Essay One
According to A History of World Societies, “The revolutionary era began in North America in 1775, where the United States won freedom from Britain in 1783” (653). Although several incidents led to the split between Great Britain and its colonies, the rift was created by the Seven Years’ War –which was fought by the British to protect the colonists. The high cost of the war left Great Britain in a state of economic crisis, and as a result, “The British government announced that it would maintain a large army in North America and tax the colonies directly” (McKay et al. 658).
Soon after, Parliament began to pass a number of unfair taxes such as the Stamp, Sugar, and Tea Acts, which enraged the colonists. The colonists protested those acts by rioting and boycotting British goods. Furthermore, after the Tea Act, which “secured a monopoly on the tea trade” (McKay et al. 659), several men, dressed as Indians, dumped gallons of tea into the Boston Harbor in an act which became known as the Boston Tea Party. In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts of 1774, which “closed down the harbor, curtailed local elections, and expanded the royal governor’s power” (McKay et al. 659).
As a result, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, which "boldly listed the tyrannical acts committed by King George III and proclaimed the natural rights of mankind and the sovereignty of the American states" (McKay et al. 659). Consequently, a war ensued. Surprisingly, Britain surrendered in 1781, as the war became too costly and pointless for them to continue. According to McKay et al., “Under the Treaty of Paris of 1783, Britain recognized the independence of the thirteen colonies and ceded all its territories between the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River to the Americans” (660).
Soon after, a Constitution would be drafted, which would declare the United States a national republic. However, it is important to note liberty was not universal, as equal political, social, and economic rights were only extended to white men of property. However, it is important to note that this is arguably the most influential and important revolution in world history because it was the first. Due to the fact that Great Britain was arguably the world's biggest power at the time, the American Revolution was the blueprint for every other revolution that followed, most notably, the French and Haitian Revolutions.
“As did the American Revolution, the French Revolution had its immediate origins in the financial difficulties of the government” (McKay et al. 662). However, as stated in the lecture, the French Revolution was much more radical. In order to rebuild the country’s economy after the Seven Years’ War, the government tried to raise taxes, but as the high courts hindered their efforts. Consequently, “The nation was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1786” (McKay et al. 662).
The French population was represented by three estates, as the Roman Catholic clergy, nobles, and commoners were grouped together respectively. However, as stated in the notes, “The Estates General had not met since 1614.” Furthermore, the third estate, which was the country’s majority, “succeeded, formed the National Assembly, demanding the King to order the clergy and nobility to sit with them in a single body” (McKay et al. 663). However, the king refused, and as a result, a revolution ensued.
As discussed in the lecture, on July 14, 1789, hundreds of commoners raided Bastille to obtain weapons and ultimately defeated the higher powers. After several other uprisings, the commoners issued the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen, which called for the “equality of men, popular sovereignty, and individual rights” (Notes). Yet, according to McKay et al., “The National Assembly’s declaration had little practical effect on the poor” (663), because it did nothing to resolve France’s financial issues.
Still, the National Assembly did take over the country and "abolished the nobility, legalized divorce, broadened women's rights –although they were not equal, redrew border lines, granted religious freedom to French Jews and Protestants, ad nationalized the property of the Catholic church" (664). Although some people were in favor of the many changes, many others, including foreigners, were not. This led the National Assembly to declare war against much of Europe, and several years of turmoil would occur after, as the National Assembly would rewrite the constitution and give five men “the Directory” all the power. It took a French general, Napoleon Buonaparte, to end the Directory’s reign; but, as stated in A History of World Societies, he would too install authoritarian rule” (669).
While the French were at war amongst themselves, they faced similar revolts from their colonies, particularly Saint-Dominigue. Saint-Dominigue, was France’s most profitable colony, as sugar, cotton, and coffee produced there accounted for a third of France’s foreign trade. However, the “40,000 European population” were heavily outnumbered by the “30,000 people of color” and “500,000 slaves” that occupied Saint-Dominigue (Notes). Still, “Legal and economic conditions vastly favored the white population” (McKay et al. 673).
Although the slave owners were supposed to provide minimal living standards, many of them did not, as they beat, raped, maimed, and executed slaves to exhibit their control. According to A History of World Societies, this occurred because “Masters figured they could earn more by working slaves ruthlessly and purchasing new ones when they died than by providing the food, rest, and medical care needed to allow the enslaved population to reproduce naturally” (McKay et al. 673). As a result of this thousands of slaves were regularly being shipped to the island.
On the other hand, although non-enslaved citizens, or “people of color” (674), were not equal to Europeans, they were initially treated much better than slaves. Yet, as time went by they began to suffer the same injustices. Unlike slaves, however, they only wanted equality. According to McKay et al., “They wanted to be granted the same legal status as whites” (674). When news of the French Revolution reached Saint-Dominigue, people of color saw it as their chance to fight for equal rights. Although the National Assembly did grant them rights, the Europeans in Saint-Dominigue refused to enact them, which resulted in violence.
Inspired by the American Revolution, slaves planned a rebellion as people of color fought for equal rights. As stated in the notes, “A civil war broke out in 1791." Enslaved revolutionaries, who had long before revolted by escaping or destroying the product, attacked and destroyed plantations. Soon after, a revolutionary war ensued.
