Anatomy of a Revolution

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American and French Revolution Anatomy of a Revolution

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Lecture from Chapter 7

Transcript of Anatomy of a Revolution

Page 1: Anatomy of a Revolution

American and French Revolution

Anatomy of a Revolution

Page 2: Anatomy of a Revolution

Crane Brinton’s Anatomy of a Revolution

He borrowed his terms from pathology.

Compares a revolution to a fever or a disease: The revolutionary “fever”

begins with the appearance of certain “symptoms.”

It proceeds by advances and retreats to a crisis stage, or “delirium.”

The crisis ends when the “fever” breaks.

A period of convalescence follows, interrupted by a relapse or two before the recovery is complete.

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Crane Brinton: Conditions Present Before a Revolution Occurs1. People from all social classes are

discontented.

2. People feel restless and held down by unacceptable restrictions in society, religion, the economy or the govt.

3. People are hopeful about the future, but they are being forced to accept less than they had hoped for.

4. People are beginning to think of themselves as belonging to a social class, and there is a growing bitterness between social classes.

5. The social classes closest to one another are the most hostile.

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Crane Brinton: Conditions Present Before a Revolution Occurs6. The scholars and thinkers give up on the way

their society operates.

7. The government does not respond to the needs of its society.

8. The leaders of the government and the ruling class begin to doubt themselves. Some join with the opposition groups.

9. The government is unable to get enough support from any group to save itself.

10. The government cannot organize its finances correctly and is either going bankrupt or trying to tax heavily and unjustly.

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Crane Brinton: The Course that Revolutions Seem to Take

1. Impossible demands made of government which, if granted, would mean its end.

2. Unsuccessful government attempts to suppress revolutionaries.

3. Revolutionaries gain power and seem united.

4. Once in power, revolutionaries begin to quarrel among themselves, and unity begins to dissolve.

5. The moderates gain the leadership but fail to satisfy those who insist on further changes.

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Crane Brinton: The Course that Revolutions Seem to Take

6. Power is gained by progressively more radical groups until finally a lunatic fringe gains almost complete control.

7. A strong man emerges and assumes great power.

8. The extremists try to create a “heaven-on-earth” by introducing their whole program and by punishing all of their opponents.

9. A period of terror [extreme violence] occurs.

10. Moderate groups regain power. THE REVOLUTION IS OVER!

Page 7: Anatomy of a Revolution

AmericanColonial lawyers

protested the Stamp and Tea Acts, leaders such as Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry, encourage conflict with British authorities.

FrenchRousseau and

Voltaire spread enlightenment ideas.

Third Estate calls for a National Assembly and Constitutional Monarchy

Angry mobs storm the Bastille & Tuileres.

American & French Revolutions

Impossible demands made of government

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AmericanThe British pass the

Intolerable Acts, troops are sent to stop rebellion, war breaks out.

King orders the Estates General follow medieval rules.

Third Estate locked out of the Assembly

Unsuccessful government attempts to suppress revolutionaries.

French

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AmericanWeak National

government, Articles of Confederation, Shay’s Rebellion

National Assembly strips the church of land.

Peasants alienated by Revolutionary changes, split with bourgeoisie.

Assembly splits into radicals, moderates, & conservatives.

Once in power, revolutionaries begin to quarrel among themselves, and unity begins to dissolve.

French

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American Constitutional

Convention, New Jersey Plan, Virginia Plan, three-fifths compromise.

Mods form a limited monarchy and creates the Legislative Assembly.

Radicals demand further action.

The moderates gain the leadership but fail to satisfy those who insist on further changes.

French

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AmericanFederalist defeat the

Anti-Federalists, Constitution, new form of government.

No Lunatic fringe.

Mods dissolve the National Assembly, abolish the Monarchy, and declare France a republic.

Louis XVI is executed.

Jacobins gain control.

Power is gained by progressively more radical groups until finally a lunatic fringe gains almost complete control.

French

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AmericanModerates gained

the addition of a Bill of Rights.

Anti-Federalists eventually regain power with Jefferson (Democratic-Republican)

Mods of the National Convention turn on Robespierre and execute him.

Draft a new constitution giving power to the middle class.

Two House legislature and Directory.

Moderate groups regain power. THE REVOLUTION IS OVER!

French

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Differences6. A strong man emerges

and assumes great power.

7. The extremists try to create a “heaven-on-earth” by introducing their whole program and by punishing all of their opponents.

8. A period of terror [extreme violence] occurs.

Never occurs in America

Robespierre and the Reign of Terror.

New Calendar, The Committee of Public Safety

The Great Terror, Revolutionaries executed by The guillotine

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Describe the progression of an illness like the flu.

Describe specific traits that these stages could share with other illnesses?

What differences are there between the beginning, theheight of the flu, and the end?

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Convalescence

Crisis Stage

Symptomatic Stage

Incubation Stage

FEVER MODEL OF REVOLUTION

Much like an illness, revolutions can also be studied in stages

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Convalescence

Crisis Stage

Symptomatic Stage

Incubation Stage

This stage in an illness is when the cause of the sickness first comesinto contact with the individual, infecting them, but not yet causingany symptoms to present themselves.

What would this stage be like in a revolution?

In a revolution, this stage would involve the political, social, intellectual,or economic causes. In some cases, these causes could fester formany years before showing themselves in the form of actualrevolutionary action.

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This stage in an illness is when sickness starts to affect the personin observable ways. Temperature may rise. A cough might presentitself. The individual might become weak and queasy.

What would this stage be like in a revolution?

Convalescence

Crisis Stage

Symptomatic Stage

Incubation Stage

In a revolution, this stage would be the first to involve directaction resulting from the social, political, intellectual, or economiccauses of the incubation stage. This stage might involve the publicationof works calling for a change, street level riots by the common people,or more direct attempts at changing the society.

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Crisis Stage

Convalescence

Symptomatic Stage

Incubation Stage

In a revolution, this stage would be the make or break part of thestruggle. It may involve conflict where sides for and againstthe revolution compete. This competition could take the form of debate or full-scale war. Successful revolutions survive this stage.Those that do not are usually considered failed rebellions.

This is the critical stage in an illness where two things can happen.The individual either breaks the fever after a heightened stageof illness or the individual gets progressively worse and does not recover.

What would this stagebe like in a revolution?

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Convalescence

Crisis Stage

Symptomatic Stage

Incubation Stage

This stage involves recovering from the illness. The individual mightbe weakened from the experience, but he or she will eventually emerge healthy and with new knowledge and experience that mightprevent the illness from occurring again.

What would this stage be like in a revolution?

In a revolution, this stage would involve recovering from the extremedisruptions of the crisis stage. In general, the political, social, intellectual, or economic causes of the revolution must be addressed insome way, though not necessarily to the satisfaction of allrevolutionaries.