Romanticism

Thesis: Romantics argued that the rationalism of the thinkers of the Enlightenment made humans souless thinking machines and reduced nature to a lifeless system of cogs and pulleys. They believed the Enlightenment's mechanistic view of the world and human nature chained the human spirit and creativity.
-William Wordsworth's "Tables Turned" expressed a desire to put away books and let nature be your teacher of wisdom and morality.
-William Blake's "Milton" saw Reason as a scab on the immortal soul and the source of doubting Christianity and mocking eternal life.
-Philosophes approaced the world in a scientific and analytical way, while romantics asserted the value of emotions and imagination.
-Philosophes thought emotion obstructed clear thinking, but romantics saw feeling and imagination as the human essence, source of creativity, and the path to true understanding.
-They held that artists, musicians, and writers must not be held by textbook rules
-They urged individuality and freedom of expression in the arts
-Artist and poet succeeded the scientist in the age of Romanticism as the arbiters of Western Civilization.

John Stuart Mill: On Liberty

Thesis: John Stuart Mill is a fierce defender of Liberalism, and believes in the inviolable right of all adults to do as they please, as long as they accept the rights of others.

-Toleration is essential to behaving rationally, morally and civilly.

-Mill believes in a "harm policy" , that is, if one is not physically harming another, or their livelihood their actions are legal.

-Mill is a defender of the individual and his ability to govern himself.

-Government can only serve to hinder the growth of an individual, who know better what their needs are and how to best fulfill them.

-Government should never seek to silence the voice of the people, nor should it be affected by public opinion alone.

Joseph de Maistre

Rob Edwards

Joseph de Maistre: “Essay on the Generative Principle f Political Constitutions”

Thesis: Joseph de Maistre critiqued the phiposophes, the French Revolution, and manufactured constitutions by claiming that constitutional law can only be the development or sanction of a pre-existing and unwritten law.

• It was erroneous to believe that a political constitution could be created and written where reason and experience unite in proving that a constitution is a divine work and that precisely the most fundamental and essentially constitutional of a nation's laws could not possibly be written

• The fundamental principles of political constitutions exist prior to all written law

• constitutional law can only be the development or sanction of a pre-existing law

• it is foolish to think that law can be created just with a pen and paper

• Without Christianity, people become brutalized, and civilization degenerates into anarchy

• Religion alone civilizes nations. No other known force can influence the savage

• Science will brutalize humanity

• Man cannot create a constitution, and no legitimate constitution can be written

Perry J. S. Mill on Classical Liberalism

MEHAP Andrew Fortugno

Perry J. S. Mill on Classical Liberalism

Thesis: J.S. Mill, in his defense of intellectual freedom in On Liberty, argue that everyman is entitled to his own opinion on all subject matters no matter what the majority favors.

1. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), prominent British philosopher

a. No individual or Government has no monopoly over truth

b. Toleration of opposing and unpopular viewpoints is a necessary trait in order for a person to become rational, moral, and civilized.

2. Essay asserts one very simple principle, “That principle is that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number is self protection”.

a. Only power that can be exercised over any civilized member of society, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.

b. “Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign”

3. Appropriate region of human liberty comprises

a. Inward domain of consciousness

b. Thought and feeling

c. Absolute freedom of opinion and sentiment on all subjects

i. Practical

ii. Speculative

iii. Scientific

iv. Moral

v. Theological

4. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest

5. The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is that it is robbing the human race, posterity, as the existing generation, those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it.

"Essay on the Generative Principle of Political Constitutions" Maistre

“Essay on the Generative Principle of Political Constitutions”

By J. de Maistre

Thesis: Maistre writes this criticism concerning the philosophes, French Revolution, and manufactured constitutions

• The greatest error – to believe that a political constitution could be created and written a priori
• Common belief - that a constitution was the work of the intellect
• 18^th century didn’t produce any talent who did not make three things when he left school: an educational system, a constitution, and a world
• Believes that fundamental principles of political constitutions exist prior to all written laws; therefore, constitutional law is and can only be the development or sanction of a pre-existing and unwritten law
• He is a great fool, who believes himself to be able to establish a clear and lasting doctrine
• Whoever writes the laws or civil constitutions in the belief that he can give them adequate conviction and stability because he has written them, he disgraces himself, whether or no other people say so
• Showing an ignorance of nature of inspiration and delirium, right and wrong, good and evil
• Ignorance is shameful
• Man cannot create a constitution, and no legitimate constitution can be written
• Religion alone civilizes a nation
• If guidance of education is not returned to the priests, and if science is not uniformly relegated to a subordinate rank, evils await us
• Impiety became a true force in first half of eighteenth century
• It manifests itself everywhere

