PoliSci 31A Dates - Exam 2

1762

Rousseau publishes On the Social Contract, General Will vs. Will of All. Popular Sovereignty: Legitimate political power belongs entirely to the people. It cannot be divided. Emphasizes the Will of the People.

1789

The French Revolution. An uprising of the French people to overthrow King Louis and Marie Antoinette from power. Established the Directory, a Bicameral Legislature that lasted until 1799. The National Assembly meets to draft a constitution, including the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, which proclaimed that all men are born free and equal in rights, aiming to replace the absolute monarchy with a constitutional government based on individual liberties.

1792-1794

"The Terror" (including the execution of Louis XVI). Radical actors controlled the state government. State-sanctioned violence and mass executions designed to eliminate perceived enemies of the French Revolution.

1799-1814

Napoleon is dictator. Napoleon was a popular military commander. Used the political unrest and fury of the people to seize power. Named himself first consul, giving himself ultimate authority.

1815

Napoleon Bonaparte's return from exile for "the 100 days" as ruler. Napoleon escapes from his island prison. Turned the king's army against him. After regaining power tries to preemptively strike Europe. Eventually defeated and sentenced to exile again.

1819

Constant gives a speech at the Athénée Royal in Paris. A direct response to the failures of the French Revolution. The liberty of the Ancients: Citizens have a direct, active voice in exercising sovereignty and the community has total control over an individual's private life. The Liberty of the Moderns: The right to be subject only to the law, private independence, and citizens exercised political power indirectly by electing representatives.

1797

Kant, The Metaphysics of Morals

1790s - 1840s

The Industrial Revolution

1846

Marx and Engels complete The German Ideology. History is not driven by thoughts, religion, or politics, but by practical, material reality. The base includes the means of production and how people are organized to use them (relations of production, like boss and worker). The superstructure: Politics, laws, religion, and philosophy only exist to justify and protect the economic power of whoever controls the Base.

1848

Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo between US and Mexico, ceded land to US, example of expropriation contract (Mills)

1859

Marx and Engels complete "Preface to a Critique of Political Economy". Presented the same arguments as the German Ideology, but shifted more towards economics.

1864

International Working Men's Association founded. It aimed to coordinate worker solidarity, prevent foreign workers from being used as strikebreakers, and organize the working class to overthrow capitalism.

1871

"The Paris Commune". A radical, self-governing socialist uprising that seized control of Paris for 72 days. Attempted to implement Marxism, but failed after the Prussian military aided the government of Versailles in massacring them.

1492

Columbus claims San Salvador for Spain. Christopher Columbus made landfall in the Americas (Bahamas). Believed that he was in India.

1776

Mission San Juan Capistrano founded. Example of colonial contract (Charles Mills de jure white supremacy)

1850

Act for the Government and Protection of Indians (California). A brutal legal structure that codified the forced labor, exploitation, and systemic stripping of rights of California's indigenous people. (example of expropriation contract - also slavery)

1857

Dred Scott v Sanford. Argued that because he entered a free state, he was thus free. The Court ruled against Scott, ruling that since Scott was of African descent, he was not a citizen and had no right to sue, confirms slavery as a legal status (slavery contract Charles Mills)

1865

Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. Abolished slavery and indentured servitude in the U.S.

1896

Plessy v. Ferguson. Ruled that the government was to enforce absolute equality, not social distinctions. Argued the separate but equal principle.

1947

Mendez v. Westminster. Prohibited the forced segregation of Mexican-American schoolchildren in California. Led to the signing of a bill to officially outlaw segregation in schools. Known as a blueprint for Brown V Board.

1954

Brown v. Board of Education. Abolished state-sanctioned segregation in public schools. Overturned the Plessy decision