Untitled Flashcards Set

Lecture Notes:

The American Revolution

• Many people came to the colonies because of their religion. Coming to the colonies meant creating a way to practice their faith away from persecution. The pilgrims were able to follow the puritan faith, and the quakers in Pennsylvania were able to practice their own faith as well. In Britain if people didn't follow the protestant faith aligning with the church of England they were persecuted and harrassed. People also went to the colonies in hopes of making money, the possibility of advancement was far greater in the colonies than it was in England. For example, becoming part of the militia or a governor was far more likely than in Britain which was a greatly classed society.

• People in the colonies didn’t identify as American, rather seeing themselves as British citizens transplanted into a new land.

• Slavery was accepted in all 13 colonies. They were used for unloading ships.

• At first indentured servitude was much more common at the beginning of the establishment of the colonies. 

• They tried enslaving the native americans at first, but it didn't work well

• The colonists had mostly tobacco fields, but also had other cash crops like indigo and rice. 

• Once these plantations and fields were more cultivated, it made more sense to purchase more slaves as more hands were needed to work the fields. As slavery became more common the laws that emphasized race based slavery became more tight.

• Enslaved people were brought to the western hemisphere from Africa and were forced to work on plantations. The products produced on these plantations were sent to europe, and refined goods from Europe were sent to Africa and the colonies. 

• In the northern colonies there was production of manufactured goods, resulting in the north becoming more urbanized

• There were potential issues to the people living in british colonies. The native americans were a threat to the british. The native americans remained relatively independent for a long time. They were seen as empires for the purposes of the colonists, and signed treaties with the colonists.

• The french colonies were also a threat to the british colonies. The french alos occupied a large portion of the americas. The french had a more pragmatic approach to dealing with the native americans. Their better relations with the local tribes led to them being more safe, and allowed for the french to convince the natives to do proxy wars against the british to prevent them from acquiring more land.

• In order to avoid threats the british attempted unification

• The british attempted to make the dominion of new england. It was the idea of james II who wished for the colonies ot unify. He announces the attempt to dissolve the colonies (which would have led to the loss of jobs for those who were governors, magistrates, militia leaders, etc.) and form a new union. This led to many protests.

• James II was overthrown by William and Mary leading the dominion governor to be arrested, and the dominion being dissolved

• The Albany congress was held in hopes of unifying multiple colonies. Colonial assemblies turned down the possibility of unifying

• North America was a battleground for European wars multiple times.

• The french and indian war resulted in the french colonies being vanquished

• Thomas hutchinson became the royal governor of massachusetts, He had sympathy for colonial citizens but moved back to britain. He was a supporter of the tax act

• There was much violence before the revolution. Thomas Hutchinson once left his home and in the course of an evening his house was dismantled and looted. 

• The americans that were living in the colonies were prevented from expanding west which angered them, the british were protecting various groups that had long threatened the colonies such as french catholic canadians, and native americans. The Americans were also told to pay for some of their security and defense. Standing defense and soldiers were very expensive because the soldiers had to be paid and supplied with tools such as muskets, and they had to be housed. Before the British granted protection to the colonists' enemies, there was barely anything that had to be paid.

• The british cut down on smuggling, john hancock, an important revolutionary, made much of his money by smuggling. There were many other bostonians who made money by smuggling as well. By cutting down on smuggling the British were able to make more money by taxing imports. The British also threatened to imprison smugglers, take them to Halifax in Nova Scotia for trial, and make them pay for witnesses to attend the trial in their favor. This angered the colonies as they were threatened by the fact that this punishment may extend to other crimes beyond smuggling. 

• The import duties on sugar also threatened to hurt the economy further.

• The stamp act is what sent the colonists over the edge. The British wanted to make more money. All paper products would require an official stamp which were sold with a tax. It was seen as a very aggressive way to make money as paper was integrated into every aspect of colonial life (newspapers, pamphlets, lawmaking, playing cards, etc.)

• All the stamp agents in the colonies resigned due to the EXTREME pushback against the stamp act. 

• The taxes were eventually repealed due to the implied domestic economic losses. They tried again with the townshend act. The British did not impose the act because they needed the money but rather because they wanted to make a point to the colonists. 