Demands for Economic Justice -Babeuf

• The reformers of 1789 sought to make a constitutional government that limited the monarch's power, protected individual rights, ended the special privileges of the aristocracy, etc.
• However, alleviating the hardships of the poor was not of concern
• Sans-culottes demanded that the government increase wages, set price controls, and punish food speculators and profiteers
• 1795 a new constitution that established a five-member directory was established
• Still the discontent of the poor was not answered
• Babeuf's conspiracy of the equals
• Conspired the reestablish the constitution of 1793 and the overthrow of the directory
• Attack on the mistreatment of the poor and call for the abolition of private property
• The organization of a secret society attempting to overthrow the government heralds revolutionary movements in the 19th and 20th centuries
• Only such a radical move would end the tyranny of the rich over the poor
• "A man only becomes rich through the spoliation of others"

Society of the Friends of Blacks

• The society derives its mission from the humanity that induced it to defend the lacks
• The assembly had declared that all men are born and remain free and equal in rights
• Restored these rights to the French people after despotism had spoiled these rights for them
• The society says they're not asking for the restoration of the political rights or even freedom of the blacks
• Say that this would actually be detrimental to the operation of the colonies
• Slavery and the colonies' prosperity are inseparable
• Immediate emancipation of the blacks would be a deadly gift
• Not yet time to demand liberty, only that the butchering of thousands of blacks to take hundreds of captives cease
• Ceasing of the use of the French name to authorize these thefts and atrocious murders
• Demand the abolition of the slave trade
• Say that other countries (like England) are not far off from doing the same

Jefferson, DOI

Wow, sorry this is so late I've totally forgotten to post my Perry's on the blog...

Declaration of Independence

• Written to justify the American's break with the British motherland

• embodied principles that were familiar to English statesmen and intellectuals

• Articulated clearly Locke's philosophy of natural rights (life, liberty, and property as essential individual rights)

• "pursuit of happiness" substituted for property

• Locke's view of human nature and the origin and true purpose of political authority, along with the people's right of rebellion

The Levy in Mass

Thesis: When fighting against foreign invaders, the Jacobin regime’s ideals of universal male suffrage and rights formed the basis of a system of conscription that went on to characterize modern warfare.

-No exemption from the army, all men and women are required to serve the state army

-Increased power of the state- Ministry of Public Safety given the power to take over industries for the state’s armed services requirements

-State tasked a system of dividing those who are conscripted and placing them in service relative to their respective region

-Required uniform standards such as the bearing of the phrase “The French people risen against tyrants:

-Tax levied on all individuals with no exemptions in order to pay for the state army

Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Women

Thesis: In her piece "Vindicatino of the Rights of Women", Wollstonecraft attacks the restrictions set up by men as immoral and against the Reason that the new France is to be founded upon.

I. Neglected Education
A. Conduct and manners of women prove that they are not in a healthy state. Likely from lack of education.
B. False system of education based from books written by men.
II. Women viewed physically inferior to men (by men)
III. Strength/Mind - Importance of improvement/Restriction by men
A. The strengthening of these aspects for women is surrendered to the libertine pursuit of beauty.
B. Women hindered by marriage being the only way for them to rise in the world.
C. Wollstonecraft's belief: If women are not prepared by education, they will stop the progress of knowledge and virtue.
D. Without education, women can not be true patriots, and thus can not pass that trait down to their children.
E. Women unable to improve mind and physical strength as a result of man's "crushing" of reason.
F. Attack of the New Constitution - If the French plan to be truly Democratic, then they can not restrict women, or they will always be in that way tyrannical.
G. Men only treat women as trust servants and only love a woman on account of her sex.
H. Women are restricted to menial professions, and thus are kept from learning about them.
IV. Final idea: If men were to cut their restrictive "chains," then women will be more observant, affectionate, and faithful. The women deserve their rights, and it is the fact that they are not receiving them that causes their extreme dissatisfaction.

"Political leaders committed to radical or extremist goals often exert authoritarian control in the name of higher values"

Through the reign of terror, Robespierre and other leading jacobins exerted authoritarian control in order to keep the unity of France and the rights of man.

I. Intro

A. Background to the Terror

1. Mountains expel Girondins from the National Convention

2. Robespierre and the Girondins take control

B.Convention under attack

1. under pressure from extremists to the left and right

II. "Reign of Terror"

A. Repression of "counterrevolution"

1. revolutionary courts used instead of lynch law

2. committee of general security acts as political police

B. Committee of Public Safety

1. designed to protect republic from internal enemies

2. joint dictatorship and war cabinet

C. Levee en masse

1. calling all able bodied men to rally for the republic

III. Results of the Terror

A. Secessionists in the west

1. Vendee and other provinces attempt to revolt

2. rebellions put down by revolutionary armies and rebels are killed

B. Dechristianization of the herbertists

1. alienate many catholics from the republic

2. Robespierre creates the cult of the Supreme Being

IV. War during the Terror

A.National Army

1. largest army ever in Europe

B.Victories in the Netherlands

1. institute a republic in Belgium

C.Downfall of dictatorial rule

1. with military successes, French are less willing to put up with the Reign of Terror

