Friday, March 25, 2011

Socialism and Marxism DBQ

Socialism and Marxism DBQ


The 2nd half of 19th century was a time when reform and change were daily parts of life and the conditions the working man and woman lived in daily were becoming safer and healthier. New political ideas were forcing previously conservative governments to reform the laws that governed labor and health. People were protesting openly the Marxian idea of surplus value in which the factory owner gained all the profits of the common man’s labor and the common man remained poor. Figure 1 and Figure 2 suggest radical changes in the way everyday life was conducted among everyday Europeans in the 19th century and these changes are apparent in the way the pictures are set out. Although the effects of socialism greatly improved the conditions of the working man in the 19th century the difference between figure 1 and figure 2 does accurately portray the transformation of European lifestyle due to bias among the artists.

The socialist movement during the 19th century was not just 1 movement but many including Marxian socialists, utopian socialists and moderate socialists who were willing to work with the government to achieve their ends. While Marxian and utopian socialists preached radical change among society the moderate socialists of Europe worked to form trade unions and to improve the conditions of the working man. In Britain their influence led to the creation of worker’s rights acts such as the 10 hours act and the banning on Child labor. They also formed their own political party and had influence in government like when the labor party in Britain was able to overturn the Taff Valle Act which hindered strikes. However, as Marx preached the in his theories of surplus value and subsistence theory of wages the poor would always remain poor unless they rose up against their employers and although wages increased the poor would still remain poor.

Although figure 2 seems to portray a modern urbanized city it was likely painted before figure 1, the realistic way the people and buildings are detailed suggest that the artist followed a realist style of art. This style came before the impressionist style that figures 1 appears to be painted in with the appearance of movement and life among the people in the painting. The workers in figure 1 appear forlorn and sad, squished into a small room with many others. Figure 2 suggests an open more appealing world with modern urban environments. However all the people in figure 2 are dressed like upper class members of society, the artist was like a member of that society and portrayed the town in the image of an urbanized and modern town. However no
true town would lack the poor laborers and middle class, none of whom are seen in the painting.

Figure 1 and figure 2 seem to portray a radical change in European lifestyle from poor hovel worker to rich gentlemen, the transformation is bias. Although the 2nd half of the 19th century featured advancements for workers’ rights and their influence in government the majority of workers remained in the same jobs and with increased wages. The artist of figure 2 would have been a member of the exclusive upper class in his city and painted his city to represent his classes lifestyle.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Unification and revolution FRQ

2. Contrast Mazzini and Garibaldi's revolutionary views with those of revolutionaries in France.
Mazzini and Garibaldi revolutionary views
- Unification would help the Italian states defend themselves
- The right to vote, human rights and elections
- Free Italian states from foreign dominance

French revolutionaries

- Wanted more equal spreading of wealth from 1st and 2nd estates
- No absolute monarchy

The Italian unification and the French Revolution are both known as key points in those nations, and Europe’s history. The French Revolution was an idealist movement aiming to create a more fair government that ended in chaos and another tyrannical regime. The Italian unification’s ideas preached freeing their country from foreign oppression and establishing the rights to vote for Italian citizens. The French and Italian ideals of freedom, equality and elections were some of the key reasons their people believed in the movements however although both succeeded in their objectives they also failed to keep their ideals safe along the way.

In Italy, Garibaldi and Mazzini support a united Italian Republic with Rome as the capital and no more foreign oppressors controlling Italian states. In 1848 an insurrection occurs when large cities in Lombardy and Il Veneto, like Milan and Venice rise up against the Austrian regime which ruled there. Mazzini leads a movement to use the opportunity to unite the rest of the Italian states. However the attempt fails and Mazzini and Garibaldi are exiled. Their unification was not successful however their ideas remained in the minds of Italians and the country was finally unified in 1860 with the help of Garibaldi back from exile. Unfortunately this unification happened under the monarchy of King Vitore Emmanuel instead of the revolutionary leadership and therefore Italy could not be a republic with voting elected leaders and equality which was what Mazzini preached from the start.

The ideas of the French Revolution were aimed at creating a more fair government from the King, nobles and clergy which they thought to be corrupt and oppressive to the people. When an estates general was called by the King to help levy taxes the 3rd estate called for equality and reforms to the Government. The national assembly got out of hand though and a revolution began. The city of Paris was in chaos and the King was beheaded, France had a new government ruled by a council of revolutionaries who believed in freedom and the ability to vote. The French revolution also failed because of the resulting terror, the council killed anyone who they believed might be a traitor and destroyed the true purpose of the revolution instead carrying France from 1 regime right into another. By the end of the terror the country yearned for a strong leader and Napoleon was able to take control and become the next de-facto King of France.

The ideals of French and Italian revolutionaries were exemplary; people killed and were killed in their name; however when all was said and done the movements were not successful. The French revolution resulted in mass murders and a new regime under Emperor Napoleon while the Italian unification put Italy under a new monarch with the north still rich and industrialized and the south still poor and agricultural.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Romantics DBQ

Romantic DBQ
To what extent did Romanticism challenge Enlightenment views of human beings and the natural world and how did this challenge illustrate changes between the Enlightenment and Romantic views of the relationship between God and the individual?
Ways they challenged Enlightenment outlooks
- Did not want to live by society’s “rules”
- Many were in love with nature and used it as inspiration for their art
Challenging god and individual
- Shelley was atheist and published papers anonymously
- Keats believed in nature and did not think heaven existed therefore he published poetry to become remembered.

