Author Bio: The author of "Duties," Giuseppe Mazzini, was an Italian author who wrote prolifically promoting the unification of Italy in the 1830s and 1840s. Mazzini was considered a liberal at the time for his nationalist ideas, but they nonetheless became important as Italy began merging into one united country by 1870. His works helped to lay the foundations for the liberal constitutional monarchy that would be established in unified Italy.
Context/Background: During the 1800s, Italy and other European countries such as modern-day Germany were comprised of many small nation-states left over from the middle ages through the Renaissance and Enlightenment. As Europe grew into a more modern age, however, unification became an increasingly prominent idea that was propagated to the masses by advocates such as Mazzini in order to raise nationalism. These hopes for a united Italy finally came to fruition by 1870 through Count Camillo Cavour, whose efforts united the diverse regions and created the independent state of Italy.
Summary: While Mazzini first clarifies that a man's absolutely primary duty is to humanity and his family, the next and hardly less important duty is to his country and the brotherhood and unity focused towards the higher goal of a united country. He declares that united, independent countries are the highest order of nation, and what God originally intended before they were corrupted by greedy monarchs. The "Divine design" of unity will, Mazzini writes, transcend class and monarchy to unite all people of the country in harmony. The ideal nation would be one whose people are united by language, economic tendencies and specialties, culture, and history, and only when the people of a country are united together in brotherhood can this heavenly purpose be fulfilled.
Important Quote: "O my brother, love your Country! Our country is our Home, the house that God has given us, placing therein a numerous family that loves us, and whom we love... Our country is our common workshop, whence the products of our activity are sent forth for the benefit of the whole world."
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Thursday, June 4, 2015
The Grievances of Carcassonne
Author: The author of The Grievances of Carcassonne is the Third Estate. There is no one author of this primary document, instead a group of people wrote it to express the views and opinions of the middle class. The Third Estate is the representation of the middle class in the French government during the French Revolution.
Speaker: see above.
Date/ context: During this time in France the Third Estate had very little power in the government. France was ruled by an absolute monarch who controlled the French population. This document represents a few of the problems the French people saw with their government and nation.
Summary: This primary document begins by stating that the Third Estate has many grievances that they want their humble ruler to consider. The entire first two paragraphs is basically the Third Estate addressing the king and feeding his ego. The primary document then goes on to list the grievances the French people have against their government. The grievances include reinstating Roman Catholicism as the only religion in France, freedom of the people to vote for their taxes and laws, and equal taxes for all people. In addition the Third Estate asks for freedom of press and individual liberty. Overall, The Grievances of Carcassonne model that of the Bill of Rights.
Quotes:
“Among these rights the following should be especially noted: the nation should hereafter be subject only to such laws and taxes as it shall itself freely ratify.”
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
An End to the Woes of Anarchy
Author: Napoleon; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the latter stages of the French Revolution and its associated wars in Europe. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of France from 1804 to 1815. His legal reform, the Napoleonic Code, has been a major influence on many Civil Law jurisdictions worldwide, but he is best remembered for his role in the wars led against France by a series of coalitions, the so-called Napoleonic Wars.
Context:A time after the French Revolution. A new Emperor took the throne after a war against the monarch. The revolution was fought for more say by the people and uneven taxing of the lower peasants.
Summary: Napoleon tells the people of Italy that since he came to the throne to determine the fate of all those people who formed the empire of France. He tells Italy that he is making it better and gave someone related to him to make it great.
Key of Quotation: "I have done away with the uncertainty in Italy by placing upon my head the crown of Iron...."
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
The Impact of the Factory System on Women
Author: Engels (1820-1895) was born to a family of Prussian (present day Germany) textile workers. He held a close friendship with Karl Marx under which their ideals of communism flourished. He was raised Lutheran, but later developed atheistic ideals and distanced himself from both his former religion and his family. He dropped out of high school and studied extensively the works of Hegel before joining the Prussian army in 1841. He, while still a soldier, stayed and studied at university in Berlin where he Marx. The two would later go on to become the forebearers of communism. Engels is most likely biased in the fact that he grew up rather poorly. This modest upbringing probably spurred some of his internal thoughts about the disparities between the rich and the poor. His life in Berlin and in other industrialized cities also likely changed his outlook because he was exposed to these conditions; men still living in the countryside would not likely have seen and/or heard of these horrific conditions.
