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Tuesday, 24 October 2006 17:06 |
By JEREMY MORRISON
The French, American and Haitian revolutions were all idealistic ventures that were ultimately settled militarily, Dr. Tracy Rizzo told an audience of about 200 people at UNC Ashevilleës Lipinsky Auditorium on Sept. 1.
Rizzo is an associate professor of history and director of the womenës study program at UNCA.
She divided the course of a revolution into three phases: identifying with the rights of man, searching for community and restoration of order. Both the French and American revolutions followed this model, she said, but they differed greatly in motivation and implementation.
"In terms of the goals of these revolutions, they were very different," Rizzo said.
The
American Revolution was led by the new countryës upper class, she
noted, in an attempt to cast off the chains of their British oppressors
so that they could remain at the top of the pecking order, with no
oversight from a distant crown.
In contrast,
Rizzo said, the French struggle was a "revolution from below" ÇƒÓ fought
by the common people for a complete overhaul of the existing system.
Perhaps the most
telling sign of this difference is that at the beginning of their
movement, French revolutionaries drafted the Declaration of the Rights
of Man and of the Citizen, while the U.S. Bill of Rights was written
after the War for Independence, Rizzo said.
The first phase
of the American Revolution blossomed out of the common resentment of
excessive taxation and lack of representation, she noted. This was
viewed by the colonists as a form of tyranny on the part of King George
III.
"Itës often the levying of new taxes that spurs people to complain and eventually take up arms," Rizzo explained.
Organizing their
opposition to the crown into acts of civil disobedience, the colonists
began a revolution. Though it was initiated by prominent members of
society, Rizzo said, it proved a popular cause, with about a third of
the colonists volunteering to fight.
The French
Revolution, on the other hand, worked from the bottom up. "Actions in
the street" led to the eventual toppling of the ruling bodies, Rizzo
explained. This first phase of the French Revolution culminated in the
execution of the king.
"Ultimately, this phase fails, as the king cannot be reconciled," Rizzo said.
The second phase
of the French Revolution ÇƒÓ the search for community ÇƒÓ was best
exemplified by a deck of cards that were commissioned by the new ruling
body, Rizzo told the audience.
"Why would a government in the midst of foreign and civil war bother to create a deck of cards?" she asked.
Rizzo then
explained that the new decks featured revolutionary icons on the face
cards instead of the traditional kings and queens. This served as a
tangible sign of the change that had taken place.
In America, the
second phase saw a shedding of those who held "undesirable" or
"incompatible" ideas. Individuals who were unsympathetic to the cause
were exiled from the cities and urban centers, she said, leading to a
community in which the majority supported the split from England.
In France, the establishment of a pro-revolutionary community took a different form, Rizo noted.
With no expanses
into which to exile dissenters, the French simply purged themselves of
anti-revolutionary elements. This aspect of the revolutionës second
phase ÇƒÓ between 1793 and 1794 ÇƒÓ took the form of the Reign of Terror,
during which 16,000 people were executed for their opposition to the
revolution.
Rizzo said the
violence during this period seems to contradict the high-minded,
Enlightenment-inspired idealism on which the French Revolution was
based.
"Spend some time thinking about that," she told the audience. "How can you force someone to be free?"
In line with
Enlightenment concepts, the second phase also saw socialistic
legislation passed. In 1793, France closed all churches in the country
and the next year, slavery was abolished. The nation also adopted the
metric system and implemented the death penalty for hoarders and
price-gougers.
"During this
radical phase, you have greater strides taken toward socialism," Rizzo
said, adding that at the same time, the atmosphere grew increasingly
violent.
"How can you have progressive legislation on the one hand, and incredible blood shed on the other?" she asked.
Rizzo explained
that this conundrum could perhaps best be exemplified by a newly
invented instrument of death. The guillotine, which debuted in 1792,
was perceived at the time as a humane step forward, compared to
previous methods of execution.
"It was supposed to be the cold kiss of steel, rendering capital punishment virtually painless," Rizzo said.
The third and
final phase of revolution ÇƒÓ restoration of order ÇƒÓ ended, in both
countries, with military generals taking control, Rizzo noted.
In the U.S.,
George Washington was elected as the nationës first president. In
France, Napoleon Bonaparte took power, declaring himself emperor in
1804.
After seizing
power, she noted, Napoleon repealed most of the Enlightenment-inspired
legislation passed during the revolutionës second phase.
"He did keep the metric system," Rizzo said with a laugh.
Rizzo also
discussed briefly the revolution in Haiti, noting that there, the first
two phases of revolution were united through the synergizing influence
of Voodoo ÇƒÓ an indigenous religion practiced by the slaves on the
island.
"They already had a form of community in place," Rizzo said.
Voodoo, which
facilitated the slaves gathering together to practice rituals, played a
significant role in sparking the Haitian uprising, she noted.
However, the
revolution in Haiti ultimately ended in the same manner as those in the
U.S. and France, she said ÇƒÓ with a military faction taking control of
the country.
Rizzo then asked
the audience how revolutions founded in a belief in equality and human
rights could lead to the establishment of totalitatrian regimes.
Answering her own question, she said, "One answer is that it just takes a long time for the rights of man to reach everyone." |
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