To develop an army to fight, the French promised freedom to anyone who helped fight the slaves. As a result of this, “the French regained control of the colony in 1796, and Toussaint L'Ouverture, the general who helped make that possible, was named the commander of the western province of Saint-Domingue” (McKay et al. 676-677). However, after Napoleon took over, he had L'Ouverture arrested, and Jean Jacques Dessalines united the colonists to drive the French out for good. According to the notes, Saint-Domingue renamed Haiti, became the first independent state in Latin America.
According to McKay et al., "The European Enlightenment was a broad intellectual and cultural movement" (567). The American, French, and Haitian Revolutions all contained very similar concepts that came from the Enlightenment, such as separation of powers and general will. Separation of powers was a theory proposed by French philosopher, Montesquieu. He argued, "for separation of powers, with political power divided among different classes and legal estates holding unequal rights and privileges" (McKay et al. 569). Although he did not believe in democracy, his theory would have a great impact on the U.S. and French constitutions. Furthermore, Jacques Rousseau stated general will "is sacred and absolute, reflecting the common interests of all people," and "This theory, although not recognized until after the French Revolution, also played a part in democratic and nationalists' viewpoints" (McKay et al. 571).
Essay Two
As stated in A History of World Societies, “The Industrial Revolution began in Britain around 1780 and soon began to influence continental Europe and the United States” (McKay et al. 690). As we learned in the lecture, several factors point to why the Industrial Revolution first occurred in Britain. As stated in the notes Great Britain had “a strong banking tradition, natural resources, such as coal and iron ore, and a solid transportation system.” However, “Britain’s parliamentary system taxed its population aggressively.” Yet, the money collected was used to fund the country’s navy and army to prevent uprisings from by workers. Those circumstances, along with the pressures to create more goods for the growing economy, fueled the Industrial Revolution.
One of the first, and most significant, innovations of the Industrial Revolution was the establishment of machine factories and the creation of the spinning jenny. Before then, there was a “putting out” system developed, in which “a merchant would loan workers raw materials to weave in their home and return after” (693). However, this system was highly inefficient because multiple people were needed to keep one weaver steadily employed. Furthermore, weavers had to constantly stop to find more thread and spinners. Yet, the demand only increased. This caused entrepreneurs to compete to create a better spinning wheel.
According to A History of World Societies, “James Hargreaves invented his spinning jenny in 1765 and around the same time, Richard Arkwright invented the water frame.” (McKay et al. 693). The spinning jenny was very simple. In early models “Six to twenty-four spindles were mounted on a sliding carriage, and each spindle spun a fine, slender thread” (693). On the other hand, the water frame “quickly acquired a capacity of several hundred spindles driven waterpower” (McKay et al. 693). This made work much easier for the workers. However, the machines were too large to fit in normal houses. Therefore, cities were incorporated for factories and the Industrial Revolution progressed.
As the Industrial Revolution progressed in Britain it also spread to the rest of Europe. This caused several changes in the daily lives of workers. First and foremost, when factories were built, people flocked to the cities to find work. Furthermore, a new class, “working class,” was established. Plus, immigration, particularly in Great Britain, soured, as many emigrants left their hometowns to find better job opportunities. However, once they arrived in the new cities, they faced hardships such as poor working conditions, sexual division, and low standards of living.
Throughout this era, children had to work in the factories with adults. According to A History of World Societies, “In mines, children sorted coal and worked the ventilation equipment,” which were both dangerous (McKay et al. 710). Although some of them worked with their families, many of them were orphans. This made it easier for factory owners to exploit them by making them work "fourteen-hour shifts, six days a week, with immediate supervision and severe punishments" (Notes). As a result, workers protested for the rights of their children. Consequently, the Factory Act of 1833 was passed, which put restrictions on the amount of day and hours children and teens could work.
Furthermore, there were strict lines of sexual division. While the man was viewed as the head of household and expected to be the primary wage-earners, the wife was expected to stay at home. This resulted in the belief of separate spheres.
According to McKay et al., all studies agree that:
“Married women from the working classes were much less likely to work full-time for wages outside the house after the first child arrived. Moreover, A married woman usually only worked full-time if the family was poor. Thirdly, those women would only work certain jobs. Finally, women were paid less than men” (711).
Beliefs like separate spheres promoted gender inequality and gender segregation.
Thirdly, the Industrial Revolution created a low living standard for the working class. As stated by McKay et al., “Life in the new industrial cities, was grim, as workers suffered from high rates of immortality” (713). Furthermore, the average life expectancy rate was under thirty, due to the booming cities being overcrowded and unsanitary.
Finally, the Industrial Revolution intensified problems between people and labor, as a new class of capitalists emerged. Due to the highly competitive economic system, wealthy industrialists strived to create a successful business. However, "as factories and firms grew larger, it became hard for a gifted but poor young mechanic to start a business" (McKay et al. 715). Furthermore, the education needed to one day become successful became expensive. In response to the monopolies that grew, workers, called Luddites, attacked factories, with hopes of putting them out of business. Nonetheless, their attempts were unsuccessful.
Still, one German intellectual, Karl Marx, offered a different solution: socialism.
Socialists argue that “the government should rationally organize the economy to control prices and prevent unemployment. Also, the government should regulate private property or that private property should be abolished and replaced by state or community ownership” (McKay et al. 728). This means that instead of one person or organization owning everything, everything would be equal. In his famous work, The Communist Manifesto, Marx argued that the middle class (bourgeoisie) exploited the industrial working class(proletariat), and predicted the working class would one day revolt. As a result, “Marx would go on to create one of the great secular religions out of the intellectual ferment of the early nineteenth century” (729).