V. Fall of Robespierre

1. Robespierre is outlawed for antagonizing significant parties

2. guillotined on Thermidor 9

Robespierre- Republic of Virtue

Speech given February 5, 1794
French people are fighting for the enjoyment of liberty, equality, and a reign of eternal justice
All people will desire to serve their great nation (Patriotism)
France will become a model for all other nations to follow
-Only a democratic or republican government can accomplish these goals
-people MUST be sovereign rather than corrupt kings and nobles
To accomplish this, France must first fight a war of liberty against tyranny
-The Terror
Laws will be the natural laws of man and of nature
-All vices lead to monarchy
France will be driven by virtue and terror
-Virtue without terror is destructive
-Terror without virtue is impotent
LIBERTY OF FRANCE MUST COME FIRST

Sieyes- Bourgeois Disdain for Special Privleges of the Aristocracy

Bourgeois Disdain for the Special Privileges of the Aristocracy
Three Questions
-What is the Third Estate? Everything
-What has it been until now in the polictical order? Nothing
-What does it want to be? Something
First and second estate look down on the third and prevent them from holding any power
Government in France was created to help those who govern rather than the governed
The higher post are taken by incompetent people, but the lower are taken by the hard workers
-this hurts the nation as a whole
"Like having a strong man, but chaining up his arms"
-Third Estate is the arms
-First and Second are the chains
The nobility is a burden and a foreigner
What is a nation?
-A body of Associates living under common laws and represented by the same legislative
assembly
FRANCE NEEDS TO GET RID OF THE NOBILITY

Babeuf - Conspiracy of the Equals

Babeuf argues for the abolition of private property and the institution of a socialist system where all property is commonly owned in order to eliminate class economic differences that plague the majority.

• The majority (peasants) are suffering and starving because an inordinate amount of wealth is concentrated in the privileged classes
• A truly just social order requires that all must be perfectly equal economically
• In the state of nature, men tend to dominate others and form social strata – therefore, the purpose of the state is to eliminate such strata by promoting common economic prosperity
• Private landownership violates the natural law that men must be equal, and so all property must be in the public domain
• Higher wages for more intense work are unjust because the excess wealth is not needed, and wages should reflect only what a person needs
• To support all of these precepts, a political system must be formed that suppresses private property, gives jobs to the people who are best at them, requires that workers contribute their income to a common store, and distributes basic necessities to all
• Such a system already exists in the army and so would be practical on a large scale

Robespierre: Republic of Virtue

In a 1794 speech, Maximilien Robespierre delivered a speech in which he equated democracy with virtue and justified the use of terror in defending democracy. Here are his main points:

· Democracy is a state where the sovereign people, guided by laws of their own making, do for themselves everything that they can do well, and by means of delegates everything that they cannot do for themselves.

· In order to achieve this, they must complete the war of liberty against tyranny

· Weakness, vices, and prejudices are the road to monarchy

· The first political maxim should be the one that guides the people by reason, and the enemies of the people by terror

· If the driving force of popular government in peacetime is virtue, that of popular government during a revolution is both virtue and terror.

· Virtue is impotent without terror; likewise, terror without virtue is destructive

Edmund Burke, "Reflections on the Revolution in France"

Rob Edwards

Edmund Burke, “Reflections on the Revolution in France”

Thesis: In Burke's “Reflections,” he laid the foundation for modern conservative thought by stating that without established authority, people revert to savagery.

• Doesn't share the faith of the philosophes in human goodness

• By undermining venerable institutions, the revolutionaries had opened the door to anarchy and terror

• The French people are acting completely irrationally and are becoming unnecessarily violent

• By following all of their false revolutionary ideas, they have “bought calamities at a higher price than any nation has purchased the most unequivocal blessings”

• spirit of a gentleman and the spirit of religion are the only two things that connect man to society with its manners and goodness

• Burke then compares the english people with the French Revolutionaries

• Individuals would do better to avail themselves of the general band and capital of nations and of ages

Emmanuel Sieyes; Bourgeois Disdain for Special Privileges of the Aristocracy

Emmanuel Sieyes

Bourgeois Disdain for Special Privileges of the Aristocracy

Jamie Joyce

• Plan:

· What is the Third Estate? Everything

· What has it been until now in the political order? Nothing

· What does it want to be? Something

• We can’t give the nobles credit for taking the honorific posts because members of the Third Estate do have a desire to fill them
• · “No matter how useful you are, no matter how able you are, you can go so far and no further. Honors are not for the like of you”

· The nobles don’t even help the state –all of the arduous tasks in the service are performed by the Third Estate

· What is the Third Estate? All that is fettered and oppressed and would be free and flourishing without the privileged order

· The nobility is a foreigner in our mist

· The nation is a body of associates living under common laws

Major Social Groups in France

Thesis: On the eve of the 1789 Revolution in France, there were multiple social groups all seeking reforms for their betterment in this revolution, but while some reached their aspirations, others did not.

