. They were familiar with the writings of Voltaire, Rousseau, and other philosophes. They went to Versailles not only to solve the financial crisis but also to insist on reform.
The Estates-General convened in May 1789. From the start, the delegates were deadlocked over the issue of voting. Traditionally, each estate had met and voted separately. Each group had one vote. Under this system, the First and Second Estates always outvoted the Third Estate two to one. This time, the Third Estate wanted all three estates to meet in a single body, with votes counted “by head.”
After weeks of stalemate, delegates of the Third Estate took a daring step. in June 1789, claiming to represent the people of France, they declared themselves to be the National Assembly. A few days later, the National Assembly found its meeting hall locked and guarded. Fearing that the king planned to dismiss them, the delegates moved to a nearby indoor tennis court. As curious spectators looked on, the delegates took their famous Tennis Court Oath. They swore “never to separate and to meet wherever the circumstances might require until we have established a sound and just constitution.”
When reform-minded clergy and nobles joined the Assembly, Louis XVI grudgingly accepted it. But royal troops gathered around Paris, and rumors spread that the king planned to dissolve the Assembly.
Reading Check
Examining
Why did the Third Estate object to each estate's having one vote in the Estates-General?
The Destruction of the Old Regime
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The National Assembly issued this document in 1789 after having overthrown the established government in the early stages of the French Revolution. The document was modeled in part on the English Bill of Rights and on the American Declaration of Independence. The basic principles of the French declaration were those that inspired the revolution, such as the freedom and equality of all male citizens before the law. The Articles below identify additional principles.
Therefore the National Assembly recognizes and proclaims, in the presence and under the auspices1 of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the citizen:
1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.
2. The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible2 rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. . . .
4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else. . . .
5. Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. . . .
6. Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its formation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents.
7. No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law. . . .
11. The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom. . . .
13. A common contribution is essential for the maintenance of the public [military] forces and for the cost of administration. This should be equitably distributed among all the citizens in proportion to their means.
Thinking Critically
1. Summarize
Summarize article 6. Why is this article especially significant?
2. Identify Central Issues
What central idea does this declaration share with the American Declaration of Independence?
The King Concedes
On October 5, about six thousand women marched 13 miles in the pouring rain from Paris to Versailles. “Bread!” they shouted. They demanded to see the king.
Much of the crowd’s anger was directed at the Austrian-born queen, Marie Antoinette (daughter of Maria Theresa and brother of Joseph II). The queen lived a life of great pleasure and extravagance, and this led to further public unrest. Although compassionate to the poor, her small acts went largely unnoticed because her lifestyle overshadowed them. She was against reforms and bored with the French court. She often retreated to the Petit Trianon, a small chateau on the palace grounds at Versailles where she lived her own life of amusement.
The women refused to leave Versailles until the king met their most important demand—to return to Paris. Not too happily, the king agreed. The next morning, the crowd, with the king and his family in tow, set out for the city. At the head of the procession rode women perched on the barrels of seized cannons. They told bewildered spectators that they were bringing Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and their son back to Paris. “Now we won’t have to go so far when we want to see our king,” they sang. Crowds along the way cheered the king, who now wore the tricolor. In Paris, the royal family moved into the Tuileries (twee luh reez) palace. For the next three years, Louis was a virtual prisoner.
Church Reforms
The National Assembly soon followed the king to Paris. Its largely bourgeois members worked to draft a constitution and to solve the continuing financial crisis. To pay off the huge government debt—much of it owed to the bourgeoisie—the Assembly voted to take over and sell Church lands.
In an even more radical move, the National Assembly put the French Catholic Church under state control. Under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, issued in 1790, bishops and priests became elected, salaried officials. The Civil Constitution ended papal authority over the French Church and dissolved convents and monasteries.
Reaction was swift and angry. Many bishops and priests refused to accept the Civil Constitution. The pope condemned it. Large numbers of French peasants, who were conservative concerning religion, also rejected the changes. When the government punished clergy who refused to support the Civil Constitution, a huge gulf opened between revolutionaries in Paris and the peasantry in the provinces.
A New Constitution and New Fears
The National Assembly completed its main task by producing a constitution. The Constitution of 1791 set up a limited monarchy in place of the absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries. A new Legislative Assembly had the power to make laws, collect taxes, and decide on issues of war and peace. Lawmakers would be elected by tax-paying male citizens over age 25.
To make government more efficient, the constitution replaced the old provinces with 83 departments of roughly equal size. It abolished the old provincial courts, and it reformed laws.
To moderate reformers, the Constitution of 1791 seemed to complete the revolution. Reflecting Enlightenment goals, it ensured equality before the law for all male citizens and ended Church interference in government. At the same time, it put power in the hands of men with the means and leisure to serve in government.