• The colonies were largely connected and communicated frequently and they constantly published pamphlets regarding politics calling for reduced taxing.

• The British repealed many taxes but they maintained the taxes on tea, a very large part of life which was drunk every day. They changed the law so that they would not be taxed if they bought British tea, which would support the British east india company. This offended the colonists, and they feared that something else would become taxed in such a manner, forcing them to contribute to Britain's pockets.

• This led to the Boston tea party. Those who participated would dress as native americans. The British were tired of the pushback and told Boston to pay back what they owed. They also made a new customs board that was set up to prosecute smuggling, and it was based in boston. They also set up protection for the workers of the customs board as well. There were many British soldiers housed across Boston, which was threatening to many colonists.

• The boston massacre was caused because some bostonians were messing with a british soldier, and in the mess, a british soldier accidentally opened fire, and this was misinterpreted as an order to open fire on the crowd, leading to fire being opened on the crowd and multiple colonists being killed.

• The British wanted to punish Boston further for opposing the crown. They put out the boston acts, closing the boston harbor economically harming everyone, they replaced the boston governor with a british man, did not allow convicts juries in their trials, and increased british soldiers and personnel in boston even more.

• In much literature pre-revolution, there was little talk of independence, just freedom of liberties. They felt they were entitled to local representation. They wanted to have trial by jury again

• They weren’t necessarily rebellious but they wanted reform. When the british refused they were shocked

• Networks of conversation increased. There were unofficial hubs for discussion. Communication between colonies also increased. Common ideas spread across the colonies.

• The colonists were fearful of the slippery slope the british had made

• The colonists were more aware that collective action actually had effect. Boycotts increased.

• Boston became an occupied city, but the rest of the colonies kept about their business

• Virginia fought a war against the natives to expand their borders and won 1 year before lexington and concord, showing that the british weren’t actually stopping them from expanding and that protections for the natives were not necessarily being upheld.

• This was an argument for the British, showing that the colonists did not necessarily have it bad, and that revolution wasn’t necessary.

• There were multiple conflicts fought between colonists and British forces that did not result in war. For example, colonists lit a naval ship on fire. In 1774, New Hampshire militia stormed a fort in Portsmouth and seized cannons and powder. There were no consequences.

• Before the revolution there were several attempts at peace, the colonists were desperate to prevent a war.

• In October 1774 delegates from each colony convened in philly. They tried to find a way to settle things with britain. The northern colonies wanted firm action, the southern colonies wanted to reconcile.

• Committees of observation served a dual role: they enforced order, but they also were a catalyst for colonial unity.

• Thomas Gage, a British commander in America, was familiar with the colonies. He was successful in the french-indian war working closely with the colonists. He was sympathetic to the colonies. He wanted to take away military supplies from the colonists in order to stop radicals and rebels

• Gage planned a raid to concord who was rumored to have multiple cannons, only telling his second in command and his wife, but somehow Paul Revere found out. There was a battle that the colonists won.

• Forces around boston grew as many british troops were sent there from the other colonies

• When the British tried to rebel it led to the battle of bunker/breed's hill which was very bloody. However there were many colonists who were still pro-britain or neutral

• After the siege of Boston, George III named anyone who opposed the British a traitor. He threatened for revolutionary leaders to be killed and that force would be used to put down the rebellion.

• The August 1775 proclamation of rebellion stated that it was the duty of lyal citizens to suppress others who were open to rebellion and that revolutionists would be punished.

• October 1775: The american rebellion is carried on for the establishment of an independent empire

• December 1775: 

• The second continental congress was established, not through a vote, they wished to govern but there was no guarantee that the colonies would listen considering most colonies governments had been dissolved

• Congress asked the colonies to see what they should do. There was a radical response from many of the colonies, many colonists were pro-revolt. One of the documents that influenced the pro-revolt sentiment was common sense by Thomas Paine.

• Many members of congress were swayed and they issued the Declaration of Independence.

• It was very difficult to remain neutral? There were many people who did remain loyal and they were called tories.

• The British tried to gather loyalists to fight the war for them rather than sending troops overseas. They also got German catholics to fight for them as mercenaries, called the Hessians.