1. First Estate- Clergy

-had large role in France, but not any larger than Britain

-1789- about 100,000 Catholic clergy in France

-collectively owned between 5% and 10% of land

-initially joined with rebelling parties

-later did not reach aspirations- forced to swear loyalty to new constitution, renounce papacy

-refractory priests went against revolutionary government

-hundreds slaughtered in September massacres

2. Second Estate- Nobility

-1789- about 400,000 including women and children

-enjoyed big resurgence since 1715, death of Louis XIV

-exempt from most taxes

-also hurt by Revolution- bourgeois began to mock rather than lionize them, eventually resulting in their removal from power

3. Third Estate- Commoners

-vast majority of French population

-led by bourgeois, who mingled with nobility

-had been hurt greatly economically

-between 1730's-1780's prices rose 65% but wages only rose 22%

-third estate benefited most from revolution

-enjoyed popular sovereignty, had much larger role in government

-agrarian sector finally emerged completely from old feudal tradition

-no longer had to pay dues to nobility

Diderot: Encyclopedia

Thesis: Diderot explains that the purpose of an encyclopedia is to collect scattered knowledge and present it in a general outline so that future generations with this knowledge will become more virtuous and happy, discouraging the ills of society and encouraging the good.
Ι. Method of Creating an Encyclopedia
A. Overcoming Barriers 1. Rejection of prior conceptions a. All things must be examined and investigated without consideration of feelings b. Overturn barriers yet untouched by reason c. Intellectual Daring needed B. Goal 1. Triumph of Reason a. Create a reasoning age when men seek rules in nature, not in classical authors
ΙΙ. Discouraging the Bad A. Learn from Mistakes 1. History a. A knowledge of History prevents a repetition of its mistakes B. Evil Behavior 1. Fanaticism a. Fanaticism is a blind zeal for superstitions b. Those who commit these cruel actions feel some kind of joy c. Education discourages fanatics 2. Intolerance a. Any method to stir up men to arms is impious b. People must be enlightened, not restrained
ΙΙΙ. Encouraging the Good
A. Fruits of Education
1. Government a. Good of people is the good of government b. Government has no right to oppress people 2. Humanity and Peace a. War is the result of man’s depravity b. If reason governed them, they would refrain from it c. Humanity encourages one to care for men and abolish evils 3. Political Authority a. Prince owes the authority he has from his subjects b. Prince is limited by laws of nature and state.

“Letters to the Grand Duchess of Christina”

Thesis: In Galileo’s letter to the Grand Duchess of Christina, he asserts that passages from the Bible have no authority in scientific disputes and discoveries and that although Aristotle’s model of the universe may be wrong, he should still be appreciated as a great philosopher.
Ι. Defense of his Scientific Discovery
A. His Discovery
1. Earth revolves around sun not vice versa
a. They were always there, he did not put them there
b. Increase of known truths stimulates investigation, establishment, and growth of the arts, not their destruction
c. Copernicus relied on physical conclusions, not faith
d. God gave us intellect so we could use it.
2. Common sense of his teachings
a. Men of astronomical knowledge immediately accepted what he said.
b. If the people would charge him for heresy would simply look, they would be
unable to deny it.
ΙΙ. Bible has no authority on this matter
A. Absurdity of their argument
1. Knowledge is bad
a. Those who firmly hold on to the complete truth of the Bible believe to gain wisdom is somehow sinful b. Scripture is only source of argument against him c. Taking advantage of seduced masses to fight against him. 2. Vagueness a. Bible is very vague at points; hard to be taken literally b. His discoveries do not contradict the Bible if it is interpreted correctly 3. Missing the Point a. Those who see his discoveries as an attack on the truth of the Bible are forgetting its true message: the salvation of their souls through Jesus Christ
ΙΙΙ. Authority of Aristotle
A. Teachings are important, but not critical
1. Self Philosophy a. People should be their own guides in search of truth 2. His error a. He was wrong because of lack of scientific knowledge at the time B. Still good to study him 1. Philosopher a. He applauds study of his philosophy b. Just don’t blindly follow what he says c. People who study him should be historians, not philosophers

Abuses of the Old Regime

By 1789, the Third Estate sought a new social order based on rationality and equality, sparked by their disdain and overall disapproval of the Old Regime and its inefficiency.

· The Third estate resented the special privileges of the aristocracy, a legacy of the Middle Ages, and the inefficient and corrupt methods of government.

· French peasants, weakened by the poor harvest in 1788-89 and worsened inflation, only served to exacerbate situations in which they were already paying too high of taxes

· The Third Estate found grievances in the Judicial, Financial, and Agricultural Systems

· Even the upper Bourgeoisie disdained the nobility and their privileges

National Convention, The Levy in Mass

Excerpts from The Levy in Mass, decreed by the National Convention on August 16, 1793

As part of their broader efforts to consolidate France both socially and politically into a purer "Republic of Virtue," the Jacobins mandated the conscription of young men in an effort to create a powerful, patriotic military machine.