War with Austria
European rulers opposed the French Revolution because they were afraid that revolutionary ideas would spread to their own countries. European rulers were afraid of having their privileges, their property, their religion, and their lives threatened if the French revolutionary ideas were to spread. Even "enlightened" rulers turned against France.
With the Declaration of Pilnitz European rulers threatened to intervene to protect the French monarchy. The king of Prussia and the emperor of Austria (Marie Antoinette's brother) issued the Declaration of Pilnitz, threatening to intervene to protect the French monarchy.
The French declared war on Austria, Prussia, Britain, and others, which caused those great powers expected an easy victory since France was divided by revolution, facing crises at home.
Rise of the Paris Commune
Paris, too, was in turmoil. As the capital and chief city of France, it was the revolutionary center. A variety of factions, or dissenting groups of people, competed to gain power. Moderates looked to the Marquis de Lafayette, the aristocratic “hero of two worlds” who fought alongside George Washington in the American Revolution. Lafayette headed the National Guard, a largely middle-class militia organized in response to the arrival of royal troops in Paris. The Guard was the first group to don the tricolor—a red, white, and blue badge that was eventually adopted as the national flag of France.
A more radical group, the Paris Commune, replaced the royalist government of the city. It could mobilize whole neighborhoods for protests or violent action to further the revolution. Newspapers and political clubs—many even more radical than the Commune—blossomed everywhere. Some demanded an end to the monarchy and spread scandalous stories about the royal family and members of the court.
Reading Check
Evaluating
What was the significance of the Constitution of 1791?
Preview
Section 2 Radical Revolution and Reaction
1. Using print and Internet sources (a reference to La Marseilloise is made above, an English translation is also available), familiarize yourself with the lyrics to The Marseillaise, God Save the Queen (not the pop version),
and The Star Spangled Banner. How do they vary in subject matter, tone, theme, and style, and how are they similar?
Not required, but if helpful, create a chart listing your findings.
Bibliographic resources for the French Revolution
Previous to or the buildup to the Revolution
Cf. The Coming of the French Revolution (Princeton Classic Editions)
by Georges Lefebvre.
The Fall of the French Monarchy 1787-1792 (The French Revolution) by Michel Vovelle.
Great Fear of 1789
by Georges Lefebvre.
General works on the Revolution
The Crowd in the French Revolution (Galaxy Books) by George Rude.
A Short History of the French Revolution, 1789-1799 by Albert Soboul.
The Abolition Of Feudalism: Peasants, Lords, And Legislators In The French Revolution, by John Markoff.
Interpreting the French Revolution by Francois Furet.
Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution by Simon Schama.
The Radical Revolution
The Sans-Culottes
by Albert Soboul.
The Vendee: A Sociological Analysis of the Counter-Revolution of 1793 by Charles Tilly.
Revolutionary Themes After the Revolution
Reflections on the Revolution in France (Oxford World's Classics) by Edmund Burke.
The Age of Revolution: 1789-1848 by Eric Hobsbawm.
Work and Revolution in France: The Language of Labor from the Old Regime by William H. Sewell Jr.
The Course in German History by A.J.P. Taylor.
References:
Chapter 10 Test Prep page
Cf. http://shanawiki.wikispaces.com/Honors+World+History+II+Fall+2010+Chapter+10+Test+Prep+Page
These questions may be--but there is no guarantee--on the Test. They are here as possible questions on the Test for study purposes.
The Enlightenment and the American Revolution (1700–1800)
Philosophy in the Age of Reason
Cf. http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.gotoWebCode&wcprefix=naa&wcsuffix=1719
Enlightenment Ideas Spread Self-Test
Cf. http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.gotoWebCode&wcprefix=naa&wcsuffix=1729
Birth of the American Republic Self-Test
Cf. http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.gotoWebCode&wcprefix=naa&wcsuffix=1739
Chapter Self-Test
Cf. http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.gotoWebCode&wcprefix=naa&wcsuffix=1749
Sec. 1 The French Revolution Begins
Cf. http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.gotoWebCode&wcprefix=nba&wcsuffix=1811
On the Eve of Revolution
Cf. http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.gotoWebCode&wcprefix=nba&wcsuffix=1811
And, additional questions.
Cf. http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.gotoWebCode&wcprefix=nba&wcsuffix=1821
HW: email (or hard copy) me at gmsmith@shanahan.org.
Monday HW
1. p. 336, #1-3
Email only if you answer (i.e., you voluntarily choose to participate):
Last week what I liked least about the class was . . .
Last week what I enjoyed most about the class was . . .
Reminder: Ch. 11 Sec. 1 Quiz is on Tuesday.
Ch. 11 Sec. 1 Quiz is on Tuesday.