• The war expanded very quickly. Boston had to be evacuated and the war continued in New York. continuing to move farther south

• The militias farther south were not as enthusiastic about fighting the war. And many people remained neutral or loyal to Britain because they feared consequence, they saw themselves as British citizens, and they feared change and losing. The colonists also had a very high standard of living thanks to their connection to the British which they would have to give up if they declared independence. There was a high risk for economic lossFurthermore, the British had a highly trained military whereas the colonies only had a militia in each colony, it was highly likely that one could die in battle.  The south in particular was in a good economic position, and there were threats to take away their means of making money (slave labor).

• Northern militias were motivated by ideology against the British and the fear of losing their homes. While they weren’t professionally trained they were highly motivated. The middle states were the least motivated of all the states, mostly fighting in the middle of the war. The southern states were the best fighters and were motivated by survival and they fought mostly at the end of the war.

• The British strategy was initially to cut off the north and stop the war there, however the war continued to move south. They believed the loyalists in the colonies would be able to benefit them and help them win the war. They believed that once they got rid of the rebels and insurrection they would be able to reclaim the colonies.

• In 1777 the British suffered a string of defeats and were unable to stop the war in the North. The British commanders could not coordinate which contributed to defeats

• The British attempted to utilize the slave population in the colonies, promising them freedom if they supported the British cause. The native american tribes also believed that if the americans gained independence it would be a risk to them, so they also joined the british troops becoming very effective troops. Many of the freed slaves were moved to different locations after the war such as canada and sierra leone

• The Colonies saw many slaves fight on their side as well, but not as many as those who fought for the british. Promises made to slaves fighting on the colony's side were often not upheld. Cesar Robins was enslaved and got his freedom, enlisting three times, after the war he bought a plot of land and made a life for himself.

• The French became involved in the war, joining the side of the colonies. They helped to fund the colonies' war. The French made significant attacks against British Caribbean colonies. This economically harmed the British and hurt chances for help to come.

• It took 2 years for negotiations to be finished and for the war to end (1781-83). The French got back much of the land they lost during the french-indian war. The US got freedom for all their 13 colonies, but they were unable to get their 14th colony. The British were able to keep Canada, and all the countries traded around land in the caribbean.

• The 13 colonies which were newly freed were left to create a new national government, which would have been difficult as each of the colonies had been functioning very independently before the war. The Post war era was not peaceful, seeing multiple rebellions (Shay’s rebellion, Whiskey rebellion) over taxes.

• The anti-federalists who were against unification, had no plans for what they wanted. James Madison, who had a plan, explained his ideas which eventually saw the ratification of the Constitution and other documents such as the Bill of Rights. Discussions on slavery resulted in the 3/5ths Compromise and the end of the slave trade in a couple decades.

• The new republic was still divided after the constitution was made, as they questioned what was next for America. Some wondered if they should expand westward, if they should improve international relations, particularly with the British and French, or other things. 

• After the revolution, the confederate states believed they were the new patriots

• The Monroe doctrine said that European countries should stay out of the western hemisphere, as they were leading all countries in the west to freedom.

The Haitian Revolution

• The Haitian revolution was a successful venture according to CLR James. The haitians were fighting to get their freedom back, and they were successful in getting that freedom back. James argues that L’ouverture had become an outline for black liberation.

• Haiti’s revolution was a slave resistance, and it is uniquely the only successful slave rebellion

• Haiti was the first island to be colonized and have slavery, this introduced disease to the island. The western part of the island was occupied by France and the eastern by the spanish. At its peak, there were 8000 plantations. Haiti produced 40% of all sugar, and 60% of all coffee consumed in Europe, making it more profitable than all Britain's Caribbean colonies combined.

• 11-12 million slaves were transported from west africa to the eastern hemisphere. 1.5 million slaves were transported to the french colonies

• Slaves were captured from West Africa, or prisoners of opposing tribes were sold to the europeans. When they were being transported the goal was to break their spirit and get rid of the will to resist the captors.

• There were random and planned factors that determined what plantations people ended up on, so oftentimes there were very diverse groups of people working as slaves on plantations. 

