Jacques-Pierre Brissot And The French Revolution

955 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: declaration of the right of man and the citizen used in a sentece

The word revolution can be defined as a sudden, radical, or complete change. The French Revolution was a period of social and political upheaval in France 1789 to 1799. The revolution marked the decline of monarchy and the rise of democracy. One of the more important documents to rise out of this democracy was Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Within this document contains the words “that all men are born free and equal in rights” (Hunt, et al, 641). The revolution did not just affect continental France it also had an affect on France’s Caribbean colonies, where the use of slaves was integral to the revenue that was being generated from those colonies. Leaders of the French Revolution, specifically the Society of the Friends of Blacks, pushed the abolition of the slave trade. Their address in a pamphlet written in February of 1790 on the abolishing of the slave trade reveals that they did not support abolishing slavery altogether just the abolition of the actual slave trade itself.
The Society of the Friends of Blacks was a group of French men and women who were abolitionist during the French Revolution era. They were founded in 1788 in Paris and remained in existence until 1793. Jacques-Pierre Brissot led the society. During his tenure Brissot received advice from the head of the abolitionist movement, Thomas Clarkson, in the Kingdom of Great Britain. Brissot undertook the initial formation of the Society. Brissot was a follower of the philosophes and his anti-slavery efforts were due to his exposure to the humanitarian efforts on both sides of the Atlantic. While in the United States he took a particular interest in Thomas Jefferson’s humanitarian nature. Additionally, he spent time in Engl...

... middle of paper ...

... means to pacify the colonists to get them to see that they did not need to keep recruiting blacks in Africa. Additionally, the pamphlet addresses that if the inhumane treatment of the slaves were to persist then the slaves would grow tired and push them towards an insurrection. A prospect that came true when in 1791 there was a slave revolt in St. Domingue.
The effort of the Society of the Friends of Blacks was a just cause because they fought for the abolition of the slave trade in France. How truly influential their methods were in this fight for the abolition of the slave trade can be argued, however, what cannot be argued is that they at least brought attention to this matter. The pamphlet addressing the slave trade was a way for them to address the issue and to offer a warning that if matters did not change a slave revolt would happen.

Show More
Related

  • Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged, and Profited from Slavery

    901 Words  | 2 Pages

    The North is popularly considered the catalyst of the abolitionist movement in antebellum America and is often glorified in its struggle against slavery; however, a lesser-known installment of the Northern involvement during this era is one of its complicity in the development of a “science” of race that helped to rationalize and justify slavery and racism throughout America. The economic livelihood of the North was dependent on the fruits of slave labor and thus the North, albeit with some reluctance, inherently conceded to tolerate slavery and moreover embarked on a quest to sustain and legitimize the institution through scientific research. Racism began to progress significantly following the American Revolution after which Thomas Jefferson himself penned Notes on the State of Virginia, a document in which he voiced his philosophy on black inferiority, suggesting that not even the laws of nature could alter it. Subsequent to Jefferson’s notes, breakthroughs in phrenological and ethnological study became fundamental in bolstering and substantiating the apologue of racial inadequacy directed at blacks. Throughout history, slavery was indiscriminate of race and the prospect acquiring freedom not impossible; America, both North and South, became an exception to the perennial system virtually guaranteeing perpetual helotry for not only current slaves but also their progeny.

    Read More

  • Slavery In Woody Holton's Black Americans In The Revolutionary Era

    1667 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are many contradictions pertaining to slavery, which lasted for approximately 245 years. In Woody Holton’s “Black Americans in the Revolutionary Era”, Holton points out the multiple instances where one would find discrepancies that lie in the interests of slaveowners, noble figures, and slaves that lived throughout the United States. Holton exemplifies this hostility in forms of documents that further specify and support his claim.

    Read More

  • Denmark Vesey

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    South Carolina was one of the only states in which the black slaves and abolitionists outnumbered their oppressors. Denmark Vesey’s slave revolt consisted of over nine-thousand armed slaves, free blacks, and abolitionists, that would have absolutely devastated society in South Carolina for slave owners, and could have quite possibly been a major step towards the abolishment of slavery in the United states. Robertson succeeded in describing the harsh conditions of slaves in pre-civil war Charleston, South Carolina. This book also helped me to understand the distinctions between the different groups. These groups including the black slaves, free blacks, extreme abolitionists, and the pro-slavery communities.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Booker T Washington And W. E. B. Du Bois

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Following the enforcement of emancipation and the passage of the thirteenth amendment in 1864, African Americans found themselves in a contradictory position of both newfound freedom and great discrimination. The newly freed slaves of America faced a society that mere years ago, considered them as nothing greater than property. During this period, two leaders of monumentally opposed schools of thought emerged in the African American community. Booker T. Washington, and William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B) Du Bois. These two thinkers were some of the most influential educators, authors, and orators of the American 19th century, and were also frequent critics of the other's methods and ideas. This was due to a sharp disagreement on the ‘right’ strategy for improving the condition of the black community. While they might not have agreed on the means, both of these remarkable men at least shared that common goal, and their efforts are best demonstrated by looking to the long standing success of institutions they founded and worked ( the Tuskegee institute and Atlanta University respectively). That being said, the diametrically opposed philosophies they supported still stand today, and each 'camp' can be identified in many contemporary debates over discrimination, society, and how to end racial and class injustice.

