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Revolution in France in 1789
Revolution in France in 1789
Revolution in France in 1789
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Les événements (events) of 1968 are well imbedded in French society’s collective memory. There have been more than one hundred books published deliberating the meaning and significance of that year in France and many more discussions have taken place. It is without doubt difficult to understand what ’68 meant for many activists back then and even what is means to them today. Daniel A. Gordon, Robert Gildea and Bertram Gordon try to organize the varying thoughts and different perspectives on 1968 in their articles. Their divergent yet at times overlapping views put their articles under review due to the various available literature that shines light at the memories of ’68 in France from several angles. The first article “Memories of May ’68: France’s Convenient Consensus” by Daniel A. Gordon, published in 2012, comes from the journal’s Modern & Contemporary France twentieth volume and second issue. In his short review of Memory of May ’68: France’s Convenient Consensus by Chris Reynolds, Daniel Gordon states that Reynolds’ has well proven that the memories of ’68 are reduced to just that one month (May) during which ‘children’ of the elite society lead a revolt against the political framework they were brought up in. The second article “Utopia and Conflict in the Oral Testimonies of French 1968 Activists” by Robert Gildea, published in 2013, is from the journal’s Memory Studies sixth volume and first publication. The material for this article came from the 2007-2011 pan-European project titled ‘Around 1968: Activism, Networks, Trajectories.’ In his published piece, Gildea brings together five interview of former activists in 1968 in France. These interviews then are explored through the shadow of two emerging narratives of cultu... ... middle of paper ... ... they all influenced a sentiment for activism and revolt. On the contrary, Daniel Gordon’s article does not mention anything about this phenomenon. But it should also be taken into consideration that this written piece is simply a book review and thus it does not incorporate all the analysis situated in Reynold’s Memories of May ’68: France’s Convenient Consensus. Works Cited Gildea, Robert (2008) “1968 in 2008”. History Today 58 (5). Gildea, Robert (2013) “Utopia and Conflict in the Oral Testimonies of French 1968 Activists.” Memory Studies 6 (1): 37-52. Gordon, Bertram (1998). ‘The Eyes of the Marcher: Paris, May 1968- Theory and its Consequences’ in DeGroot, G. J. (ed) Student protest: the sixties and after, p. 39-53. London: Longman. Gordon, Daniel A. (2012) “Memories of May ’68: France’s Convenient Consensus.” Modern & Contemporary France 20 (2): 276-277.
Gilbert, Ben W. Ten blocks from the White House: Anatomy of the Washington Riots of 1968. FA Praeger, 1968.
They were angered and tired with Robespierre who recently said “Terror is nothing more than quick and strict justice, and we apply it only to protect our country’s most urgent needs”. He is advising the people that terror and violence is the correct way to do things and also the fastest. He was also saying things like “I say no mercy for the innocent! Mercy for the weak! Mercy for the unfortunate! Mercy for humanity! Society owes protection only to peaceful citizens.” This is a prime example of what a power hungy tyrant is.
1968 was a year of loss. The world lost one of the greats, Dr. Martin Luther King in April of 1968. A few months after King’s death, presidential hopeful Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Many American’s were being more vocal about their opinions of the Vietnam War, riots were still occurring due to continued racial injustice, more of America’s counterculture were questioning the effectiveness of America’s government. Current President Lyndon Johnson was widely considered a failure for his handling of the Vietnam War; American’s were seeking great change with the election of the next president. The Democratic National Convention to be held in Chicago and the protests that occurred was the ultimate
Beginning in mid-1789, and lasting until late-1799, the French Revolution vastly changed the nation of France throughout its ten years. From the storming of the Bastille, the ousting of the royal family, the Reign of Terror, and all the way to the Napoleonic period, France changed vastly during this time. But, for the better part of the last 200 years, the effects that the French Revolution had on the nation, have been vigorously debated by historian and other experts. Aspects of debate have focused around how much change the revolution really caused, and the type of change, as well as whether the changes that it brought about should be looked at as positive or negative. Furthermore, many debate whether the Revolutions excesses and shortcomings can be justified by the gains that the revolution brought throughout the country. Over time, historians’ views on these questions have changed continually, leading many to question the different interpretations and theories behind the Revolutions effectiveness at shaping France and the rest of the world.
Freedom Rides, Vietnam, and Social activism among the youths of America have left the 60’s with a very profound effect on our society. Without question, the decade of the 1960’s was one of the most controversial in American History. Throughout this period of social unrest, anti-war attitudes were gaining prevalence in a peace-loving subculture, and individuals began to question certain aspects of governmental policy and authority. This was the decade of peace and war, optimism and despair, cultural turbulence and frustration.
Klimke, Martin. “Black and Red Panthers.” In The Other Alliance: Student Protest in West Germany and the United States in the global sixties. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2010.
The France practically changed from being an absolute monarchy to a republic overnight. Everything that the people of France had ever known was changed in a heart-beat. Their once beloved king had just been guillotined and it was now time to set up a new political system. The leaders of the revolution, the Jacobins, imagined a representative government that ruled on the principals of “liberte,” “egalite,” and “fraternity,” liberty, equality and broth...
The late sixties was a time of turmoil in the United States. It was a transition period between the psychedelic sixties and the revolutionary seventies. The youth of the United States was becoming increasingly aware of the politics of war, the draft and other general misuses of governmental power. With the Democratic National Convention being held in Chicago during 1968, political tensions were running high throughout the city. Numerous protests were held during the time surrounding the convention in protest of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s policies on the Vietnam War. Most notably, the group of Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, David Dillinger, John Froines, Lee Weiner and Bobby Seale...
Bloom, Alexander, and Wini Breines. "Takin' It to the Streets": A Sixties Reader. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.
Bloom, Alexander, and Wini Breines. "Takin' it to the streets": A Sixties Reader. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. Print.
The Radical Reader: A Documentary History of the American Radical Tradition, ed. Timothy Patrick McCarthy and John McMillian (New York: The New Press, 2011), 584.
Although the sixties were a decade in which the United States became a more open, more tolerant, and a freer country, in some ways it became less of these things. During the sixties, America intervened in other nations and efforts were made to stop the progress of the civil rights movement. Because of America’s foreign policy and Americans fight against the civil rights movement, it is clear that the sixties in America were not purely a decade of openness, tolerance, and freedom in the United States.
In the duration of one year, 1968, the American national mood shifted from general confidence and optimism to chaotic confusion. Certainly the most turbulent twelve months of the post-WWII period and arguably one of the most disturbing episodes the country has endured since the Civil War, 1968 offers the world a glimpse into the tumultuous workings of a revolution. Although the entire epoch of the 1960's remains significant in US history, 1968 stands alone as the pivotal year of the decade; it was the moment when all of the nation's urges toward violence, sublimity, diversity, and disorder peaked to produce a transformation great enough to blanket an entire society. While some may superficially disagree, the evidence found in the Tet Offensive, race relations, and the counterculture's music of the period undeniably affirm 1968 as a turning point in American history.
Jasper, James M. The Art of Moral Protest Culture: Biography, and Creativity in Social Movements. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997. Print.
In the time period from 1968 to 1983, the world was transitioning. The 1960’s had seen a political upheaval, being “years of protest and reform. Young Americans demonstrated against the Vietnam War. African Americans demonstrated for civil rights. Women demonstrated for equal treatment. For many, society's hero was the person who helped others.” (Watson) The country and its people were conflicted with politics that