The political revolution

Pages 47-83

From the Social to the Political Revolution

NATION CITIZENSHIP

EQUALITY RIGHTS

THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION

Page 47 - Keywords

Two important dates

• From 1789 = French Revolution.

• To 1870 = The creation of Germany.

What’s happening in between?

• American Revolution (predecessor).

• French Revolution.

• Analysis of the new political system.

• Napoleon.

• Liberal Revolutions 1820 & 1848.

• Liberalism & Nationalism.

Our timeline Important dates

1789: French Revolution

1776: American

Independence

1799:Napoleon

1815: Congress of Vienna. Absolutism

Liberal Revolutions

1820 1830 1848

1810: Independence of Spain’s colonies

1861: Unification

of Italy

1871: Unification of Germany

What’s going on in Europe?

• An important revolution (French Rev.) leads to the Empire of Napoleon (France).

• After that, the old European monarchies wanted to restore the old-fashioned Ancien Regime.

• This was impossible. Why?

• The people realised about their power.

• A consequence of this impossibility = a new political system (a new way to organize a nation).

• New ideas on liberalism & nationalism were spreading all over Europe.

• The main consequence: series of liberal revolutions (1820-1848).

The beginning of the Contemporary Era

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• From the American / French Revolutions.

• To World War II (although we are living in the Contemporary Era; but the school calendar tells us that we need to take some holidays in June).

The contemporary Era

First steps for a change

• The place to be in Europe was France.

• Economy: collapsed and old-fashioned.

• Politics: the monarchy was “out-of-order”.

• Society: unhappy; the wish for a change by the majority; the desire to be ruled by the people, common people.

The main consequence of this unhappiness

• The French Revolution.

• A huge impact in later societies and even today.

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The Revolution begins

• The changes came from the political & ideological side.

• This revolution was much more complex than the Industrial Revolution (economic revolution mainly).

A symbol to start with

July 14th, 1789 The Storming of the Bastille

What type of changes did the French

Revolution bring?

• Permanent changes.

• Political organization changes.

• A new structure of society.

• End of the Ancien Regime:

• Absolutist monarchy.

• Privileged estates.

• Absence of freedom or rights for majority.

But, did all these changes happen just like that?

NO

The origin of the USA: The Puritans

The influence of the New World represented by the British colonists was huge.

Pamphlet appeared in

January 9, 1776

• There was no going back.

• American freedom could never be secure under the British Crown.

• The time had come to correct the “errors” in Britain’s constitution.

• And...

• The time had come to found new governments free of kings and hereditary rule, governments in which all officials owed their power to popular choice.

What’s going on in America?

A new country based on freedom, equality and

happiness

A new country too far away from (the old vices

of) Europe

A new beginning A new opportunity

An experiment

The symbol of America (Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass)

EQUALITY All the leaves are equal

A republic The same rights The same tasks

Opposing the old-pyramidal based society

coming from Europe

Why could they do this in America?

Because they did not have HISTORY; it was a

virgin country.

The American revolution The beginning of everything

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Virginia Bill of Rights George Mason (June 12,1776)

• “That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot by any compact deprive or divest their posterity; namely the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety”.

The very first step The spark

The Declaration of Independence

of the United States of America

July 4th, 1776

The Founding Fathers

Thomas Jefferson

The independence of the Thirteen Colonies from England

“Join or die” by Benjamin Franklin, to encourage the colonies

Historical statements of The Declaration of

Independence

• When in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.

• 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.

• That these United Colonies are, and of R i g h t o u g h t t o b e , F R E E A N D INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be totally disolved.

• And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

The main symbol of a country = the flag

Pledge of Allegiance

• "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

• “They (the Americans) are the hope of this world. They may become its model”.

• From the letter of Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de L’Auline to Dr. Richard Price (March 22, 1778)

But the American Revolution was not only the Declaration

of Independence

It was also known as the American War of

Independence

From 1775 to 1783

USA independence:Destruction of King George III,

the British King

Why were the 13 Colonies looking for

independence?

• The fi r s t co lony wa s s e t t l ed i n Massachussets in 1620.

• The colonists moved South until Georgia.

• But in mid-18th century, the colonists’ feelings towards Great Britain changed.

• They felt “different” and they decided to build a new country (“Manifest Destiny”).

• They were chosen by God to be there.

• They were there to do something great.

Manifest Destiny

The efective causes for independence

• Colonies and Great Britain were diverging.

• Different life styles and different interests & thoughts.

• Main complains:

• High taxes to be paid to Great Britain.

• No political representation for Colonies in the Parliament.

War

ColoniesFranceNatives

Great BritainNatives

End of the War

• September 3rd, 1783

• The Treaty of Paris.

• The Independence of United States of America.

Painting of the delegations at the Treaty of Paris by Benjamin West

The next step: The Constitution

• Created September 17th, 1787.

• Ratified by the majority (9 out 13) of the States June 21, 1788.

• We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establ ish Justice , insure domest ic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

After the Constitution, the first government

• George Washington.

• The First President of the United States of America.

• April 30, 1789.

A new political order

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• The new political order was coming for the first time from the New World, from America.

• The big issue was the importance of the PEOPLE, common people, like you and your families, and your friends.

• Governments with no divine powers for certain orders (monarchy or church), so EQUALITY is a core characteristic.

• The POWER and SOVEREIGNITY of the country resides in the people.

• The separation of the powers of the State in three:

• Legislative power.

• Executive power.

• Judicial power.

The spirit of the Constitution

“They chose their own form of government“Power to the people!

Legislative Power

Congress

Executive Power

Government

Judicial Power

Judiciary

Elected by the people

“Founding documents”

“Charters of freedom”

• The Declaration of Independence (1776).

• The Constitution (1787-88).

• The Bill of Rights (1789-91).

The Declaration of Independence

• A revolutionary manifesto proclaiming and justifying the of the British rule over America.

The Constitution

• The creation of a new federal government to secure the rights.

The Bill of Rights

• The basic rights of the American people.