Speaker: See above.
Date/Context: This particular work was published in 1844, three years after he became a soldier in the Prussian army. At this time in western Europe, factory conditions were extremely unfavorable. Children were working very long hours and very dangerous jobs and women were expected to work for sustenance while still raising kids and maintaining the household. Strain was evident in all levels of the working class (proletariat) and people desperately wanted change. They were also angry at the fact that owners of large businesses and factories led such carefree lives while others were born into work and died working, too.
Summary: Engels starts the document by explaining that women (at once both wives and mothers) who spend twelve to thirteen hours at the mill and men (at once both husbands and fathers) who work that same amount have no time for children. These children are essentially left to fend for themselves. After giving birth, women are expected to come back to work, yet they cannot breastfeed their newborns. As a result, their breasts hurt and their shirts become soaked with milk; the children often go hungry when the mother is away. Engels uses two women, M.H. and H.W., to reaffirm these claims. He also talks about how narcotics are used to keep the children still in the factory districts and how the separation of women from their children brings about the collapse of society. He ends by saying how fathers are negatively influenced by women being away as well and how children too often grow up without morals because of a lack of parental intervention.
Key Quotation: "The employment of women at once breaks up the family; for when the wife spends twelve or thirteen hours every day in the mill, and the husband works the same length of time there or elsewhere, what becomes of the children?"
Speaker: See above.
Date/Context: This particular work was published in 1844, three years after he became a soldier in the Prussian army. At this time in western Europe, factory conditions were extremely unfavorable. Children were working very long hours and very dangerous jobs and women were expected to work for sustenance while still raising kids and maintaining the household. Strain was evident in all levels of the working class (proletariat) and people desperately wanted change. They were also angry at the fact that owners of large businesses and factories led such carefree lives while others were born into work and died working, too.
Summary: Engels starts the document by explaining that women (at once both wives and mothers) who spend twelve to thirteen hours at the mill and men (at once both husbands and fathers) who work that same amount have no time for children. These children are essentially left to fend for themselves. After giving birth, women are expected to come back to work, yet they cannot breastfeed their newborns. As a result, their breasts hurt and their shirts become soaked with milk; the children often go hungry when the mother is away. Engels uses two women, M.H. and H.W., to reaffirm these claims. He also talks about how narcotics are used to keep the children still in the factory districts and how the separation of women from their children brings about the collapse of society. He ends by saying how fathers are negatively influenced by women being away as well and how children too often grow up without morals because of a lack of parental intervention.
Key Quotation: "The employment of women at once breaks up the family; for when the wife spends twelve or thirteen hours every day in the mill, and the husband works the same length of time there or elsewhere, what becomes of the children?"
Monday, June 1, 2015
The Communist Manifesto
Author: Karl Marx (b. 1818- d. 1883) and Friedrich Engels (b. 1820- d. 1895). Marx was born in Germany and was educated at the University Berlin and University of Bohn. He is reputed for his work as a philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, and journalist. He is considered one of the most influential economists of all time. Although Marx contributed prolifically to all of these disciplines, his most noted theory was on relationships between society, economics, and politics, called Marxism. In this ideology, Marx denounces Capitalism and predicts that it will eventually give way to a new structure in Socialism. In Marx’s socialist system the workers would rule in a “dictatorship of the proletariat” and would control everything. The final evolution of socialism was communism, a system devoid of social class wherein everything being equal. Friedrich Engels was also born in Germany. He was an openly active atheist and anarchist as a young man, and had to flee the country for sometime. He eventually returned, and was greatly influenced by the work of the great philosopher Georg Hegel. Deeply concerned with their son’s activities, Engels’ parents sent him to England. It was in England where Engels first met Karl Marx. Thus, began a lifelong friendship and co-authorship between the two men.
Context: Their most famous co-authored work the Communist Manifesto, was commissioned by the underground German communist league in 1848. The communist manifesto was originally a series of pamphlets written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Both used their knowledge and careful observation of factories in order to highlight the oppression of the worker. They wanted to change the way that economic systems, and by extension politics operated.