• To try and prevent attempts at rebellion christianity was adopted, and it was used to reinforce the idea that slaves had to follow their masters. Slave masters told their slaves that they were being saved from their heretical lives in Africa, so their souls were being saved. This was how many plantation owners addressed their own discomfort with the system. 

• The bible gave the slaves a set of ideas that united them, and they could manipulate to suit their ideals. This faith was also changed and made into christianity-adjacent faiths.

• Saint Domingue had very high economic potential. So the plan was to make as many plantations as possible. Many people were needed to work the plantations leading white people to be outnumbered by slaves 10 to 1.

• There were laws that governed the treatment of slave people, and excessive cruelty against them was not extremely common. An enslaved person theoretically had rights to bring charges against their masters if they were treated excessively cruel due to the Codes Noir. The Codes Noir also allowed for the possibility of emancipation. This creates within a couple generations, two distinct groups. There were freed people and enslaved people. There were black citizens who owned slaves themselves, however they did not have full rights and representation compared to white citizens. 

• There was a small white population, called the petit blancs, who did not have very much economic power. They had racial standing though. If someone could pass as white they would be considered white and would have access to those rights.

• The French wanted to maximize trade and profits, increasing trade within their empire. While the French were growing a lot of cash crops, they were not growing food. They were getting all their food (wheat) from the British colonies.

• The French's ability to avoid taxation during trade gave them a sense of power, skewing their view of what they were actually capable of.

• A way to resist was to work slowly or stop working for days at a time, and slave owners had to be tolerant of resistance from their slaves. They could not retaliate because it could cause far more insurrection and the money lost was likely to be made back.

• There were groups interested in resistance and they had weapons that allowed for resistance.

• On the eve of the french revolution there was the white upper class (very rich) who wanted more representation in paris. There was a mixed race and free upper middle class who had money, not as many rights, and status. There was a white lower class who were not economically well off, but they had political rights, but they felt threatened by the mixed race upper middle class. There was a substantial slave population who was aware of international events,

• Louis XVI summoned the estates general to create a new tax code. The estates-general was made up of 3 parts: the nobility (first estate), the clergy (second estate), and the other 95% of the population (third estate). The new national assembly was made

• The third estate argued to make a new tax code on their own, forcing a conversation that they hoped would make a better france. 

• There was an uprising in Paris, because food was too expensive. They were afraid that their uprising would be taken down and they would all be killed, because past food riots were met with military force, so they stormed the prison of Bastille to get ammunition. Bastille prison fell on july 14th, and political prisoners were let loose and many officers were killed

• The fall of the prison was a large event leading to anti-monarchist feelings arising all across the country. In mid august, Louis XVI was in a weakened position

• The national assembly took control of the country

• The declaration of the rights of men declared that there were rights that people were entitled to, including all men and maybe women.

• Imperial and republican france tried keeping slavery and race at arm's length, it wasn’t their concern at the time. The revolution and political instability took precedence over the issues in their colonies. 

• Oftentimes, there were people who thought slavery was bad, they did not however think equality was necessarily good, not wanting there to be any racial mixing. 

• There were many people that did not like slavery, but there were oftentimes no ways for people to see those issues. There were british documents that tried to inform people about the horrors of slavery and the hypocrisy

• Declaration of the Rights of Man:

  • The declaration of the rights of man granted inalienable rights to the citizens of france. Some of the clauses supported the idea that slaves deserved rights, others supported slavery

• Free groups in France campaigned for representation and rights.

• The four groups in Haiti that were free were vehemently opposed to freeing slaves, freeing the slaves would change the status quo and threaten positions of authority.

• White people in Haiti were eventually granted rights, but freed people were not afforded those rights. Haitian creole and free haitians in paris were angry and wished to be given rights as well. 

• Eventually, after a haitian creole named Vincent Oge rebelled, the haitian creoles were given rights by the french national assembly. This scared white rich people in Haiti who threatened to secede if the creoles were given rights, so the national assembly took their rights away again. The national assembly switching what they said angered many

• There was low level violence between whites and creoles/freed people.