Political context

By this time, Robespierre and his faction of Montagnards were controlling policy in the National Convention

Ideologically, the Mountain believed that a Republican state could only be formed if the populace possessed the "virtue" to maintain it-- an idea borrowed from the writings of Montesquieu and Rousseau

The group had two main priorities in the short term:

1. Restore internal stability: the "counterrevolution" was raging in the countryside, and the Convention needed to re-centralize the authority of the state

2. Push outward: the Mountain realized France's precarious strategic position. On one hand, they had to parry looming threats from the east; at the same time, many hoped to spread the values of the Revolution to Belgium and other neighboring areas

The Levy in Mass: a political necessity?

Establishing a large army became an immediate priority--it was simply necessary for the Jacobin agenda

The Levy itself extends far beyond a conscription: it even engages the non-fighting to participate in the functioning of the military machine

The new French army was both a military and an ideological weapon. Every battalion was organized under the banner, "The French people risen against tyrants"

To accomplish these lofty goals, the Levy gave clear authority to officials and bureaucrats to enforce the will of the Convention

In many ways, ahead of its time

The Jacobins foreshadowed the usage of conscription to quickly and efficiently build an army

In addition, they helped crystallize the feelings of national patriotism (which would become important in all European nations throughout the following eras of history)

Arthur Young, Plight of the French Peasants

Arthur Young, excerpts from his Travels
[Perry pp. 100-102]

In his travels throughout the French countryside, Englishman Arthur Young observes the struggles of the Third Estate and blames their deplorable condition on the negligence of aristocratic and governmental institutions.

The author's perspective

1. As an Englishman: it is reasonable to assume that he is biased against France simply because of the intense rivalry which existed between that country and Great Britain. However, he likely offers a more objective assessment than most Frenchmen because he was not directly involved in the conflict.

2. As an agricultural expert: Eventually appointed as Minister of Agriculture, Young was intimately acquainted with both the social and economic implications of agriculture in his own country. Thus, he has enough credibility to be trusted as a valid source about government policy.

Injustices committed against the French Peasants

He mentions many, including:

1. An unfair tax code which makes the lower classes bear the brunt of the tax burden

2. A unnecessarily harsh legal code

3. Capitaineries, or exclusive hunting rights, which indirectly lead to the decimation of crops

4. A legal system completely ignorant of the Third Estate's concerns

All these atrocities are caused by an oppressive social system

Young traces all the problems back to the institutions of French society: nobility, and government

Neither, he argues, is connected enough to society to adequately serve the Third Estate

Interestingly enough, he argues that the regionalized system of authority (with the intendents) actually exacerbates the oppressiveness of government

He quickly realizes that these obsolete vestiges of a feudal system, long since eliminated across the Channel, were leading France on a path to destruction

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

Put forth by National Assembly of France, August 26, 1789

1. All men are born equal, social distinctions can only be founded upon general good.

2. The state exists to protect the following rights of man: liberty, property, security, resistance to oppression

3. Sovereignty resides in the nation

4. Liberty is the freedom to do anything that injures no one else

5. Law can only prevent that which hurts society

6. Law is the expression of the general will

7. No one can be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except according to the law

8. Law can only set forth punishments that are obviously necessary

9. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty

10. No one can be persecuted due to his opinions, unless those opinions are harmful to society

11. Freedom of speech is a natural right

12. The security of these rights requires public military forces

13. Taxes should be based on one's economic situation

14. All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as to the necessity of taxes

15. Society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration.

16. A society with no separation of powers or assured law has no constitution

17. No one shall be deprived of the right of property unless demanded by public necessity

Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen

Adopting many Enlightenment philosophies such as the idea of natural rights and the social contract, the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen, a fundamental document in the French Revolution, defined a set of universal rights collective to all three estates.

1. Men are equal in rights - any social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.

2. goal of all political association is the preservation of natural rights - liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression

3. sovereignty resides in the nation - no body cannot exercise any authority not proceeded from the nation.

4. Liberty = freedom to do anything that doesnt harm others

5. Law can only prohibit actions harmful to society

6. Law is the expression of the general will of every citizen

7. No one will be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in cases prescribed by the law

8. Law shall provide punishments necessary

9. All persons are held innocent until proven guilty, law represses any harshness to prisoners not yet found guilty.

10. No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions

11. Free communication of ideas and opinions is a key right of man

12. Security of man and citizen requires public military forces

13. common contribution is essential for maintenance of public forces and costs of administration

14. citizens have the right to decide their representation

15. society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration

16. a society where law is not observed, has no constitution

17. property is an inviolable and sacred right - shall not be deprived

Petition of the Jews

The Petition of the Jews was submitted to the National Assembly of France after the revolution, in hopes of gaining citizenship for the Jews of Paris, Alsace, and Lorraine.

- The persecution of the Jews is an ongoing theme throughout Europe's history.

- The Jews of France felt that with the radical changes of the revolution, which were tearing down the morays of the Old Regime daily, should also grant them citizenship.