    Read More

  • Phillis Wheatley's Response To The Abolition Of Slavery

    1650 Words  | 4 Pages

    But roughly a century later a change in this mindset was given evidence by the French nobleman Alexis de Tocqueville’s sociopolitical work, Democracy in America, which identified the need for and unavoidability of the abolition of slavery and that it was America’s greed that was keeping this from happening. Both Wheatley and Tocqueville show the changing view of slaves and slavery in America within a

    Read More

  • Why Is The French Revolution Important Today

    1348 Words  | 3 Pages

    The French Revolution, also known as the revolution of 1789, was a movement that helped shape France into what it is today. The Revolution may have started in 1787 but it wasn’t till 1789 when the revolution actually started to become worse. The Revolution had many reasons for why it started, but it was only a few major things that really made it happen.

    Read More

  • Why Is Reconstruction A Turning Point For Reconstruction

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    Furthermore, despite the Federal government’s attempts to combat white vigilance, violence was still continuously used against African Americans. Although higher education was now available to African Americans with the opening of universities such as Howard and Fisk, many ex slaves remained uneducated and therefore maintained an inferior position in society. Like French political observer Tocqueville noted, although slavery no longer existed, ‘racial prejudice’ continued. This allows us to draw the conclusion that while the reconstruction period succeeded in aiding African Americans in the fight for civil rights, its goals were not full-filled.

    Read More

  • The French and Mexican Revolutions

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is a revolution? By definition it means the overthrow of a government by those who are governed. That is exactly what the French and the Mexican revolutions were all about. The living conditions and overall treatment of the poor, pheasants, lower class, last man on the totem pole or what ever you want to call them, was a large factor in the coming of these revolutions. "Those who are governed" are exactly what the lower class people were. Also, liberty was one of the people's major concerns. They were ruled by men whose only desire was power and greed which is what led them into revolt.

    Read More

  • Slavery During the 1800s

    481 Words  | 1 Pages

    Slavery in the eighteenth century was worst for African Americans. Observers of slaves suggested that slave characteristics like: clumsiness, untidiness, littleness, destructiveness, and inability to learn the white people were “better.” Despite white society's belief that slaves were nothing more than laborers when in fact they were a part of an elaborate and well defined social structure that gave them identity and sustained them in their silent protest.

    Read More

  • Slavery as the Cause of the American Civil War

    1746 Words  | 4 Pages

    Slavery was the core of the North and South’s conflict. Slavery has existed in the New World since the seventeenth century prior to it being exclusive to race. During those times there were few social and political concerns about slavery. Initially, slaves were considered indentured servants who will eventually be set free after paying their debt(s) to the owner. In some cases, the owners were African with white servants. However, over time the slavery became exclusive to Africans and was no limited to a specific timeframe, but life. In addition, the treatment of slaves worsens from the Atlantic Slave trade to th...

    Read More

  • The Impact Of The American Revolution On Slavery

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    All in all the American Revolution had a contradictory effect on the conceptions of freedom and slavery within American life. Colonial peoples desired universal freedom for all, however they did not understand how this new notion of freedom would apply to African-Americans slaves, in which they perceived as “property”. With the language of freedom changing, along with the uprising of petitions and the mobilization of slaves during the 18th century we began to see a glimpse of abolition, for the first time in American

    Read More

  • How Revolutionary Was The American Revolution?

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American Revolution was a “light at the end of the tunnel” for slaves, or at least some. African Americans played a huge part in the war for both sides. Lord Dunmore, a governor of Virginia, promised freedom to any slave that enlisted into the British army. Colonists’ previously denied enlistment to African American’s because of the response of the South, but hesitantly changed their minds in fear of slaves rebelling against them. The north had become to despise slavery and wanted it gone. On the contrary, the booming cash crops of the south were making huge profits for landowners, making slavery widely popular. After the war, slaves began to petition the government for their freedom using the ideas of the Declaration of Independence,” including the idea of natural rights and the notion that government rested on the consent of the governed.” (Keene 122). The north began to fr...

    Read More

  • The French Revolution and Christianity

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    The French Revolution represents a period in history that brought about a major change in not only Europe but the entire world. The French revolution spanned from 1789 to 1799. It brought about several key changes in not only the economic state of France but also the perception of the Christian church, specifically the Catholic church in France. Its impacts both economically and religiously are still felt to this day. The French Revolution may have temporarily destroyed Christianity in France, however, it acted as a savior for the future of Christianity.

    Read More

  • Industrial, French, and American Revolutions: Common Social Revolutions?

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    The French Revolution was one of the larger social revolutions. It can be considered a revolution on the political, social, religious, and economic front, although the biggest causes were social. The French Revolution began on July 14, 1789, with the fall of Bastille and continued until the rise of power of Napoleon Bonaparte. The main re...

    Read More

  • The Abolition of Slavery in France

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ights, slavery was abolished in France. It goes to show that a set of new ideas, so basic yet unheard of, can go a long way in changing society. It was hard to argue against these ideas since it had led to the rights of Frenchmen. Those that were opposed to slavery after the debut of these ideas only used the economy as a reference. No longer were people going around supporting slavery because they felt it was right, but rather they felt it was a necessary evil to keep the wealth. This goes to show that “natural rights” even affected those that had previously supported slavery in full. Before anyone had mentioned “natural rights,” slavery was part of everyday life with few stopping to give it much thought. Natural rights and natural law not only not only provided the base stone to the American Revolution, but to essentially every revolution thereon after.

    Read More

More about Jacques-Pierre Brissot And The French Revolution

Open Document