Summary: Marx and Engels open the passage with a brief overview of history and class struggle. They state that in every historical scenario the problem always arose between those that had power, and those that did not. They then note that the current power holder is the bourgeoisie. They assert that he workers, or the proletariat are only items in this grand capitalist scheme, and their only use is to work and die. In the factories the workers are organized into a hierarchy of labors and bosses, all answerable to the bourgeoisie. Marx and Engels advocate for workers unions to alleviate some of the miseries, sufferings, and injustices in the factories. Then Engels and Marx define that communist are for the proletariat as a whole, and fight for all of the workers movement. They argue that all other proletariat parties, including the communists wish to overthrow the middle class and abolish most private property. However, Communism targets the bourgeoisie and advocates abolishing all of their private property. Communists call for an overthrow of the government by the bourgeoisie and advocate for a state ruled by the working classes with ten steps. The ten steps are changes from capitalism starting with the abolition of private property, to state regaled “equality.” Communism will be achieved once everything as Marx and Engle stated was equal. With a chilling finale, both men call for the workers to rise up and forcibly implement this new system in government.
Quote: “The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attainted by only the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of the world, unite!”
Context: Their most famous co-authored work the Communist Manifesto, was commissioned by the underground German communist league in 1848. The communist manifesto was originally a series of pamphlets written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Both used their knowledge and careful observation of factories in order to highlight the oppression of the worker. They wanted to change the way that economic systems, and by extension politics operated.
Summary: Marx and Engels open the passage with a brief overview of history and class struggle. They state that in every historical scenario the problem always arose between those that had power, and those that did not. They then note that the current power holder is the bourgeoisie. They assert that he workers, or the proletariat are only items in this grand capitalist scheme, and their only use is to work and die. In the factories the workers are organized into a hierarchy of labors and bosses, all answerable to the bourgeoisie. Marx and Engels advocate for workers unions to alleviate some of the miseries, sufferings, and injustices in the factories. Then Engels and Marx define that communist are for the proletariat as a whole, and fight for all of the workers movement. They argue that all other proletariat parties, including the communists wish to overthrow the middle class and abolish most private property. However, Communism targets the bourgeoisie and advocates abolishing all of their private property. Communists call for an overthrow of the government by the bourgeoisie and advocate for a state ruled by the working classes with ten steps. The ten steps are changes from capitalism starting with the abolition of private property, to state regaled “equality.” Communism will be achieved once everything as Marx and Engle stated was equal. With a chilling finale, both men call for the workers to rise up and forcibly implement this new system in government.
Quote: “The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attainted by only the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of the world, unite!”
The Declaration of Rights of the Men
Author Bio-Arthur Young (11 September 1741 – 12 April 1820) was an English writer on agriculture, economics, social statistics, and campaigner for the rights of agricultural workersYoung's first visit to France was in 1787. Travelling all over that country around the start of the French Revolution, he described the condition of the people and the conduct of public affairs at that critical juncture. The Travels in France appeared in one large quarto volume in 1792, reprinted in two octavo volumes (Dublin, 1793); enlarged second edition in two quarto volumes (London, 1794). On his return home he was appointed secretary of the Board of Agriculture 1793 just formed under the presidency of Sir John Sinclair. In this capacity he gave most valuable assistance in the collection and preparation of agricultural surveys of the English counties. His sight, however, failed, and in 1811 he had an operation for cataract, which proved unsuccessful.
Date and Context- The time when this article publish is the time when Young visit France during the French revolution. As he says the condition and unfairness going in France he write this article.
Summary- In this article the way a men should live describe the article focus on the rights of a free living person. It describes the fact that men are born to live equally no one had any rights to be more superior than other. The article have 17 rights that a person should have the most important one is that the equality among the people there should be no higher classes than humanity everyone is equal in the view of god there is no way that a king will go first in heaven and a peasant go last, everyone should be treated equally.The sources of the Declaration included the major thinkers of the French Enlightenment, such as Montesquieu, who had urged the separation of powers, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who wrote of general will—the concept that the state represents the general will of the citizens. The idea that the individual must be safeguarded against arbitrary police or judicial action was anticipated by the 18th-century parlements, as well as by writers such as Voltaire. French jurists and economists such as the physiocrats had insisted on the inviolability of private property. Other influences on the authors of the Declaration were foreign documents such as the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776) in North America and the manifestos of the Dutch Patriot movement of the 1780s. The French Declaration went beyond these models, however, in its scope and in its claim to be based on principles that are fundamental to man and therefore universally applicable.