-The Jews point to Protestants in France as an argument for their freedom from persecution, saying that although Protestants are religious minorities, they are not persecuted and forced to pay fees to live in certain places.

-The fact that the Jews were granted the rights of citizens shows the social advancements due to the revolution.

-The other nations of Europe soon followed this example and granted citizenship to the Jews within their nations as well.

Address to the National Assembly for the Abolition of the Slave Trade

Thesis: The Society of the Friends of Blacks uses the ideas of freedom and equality implemented by the National Assembly shortly after the French Revolution to convince them to end the slave trade.

І. Using their own ideas
A. History of New Assembly
1. Rights of Man
a. Declared all men are born free and equal
b. Restored rights to French people that despotism has denied
c. Broken the chains of feudalism
d. Destroyed distinctions set on by religious or political prejudices
2. Important Question
a. Should this apply to whites alone, while blacks are still in chains?
ІІ. Slander used against them
A. Greed
1. Shipowners
a. Their own greed makes them stir people against them
b. Want to provoke planters
c. Convince the French that prosperity of colonies depends on slave trade
ІІІ. Moderate Demands
A. End of Slave Trade
1. Not an end to slavery itself
a. Ending slavery abruptly would be bad for blacks
b. It would be an abandonment
2. End the slaughter
a. Simply don’t want thousands of Africans to die simply to get a few hundred captives
B. Easier Way
1. Ease burden on slaves in West Indies
a. If you did not work them to death, they would reproduce
b. You wouldn’t have to get new captives from Africa
c. It would be better for both slave and master in the long run

"Levy in Mass"

“The Levy in Mass”

Thesis: Because the Jacobins mobilized the nation’s material and human resources and demonstrated administrative skill believing that terror was neceeary to rescue Republic and Revolution from destruction, they heralded the emergence of modern warfare; therefore, this levy in mass (by Jacobins) was decreed on August 16, 1793.

• Until enemies have been driven from territory of Republic, the French ppl are in control of army service
• Young men shall go to battle; married men shall gather arms and transport provisions; women shall make tents and clothes and serve in hospitals; children shall turn old linen into lint; old men shall repair to public places to stimulate courage of warriors and preach unity of Republic
• National buildings shall be converted into barracks
• Arms of caliber shall be turned over to those who march against the enemy
• Saddle horses are called to complete cavalry corps; draught horses shall haul artillery and provisions
• Committee of Public Safety is charged with taking all measures necessary for establishing a special manufacture of arms and is authorized to constitute all establishments
• Representatives of the ppl dispatched for execution of present law shall have authority in repective3 sections acting in concert with Committee of Public safety
• No one may obtain a substitute in service to which he is summoned
• Levy shall be general - unmarried citizens or childless widowers shall go frist; they shall meet at chief town and await departure
• Representative of people shall regulate the marches so as to have armed citizens arrive at points of assembling
• Battalion organized in each district shall be united under banner bearing the inscription: “French People risen against tyrants”
• Owners, farmers, shall be required to pay arrears of taxes
• Minister of War is responsible for taking all measures necessary for prompt execution of present decree
• Present decree shall be conveyed to the departments by special messengers

Grievances of Third Estate

“Grievances of the Third Estate”

Thesis: Hoping the reform government and the French society, the Third Estate forgot its misfortunes and expressed their sentiment for the king to accept their list of grievances, complaints, and concerns.

• Wishes
• Subjects of the third estate are equal and that there is no social distinction
• The three estates work together in united effort to contribute to the needs of the state equally
• No citizen lose his liberty; no arrest without proper cause
• Govt should not intercept mail and detain citizens in case of conspiracy against the state
• Property of citizen should remain inviolable
• Personal tax should be abolished (capitation, taille, vingtiemes)
• Any tax should be borne equally without distinction of social classes
• Tax of corvee should be borne by all classes of citizens equally and without distinction

• Wishes for Justice
• Administration of justice be reformed by restoring execution of ordinances, or by reforming sections of welfare
• Venality of offices should be stopped
• Number of offices in courts should be reduced
• Study of law should be reformed
• General customary law should be drafted of all articles common to all custom
• Deliberations in court, which prevent third estate from having a say, should be changed
• Military ordinances should not continue a degrading distinction between officers born into nobility and those born into third estate

• Wishes for Finance
• Fees of aides should be made uniform throughout the entire kingdom and reduced
• Tax of gabelle should be eliminated or regulated
• Taxes on hides should be suppressed
• All useless offices in police or administration should be abolished

• Wishes for agriculture
• Right to hunt should never affect property of citizen
• Individuals and community should be permitted to free themselves from rights of banalite and corvee by payments
• Militia should be suppressed and replaced by voluntary enlistment at expense of provinces for they are destructive

Perry, Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France

Excerpts from Burke’s Reflections

Main Idea

Burke regards the revolutionaries as fanatics who uprooted all established authority, tradition, and institutions, thereby plunging France into anarchy.

Take on the Revolutionaries

He believed that the revolutionaries acted as if they had never been a product of civil society. In his opinion they acted as if in the human state of nature of which he had very low regard unlike the Philosophes.