The age of the Romantics was a in a period where the industrial revolution was in full swing, especially in Britain where the industrial revolution had started, cities were flooding with people coming to work in the factories. Enlightenment ideas and new ways of thinking were spreading throughout Europe The British Romantics like William Blake, Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge despised this “new” way of life which did not appreciate the beauty of nature, and forced people to live and work in horrible conditions. These romantics turned to nature in protest of the machine and logical lifestyle that was becoming common after the enlightenment however more unique was the way the Romantics challenged one of the oldest beliefs in history, the existence of God and Heaven itself.

In response to the growing industrial lifestyle of Britain and the implementation of Enlightenment ideas which favored logical order the Romantics turned to the opposite of the ordered world they despised, chaos. They broke previously unbreakable boundaries by exploring their emotions to the fullest. Coleridge used opium to produce some of his greatest works, something never done before, Lord Byron became the World's first ever "celebrity" and had a following much like what celebrities nowadays take for granted, Percy Shelley wrote the pamphlet "The necessity of Atheism" which preached the idea that God did not exist. The Romantics turned order to chaos in whatever endeavor they undertook, the opposite of enlightenment thinking.

The Romantics created a new set of rules by which they lived their life. Unlike the enlightenment style of society and it’s way of thinking the Romantics created the image of the intellectual. They lived by their own rules and disregarded the flow of society. Enlightenment thinking supported science, inventions and machinery like the spinning Jenny and other innovations which were changing the way of life for everyday people. Romantics worshiped emotion and intense feeling. Artists like Shelley and Coleridge explored these emotions intimately. Coleridge himself used Opium as a means to create poetry while Shelly explored love and relationship with multiple women. They did not follow the traditional rules of society and the church at all and their influence transformed modern English society by means of their readers and fans. Lord Byron had a celebrity following for his poetry and the influence of his relationship hopping was great on the general public. The relationship jumping that Shelley was doing, while weird back then, is regular in the western world.

The relationship between God and Man was one of the oldest and most respected beliefs in the world. Most people before the time of the Romantics were born believing in God and died believing in God; the Romantics had other ideas. While Shelley was at Oxford he anonymously published a paper throughout the town called "The necessity of Atheism" which challenged the existence of God and supported logical means of explaining life. The books were declared blasphemy and all were burned. Another Romantic, Keats, did not believe in God and said so; he believed that in order to become immortal himself he needed to leave a mark on the world rather than hope for entrance into heaven. The influence of the Romantics can be seen to this day, many people nowadays doubt the existence of God, and the power of the church to censor and burn is gone. Atheism is not uncommon in the modern world, the Romantics were some of the first Atheists.

The British Romantics challenged the ideas of the enlightenment with nature and religion with logic. They were people who lived out of sink with society and their ideas were contemporary with much of modern day ideas and to an extent their ideas shaped modern day society.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Industrial revolution free response

Explain how the Industrial Revolution influenced the rise of conservative and liberal philosophies and explain how those philosophies competed with or related to nationalism in Greece and Germany.

During the 19th century the industrial revolution had taken off in England and was spreading rapidly across Europe. Following the industrial revolution came the political philosophies of liberalism and conservatism. These new philosophies emerged at a time when nationalism was picking up in Germany and Greece. The liberalists in Germany and Greece were overshadowed by the rise of nationalistic ideals in their countries and nationalism became the pre-eminent philosophy of the German and Greek peoples.

The rise of nationalism in Greece came swiftly once the Ottoman Turks occupation had ended. With the absence of the Turks the Greeks were free to create their own government. After the Greek war of independence the people were filled with nationalistic fervor, because of this the new government of the Greek state was primarily nationalistic and conservative and focused on the betterment of the country as a whole rather than the betterment of the people. The aftermath of this ensured that the liberalist ideas spreading from the North were not overly popular in Greece.

In Germany a new chancellor named Bismarck had been appointed. The Prussian government and Bismarck had wanted to unite Prussia and the rest of the German states but were always unable to because of political and military blocks by Austria. The need for a larger army was apparent if Prussia wanted to unite Germany. In order to do this Bismarck needed funds to arm and train a large army, however, his petitions to increase taxes and acquire the necessary funds were always blocked by the liberalists inside Prussia. In order to get the money he needs Bismarck violates the constitution and disregards the liberal complaints. The army of Prussia is doubled in size from the funds and Germany is able to unite under a nationalist government, moreover this showed that the liberalist movement had lost its power in the government.

The governments and people of Germany and Greece after the industrial revolution were both united under strenuous circumstances. For Greece it was the war of independence that made it into a nation recognized by the great powers. While with Germany it was the unification of the various states into once coherent government by Bismarck. After these unifications the level of nationalism in both countries was unprecedented and the ideals of liberalism were put down by the industrial fervor of the new nationalist Greek and German governments following a conservative strategy of industrialism and production. The liberalist movement that had succeeded in Britain had failed to significantly affect the lives of Germans and Greeks in the 19th century.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Term paper outline

Thesis
The cause of the British victory at Trafalgar was less on account of Nelson's strategy than it was a result of the culture of fear that dominated the French command structure.