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The French Revolution (or Democratic Revolution) of the 18th Century was a struggle for basic Democratic rights and freedoms. The people produces a document, The Declaration of the Rights of Man, that was similar to the Declaration of Independence that would later be written in America. This document touched on every facet of the social structure of France. It expressed a believe in the faith of the common man, the principle of separation of Church and State, and the sovereignty of the people. The document acknowledged that to bring about such reforms, the people would need power. Thus, it sought to empower the common people and remove from power those that had controlled the "old world order." This was truly a democratic movement in that is sought to give the power of government to the common people: those who worked weather farming or in factories or small manufacturing. The movement took away the power from the elite who had dominated society for so long.
The American Revolution was another democratic movement. It was an attempt to start a Republican government and break away from the power of the King and his control over the people. The colonies desired to remain autonomous for several reasons. First of all they feared that separated republics with conflicting interests would only lead to tyranny. Secondly, they feared a central government with a lot of power (similar to what they were breaking away from). Finally, they feared a congress that would have control of "Navy, Army, and purse." When the Declaration of Independence was written, the colonies immediately changed the structures of the state governments. Some states completely removed the office of the governor. Others stripped him of his power to make and enforce laws and held annual elections. The people had the power to make and enforce laws, not a governing body. The Americans had just come out from under the hand of the King and were not about to give up the new freedom they were experiencing. For the first time, they were able to participate in the Capital world economy. They were able to produce and sell for their own profit, not to make the King rich. Like the French Revolution, the American Revolution sought to take the power from the dominating King and give it to the people. However, within America there was some conflict of democracy. The Cosmopolitans/Federalists supported a strong central government. They believed that government provided direction and stability. They believed it was the responsibility of the government to provide colleges and good education for the people. The Localists, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with a strong central government. They believed it was too much like the system they had just escaped from. They saw the colleges as a threat to their way of life. They needed their children to stay and work on the farms, not running off to college. The Federalists didn't believe that Localists had the experience necessary to make such a decision. They felt that localists did not deserve democracy. The right to a decent education which leads to decent jobs is a basic democratic right of all people.
The Abolitionist movement came out of a struggle between the industrial North and agricultural South. The North played a core-like role in the United States while the South played a peripheral-like role. The South produced cheap raw materials which were sent to the North were they were turned into manufactured goods and resold to the South at a high price. The South saw the abolition of slavery as a direct shot at their way of life. They had come to depend on slavery for the mass production of cotton and other crops. The nation was built on the back of slavery which denied all of the basic democratic rights of the people: decent nutrition, education, rights to vote, etc.. There arose two form of achieving Abolition. The first was anti-slavery sentiment which argued that slavery was wrong and tried to use discourse to change the current condition. Then there was militant anti-slavery movements which used violence and force to get their point across. The Abolition Movement rose to gain democratic rights for the Negroes living in the United States. They were forced to participated in the world economy as peripheral, cheap labor while living in a "democracy." They were rising up to demand the same democratic rights as their fellow countrymen.
During Reconstruction in the South, the African American enjoyed his social, economic, and political democratic rights. African Americans held high positions in State and Federal Governments, they attended and held large parties with white elites, and they had the same working opportunities given to them as were given to whites. The Freedman's Bureau was established as the first welfare system in the United States. It helped aid African Americans and poor whites by establishing hospitals, black colleges , food programs, etc. It basically provided for the democratic rights of the people.
The Women's Movement in the 19th Century fought for the democratic rights of women. The Seneca Falls Declaration was fashioned after the Declaration of Independence which "happened" to leave out women in its list of the rights of men. The Seneca Falls Declaration included women and the list of rights they too were to have. This called for a Revolutionary change in society and was universal in its appeal for all people seeking democratic rights. The movement claimed that the cause for the oppression of women came from the idea that men and women lived in two separate spheres. The movement called for the equality of women in the work place, ability to take time off of work for sick children, fair divorce laws, the right to own property that remains hers even after marriage, and the ability to participate in politics especially through voting. They wanted the right to decent education and college education, the right to have and opinion and voice it , the right to decent pay for their labor, and a right to be equal with men. These are all democratic rights that should be afforded to everyone.
Like the previously discussed movements, the Cuban Revolution was a movement for democracy in it truest sense. This was the only successful movement in kicking out the core (United States) and taking back her own land and give control back to her own people. The US had maintained its dominance on the peripheral Cuba with its sugar plantations. Several US companies owned plantations and businesses in Cuba and used cheap labor to produce raw materials to be shipped to other places. The Cubans were successful in running out the core companies and regaining control of their nation. They began a series of social reforms such as schooling and decent jobs for the people.