He conveys that if the revolutionaries had looked at their ancestors rather than the skin deep status quo they would have realized in them a standard of virtue and wisdom, beyond the vulgar practice of the hour

He says that no man can possibly grasp all the workings of government no matter how smart he is and how long he studies it. No single man can understand all the things that make a strong and sturdy government such a government.

He says that it should be with infinite caution that any man out to venture to pull down a government that has withstood the test of time and supported such civilization and society as France and expect to build it up again without trusted models or plans.

Compares them to the English

He says that thanks to this revolution there is no innovation and a deep sluggishness in the national character of France. He mentions that the French Revolutionaries are not the converts of Rousseau, the disciples of Voltaire, or students of Helvetius. These are each philosophes that led to great progress in the thinking of Englishmen that the French now lack,

He mentions that the French are afraid to allow the government to rely on the reasoning of individual because individuals only have a small amount of reason and that individuals would do better to avail themselves to the general bank general bank of reason and the nations capital of reason accumulated over the ages.

Conclusions

Burke is anti revolutionary

He is pro absolutionism

He has a low esteem for the human state of nature

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens

I. National Assembly of France set forth several natural, imprescriptible and unalienable rights

II. Men are born free and equal in respect of their rights

III. End of all political associations is the preservation of the natural rights of man: liberty, property, security and resistance of oppression

IV. Nation is the source of all sovereignty

V. Political liberty is the power of doing whatever does not injure another

VI. Law ought to prohibit only actions hurtful to society

VII. Law is an expression of the will of the community

VIII. Punishment should be in accordance with the law

IX. All men are innocent until proven guilty

X. No man ought to be molested on account of his opinions

XI. All men are provided with freedom of speech

XII. The public force shall be instituted to protect the rights of the community

XIII. Taxes should be divided equally among all people, according to ability

XIV. Every citizen has a right to determining the necessity of public contributions

XV. Every community has a right to demand an account of all agent's conduct

XVI. Right to property is invariable and sacred

Mary Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Women

Mary Wollstonecraft argues that equal education between sexes is morally required and would greatly benefit society.

1. Education
1. Men stifle women’s education in order to subjugate them further and make them “alluring mistresses rather than affectionate wives and rational mothers”
2. All humans are gifted with reason and so have a right to education
3. Elegance (what men impress upon women) is inferior to virtue and character
4. Women must be virtuous and rational in order to teach their children the same
5. In rebuttal to those who argue that education is against the “sexual character” of women, Wollstonecraft argues that education makes women pleasant, honest, sensible, and friendly people
2. Social Life
1. Women must devote their time to making themselves beautiful and talented, more attractive to men
2. Marriage is the only way women can move up in the world
3. Women should be able to hold occupations if they wish, such as nursing, politics, and business
4. Women would be a valuable asset to the working world.

ociety of Friends-Address to the National Assembly in Favor of he Abolition of the Slave Trade

MEHAP Andrew Fortugno

Perry-Society of Friends-Address to the National Assembly in Favor of he Abolition of the Slave Trade

Thesis: The Society of Friends addressing the National Assembly do not attempt to abolish slavery itself but only to abolish the slave trade off the coast of Africa.

1. Derives its mission from the humanity that induced it to defend the blacks even under the past despotism

a. Tells the Assembly it goes along with the rights of man in which it avenged in its decrees

b. The Assembly holds the rights of man so high

2. Society of Friends not asking for black liberty or political rights that attest to and maintain the dignity of man.

a. Greed of ship owners slanders and attempts to stir up everyone against them.

b. The ship owners also want to alarm all the French that the prosperity of the colonies rest of the slave trade and perpetuity of slavery

3. Society of Friends recognizes that immediate emancipation of blacks would be a fatal operation for the colonies and even a deadly gift for the blacks.

4. No time to demand that liberty; we ask only that one cease butchering thousands of blacks regularly every year in order to take hundreds of captives.

5. Reason that colonist need to recruit blacks in Africa to sustain population is because they work and beat them to death.

6. Not far off being abolished in England, it is condemned in public opinion

7. Raises the question if the blacks were pushed in to insurrection, then should it be to the indifference of the National Assembly because it would for the rights of man they claimed for their own revolution.

Sieyes: Bourgeois Disdain for Special Privileges of the Aristocracy

Sieyes asserts that the nobility is a burden to the nation, and not even part of the nation itself. The honorific offices would be much better filled by those who have won the position on merit.