Key Qoutation-" Men are born and remain free and equal in rights".
Date and Context- The time when this article publish is the time when Young visit France during the French revolution. As he says the condition and unfairness going in France he write this article.
Summary- In this article the way a men should live describe the article focus on the rights of a free living person. It describes the fact that men are born to live equally no one had any rights to be more superior than other. The article have 17 rights that a person should have the most important one is that the equality among the people there should be no higher classes than humanity everyone is equal in the view of god there is no way that a king will go first in heaven and a peasant go last, everyone should be treated equally.The sources of the Declaration included the major thinkers of the French Enlightenment, such as Montesquieu, who had urged the separation of powers, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who wrote of general will—the concept that the state represents the general will of the citizens. The idea that the individual must be safeguarded against arbitrary police or judicial action was anticipated by the 18th-century parlements, as well as by writers such as Voltaire. French jurists and economists such as the physiocrats had insisted on the inviolability of private property. Other influences on the authors of the Declaration were foreign documents such as the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776) in North America and the manifestos of the Dutch Patriot movement of the 1780s. The French Declaration went beyond these models, however, in its scope and in its claim to be based on principles that are fundamental to man and therefore universally applicable.
Key Qoutation-" Men are born and remain free and equal in rights".
Principal of Analysis
Author Bio- Sir Isaac Newton ( 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/7) was an English physicist and mathematician (described in his own day as a "natural philosopher") who is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica("Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy"), first published in 1687, laid the foundations for classical mechanics. Newton made seminal contributions to optics, and he shares credit with Gottfried Leibniz for the development of calculus.
Date and Context- The time when this article is written up is the time when queen Anne is in the power when the revolution is going in England and between the scientific revolution.
Summary- Newton write about the basics of the world in his book Principlia he mentioned his three most important laws and the way the solar system works. He showed how his inverse square law worked perfectly with Kepler's elliptical orbits; how planets are deflected into orbit around the sun by the pull of the sun's gravity, and how the same principle can be used to explain the orbit of the moon and of Jupiter's moons; he demonstrated that Descartes' theory of vortices lacked the same explanatory power. Working from Halley's research on the subject, he declared that comets transcribed orbits around the sun just as planets did; he calculated the mass of each planet; he used the pull of the sun's gravity to account for the flattening of the Earth at the poles and the bulge at the equator; he used the gravitational pull of the moon and sun to explain the ocean tides. In his account, the entire universe was held together in a web of gravitational pulls, acting on every star, planet, moon and comet; thus Newton rendered the whole universe explainable by a law--subject to the insight of mathematics and the human mind.
Key Quotaion- " And yet we are not to consider the world as the body of god, or several parts thereof, as the parts of God . He is a uniform being, void of organs, members or parts, and they are his creature subordinate to him and subservient to his will..."
Date and Context- The time when this article is written up is the time when queen Anne is in the power when the revolution is going in England and between the scientific revolution.
Summary- Newton write about the basics of the world in his book Principlia he mentioned his three most important laws and the way the solar system works. He showed how his inverse square law worked perfectly with Kepler's elliptical orbits; how planets are deflected into orbit around the sun by the pull of the sun's gravity, and how the same principle can be used to explain the orbit of the moon and of Jupiter's moons; he demonstrated that Descartes' theory of vortices lacked the same explanatory power. Working from Halley's research on the subject, he declared that comets transcribed orbits around the sun just as planets did; he calculated the mass of each planet; he used the pull of the sun's gravity to account for the flattening of the Earth at the poles and the bulge at the equator; he used the gravitational pull of the moon and sun to explain the ocean tides. In his account, the entire universe was held together in a web of gravitational pulls, acting on every star, planet, moon and comet; thus Newton rendered the whole universe explainable by a law--subject to the insight of mathematics and the human mind.
Key Quotaion- " And yet we are not to consider the world as the body of god, or several parts thereof, as the parts of God . He is a uniform being, void of organs, members or parts, and they are his creature subordinate to him and subservient to his will..."
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