The Russian Revolution was a movement for the workers. The workers and the army worked together to overthrow the Czar and replace it with a rule by the people. In 1917 Lenin's Bolshevik Party came to the forefront and won favor with the people because it promised to pull Russia out of the war and began social reforms. Lenin kept his promise to pull them out of the war, but his social reforms were lacking. He wanted to begin a socialist government, but according to Marx, Russia did not have the industrial base that is needed for a Socialist government. Lenin realized this and planned to fix it with rapid industrialization. To do this, he implemented a kind of shared farming where everyone shared everything: land, equipment, people, etc.. This burned out everything. Their land is no longer good for anything and it used to be one of the world's biggest suppliers of wheat. The equipment was worn out quickly and never replaced, and the workers got tired. The democratic rights promised by Lenin never came. The movement began as a fight for democracy that was never attained.
The Labor Movement in the United States began as an economic movement. Workers fought for decent pay, decent working conditions, shorter working days, and the like. They used economic weapons such as strikes to try to obtain their democratic rights. The movement later emerged as a political labor movement where the goals of the workers were more political than economic. Instead of economic weapons they used political weapons such as voting for labor friendly candidates, putting ads in newspapers, etc.. Samuel Gompers emerged with the American Federation of Laborers (AFL). He used both economic and political means to achieve democratic rights for workers.
The Social Democratic Movement swept through Europe. The population of Germany boomed in the 19th Century due to better methods of agriculture which meant more food and better medicine to handle disease. The country was unable to keep up increased population. People were struggling just to keep themselves alive. The Revolution in Germany between 1848-1849 had three key players: the proletariat, the middle class, and the old monarchy. The proletariat supported and fought for the middle class in overthrowing the old monarchy because they thought the middle class, once in office, would support them and see to it that their needs were met. They were successful in overthrowing the old monarchy, but the middle class simply took up where the monarchy left off. No democratic changes were made on behalf of the people.
Unlike the Russia Revolution, the Chinese Revolution was for the peasants. A class arose believing in the equality of everyone, especially women. I fought for the democratic rights of all people. Everyone should have the opportunity for good education and access to decent food, and good working conditions as well as the rights to participate in politics. But, in 1921 the Chinese Communist Party arose and became a Bolshevik party seeking power. Mao Zedong ( the leader of the CCP), to begin with, was not a revolutionary but a gradualist. He became hungry for power and lost sight of the egalitarian principles. After many parties were installed and uninstalled, the Chinese never did receive the egalitarian state they longed for.
African Nationalism arose in response to the subjugated state of Africans. They were a peripheral nation that was controlled by the core. Nationalism encouraged Africans to rise up and demand for the control of their nation. Moderate Nationalists hindered the progress of this. They remained friendly with the core while maintaining the core-peripheral relationship in Africa. The people began to see that the moderates did not have their best interest in mind and so, the moderate nationalists lost credibility in the eyes of the people. Radical Nationalists were called on to take up the cause and lead to people to independence. By 1940, the Arab World was independent but according to Nkruma, it was not real independence. He referred to this as neo colonialism. He rallied for a true independence where Africa would no longer be under colonial domination. African Nationalism gained many victories but was eventually maintained by the core.
The Cuban Revolution of the 20th Century was similar to the one of the 19th Century. Cubans wanted freedom and with the induction of Castro into leadership after he led a successful coup, the country began more serious social reforms. Old military barracks were transformed into schools and hospitals. The people participated in government and elections. This was in a sense a very democratic Revolution that gained democratic goals.
The Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power Movement in America in the 20th Century called for the democratic rights of African Americans. The Civil Rights movement was non violent but it demanded that the government give to African Americans the same rights that were given to white Americans. The Black Power Movement, however, did use violence to achieve their goals. It called for Black Americans to use any means necessary (violence) to gain democratic freedoms.
The Women's Rights movement of the 20th century called for more rights than did the one in the 19th century. Women wanted equality with men in the work force. They wanted the rights to take care of their families with out being penalized for it (leave from work). They wanted equal pay for comparable jobs. They demand their rights to make their own decisions. This Women's Movement demanded fundamental changes in society.
All of these
social movements began demanding freedom from an oppressing core and/or
demanding democratic rights that should be given to all people.
Page created
November 29, 2003.