• Well-paid and honorific offices are currently filled by nobles (here called members of the privileged class). The only justification for their occupying of these positions is that the Third Estate is unable or unwilling to take up the offices themselves, but it is known that the Third Estate is perfectly able and willing to do so. The nobls, however, continue to keep them out, saying, "Honors are not for the like of you."
• The privileged order is not helping the government, those posts would be much better filled by those with recognized ability. This would be a system that is based on a meritocracy and infintely better.
• The Third Estate contains within itself all the necessary functions to constitue a nation, it is like a strong man who has been chained. If the nobles are removed, the Third Estate can carry on and progress better than before.
• Sieyes writes, "Nothing will go well without the Third Estate; everything would go considerably better without the two others."
• What is a nation? It is "a body of citizens living under common laws and represented by the same legislative assembly, etc. " According to this statement, the nobility is not even part of the nation because they live under different privileges and exemptions, the nobility calls these rights but they are actually factors that set them apart from the great body of citizens, they set themselves apart from the nation.

Timothy Bulso

Perry, Petition of the Jews

Thesis: During a time of great revolution and change, the question of whether or not Jews should be full citizens arose. It was decided that they had done nothing wrong and that religion really shouldn’t play a role in the civil rights of people.
I. Major question: Will Jews be citizens or not?
a. National Assembly agreed that the question must be answered by the adjournment of the assembly
b. Jews of Paris had petitioned the government several times
c. France decided that they should be full citizens
i. Started a wave throughout Europe of the acceptance of Jews
II. Even more secular outlook
a. Religion should play no role in the rights of man (unless it was a violent or disruptive religion)
III. France looked at all the reasons for previous persecution of the Jews
a. Said that a lot of the reasons for persecution were absurd – often Christians did the same exact things
b. Jews were accused of usury
i. The Assembly pointed out that not all Jews were usurers
ii. Those that are usurers have been forced into that job
IV. This is the opportunity to end the persecution of Jews
a. There is already widespread uproar
b. Nobody will deny a persecuted people more rights
i. What everyone else is fighting for

Social and Political Conditions during Enlightenment

"How did the social and political conditions in the 18th c. Western Europe prior to 1788 influence the ideas of the Enlightenment?"

The 18th c. was a time of great prosperity for Western Europe, and was the Apex of the Monarchical State, many influential writers spread their ideas during this time and created what is known as the Enlightenment period.

-The classicism of 17th c. warfare made the disruption of society due to war much smaller.

-Writers such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu and other philosophes were very influential in shaping public opinion.

-The prosperity of the time, enjoyed more lavishly than every by the nobility, afforded people to make great material improvements.

-The writings of Newton, Hobbes, Locke and Descartes were all highly revered and refined during this time.

-The cosmopolitan feeling held by the upper classes of numerous nations contributed greatly to Enlightenment thought.

-The balance of power was fairly equal, which allowed a number of nations advance ideas, without political and intellectual refinement being dominated by one force, or too fragmented.

Jefferson, "Declaration of Independence"

Basic Idea:

Jefferson uses Locke ideas almost word for word to justify the colonies’ separation from Britain in the preamble to the “Declaration of Independence.”

Reason for Stating the Reason

In the first paragraph Jefferson states that when it becomes necessary for a nation to separate political ties to become separate but equal to which the laws of God and nature entitle them, it is also necessary to justify the reason for this step in the eyes of men.

Quotation Worth Noting

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Locke believed that life, liberty, and property were an individual’s essential natural rights, Jefferson substituted the “Pursuit of Happiness” for property.

Ideas on Government

Government derives its power from the consent of the governed.

It is the right of the people to alter or abolish government when it no longer serves its purpose, and to form new government that is keeping with the peoples’ ideas of government.

Governments long establish should not be changed for light and transient causes

Ideas on Governed

Mankind is more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable than to improve their position by changing their government.

When a long train of abuses and usurpations occurs to reduce the governed under a system of absolute despotism it is their right and even their duty to to throw off such government.

Application to the Colonies

The colonies are in the afore described situation in which it is necessary to throw off the government and form a new one.

The history of the King of Great Britain (King George III) is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations all having in object the establishment of and absolute tyranny over the states.

Therefore justifying the need to separate and form a separate and equal government.

Peter the Great vs. Catherine the Great

Thesis: Both Peter the Great and Catherine the Great enacted extensive political and social reform during their respective reigns, but while Peter was more successful with his social reform, Catherine was more successful with her political reform.

I. Peter's Political Reform

A. Put in place meritocracy

B. Replaced duma with senate, established 10 guberni

C. Made army modern, more European, state army

D. Not very successful- many of his reforms were repealed after he died

II. Catherine's Political Reform

A. Gave back lots of rights to the nobles, appeased them

B. Charter of Nobility- ended meritocracy, made alliance with nobility

C. Partitions of Poland, got ports on Black Sea

III. Peter's Social Reform

A. Westernized Russia, move away from Slavophile tradition

B. St. Petersburg- Russia looking to Europe, not Asia

C. Nobles became incredibly attuned to Western culture, mass of population remained "Old Believers"

D. Successful in that he brought Russia into the European sphere

IV. Catherine's Social Reform

A. Prime example of an enlightened despot

-followed developments of Enlightenment

B. Russia never really produced Enlightenment thought of their own

C. Restrictions on torture, religious toleration

D. In terms of cultural mindset she essentially built on what Peter had already started