• Eventually creoles/freed people were given some rights

• There were some slaves who were more elite and had more power, they moved around from plantation to plantation and planned a revolt for august 22,1791. Many slaves joined despite coming from such diverse backgrounds. They were united under the religion vodou. It was also inspired by catharsis, and anger towards the enslavers. 

• Rebellion looked different in different parts of the island. A black plantation owner, romaine riviere, renamed themselves romaine-la-prophetesse, became a rebellion leader. She worked as a general and had some good feats. 

• MISSED LECTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• In 1794, Louverture was at the height of his power. He was ideologically motivated by an ideal of freedom, he was militarily successful, he was a charismatic figure, and he was flexible. The French believed they could work with him and negotiate with him because they felt they could trust him. He was able to win battles and capture territory, and was good at convincing people to join him. The white governor of Haiti made Louverture his political deputy.

• Once slavery was abolished, there were some creoles who believed that Louverture got what he wanted because he fought for it. The creoles wanted to have a higher position after the system was abolished because they were just about to have it all before the revolution began. The Petit Blancs were also very upset with how a black man, a former slave, was one of the most powerful people on the island. 

• The French wanted to utilize Louverture's force to take out Britain's colony in the Caribbean by encouraging the Jamaican slaves to revolutionize against the british. The real goal was to send him on a mission that would lead to his death. Louverture knew of this and told the British to find the French spy in Jamaica and take him down in order to prevent the invasion.

• Louverture managed to get rid of french authorities on the island, after getting the french off the island, he managed to take control of the island and create a constitution.

• He attempts to rebuild the economy and make the country functioning again. He needed to restart the work on plantations, and required working hands. Everyone was required to work on plantations, and he needed to buy more workers as many people had died during the revolution. 

• The French definitely saw Louverture as an ally, but he eventually became the face of the revolution, standing in between France and Haiti and their reconquest. 

• Many of the people on the plantations were also unhappy with the new structure that was made by Louverture’s constitution.

• In France, Napoleon came to power and brought stability. He also began to conquer Europe and would want to reclaim the Haitian colony. Napoleon sent his brother in law to Haiti with an army. Those in Haiti saw this incoming army as possible liberation from the authoritative rule under Louverture. Louverture gets captured by the French and is sent to France where he dies in jail. For a while the French were in a very good position. 

• The French emancipated slavery in all their colonies, but slavery was being reintegrated in the caribbean. The haitians were fearful of becoming slaves again

• Jean Jacques Dessalines, a contemporary of Louverture’s, takes the lead of the army of liberation and begins clearing the french, and white landowners from the island. His motto was “Burn houses, Cut Off Heads”. 

• In 1804, Dessalines declared Haiti independent, issuing a declaration of independence. Haiti was going to be a free black nation. Dessalines names himself leader

• There was a risk of the French coming back once more. The haitians were expected to pay a debt to the french and they were far less productive than they were back before the revolution.

• Haiti largely impacted the region. American slave owners in the south became fearful of a revolution of slaves amongst them so they became even stricter. The british slowly abandoned slave trade and the use of slavery. 

• The haitians became a small landowner country, but they were racked by debt and political unrest. Later down the line, they had a decade-long occupation by the US.

• In the 20th century, Haiti’s self liberation inspired ideas of black liberation and the unification of the african diaspora

Nazism in France

• After the french revolution the entire country took on a new identity, with there being a standard for what it meant to be french. Prior to the revolution, only the royal family were really French, everyone else was just subjects of the French royal family. After the revolution the congress dictated that being French united them.

• France was extremely divided even after the fall of napoleon. What united the country was the election of the dictator who took control of france. That leader was Napoleon III. by suppressing dissent he helped create national unity.

• Napoleon III further unified the French further by creating a common enemy for them, Prussia. Prussia challenged the french in the 1860s

• PLS GO OVER THIS LECTURE AGAIN

• THERE'S ANOTHER LECTURE YOU NEED TO  REVIEW

Algerian Resistance

• MISSED LECTURE

• One vehicle for rebellion in the Algerian colony was communism. Communism gave support to the resistance, encouraging liberation from oppressors

• In Algeria, not many people were communist. The educated and urban individuals were most likely to be communist. The educated tended to lean piet noir. 

• One of the Algerian communist leaders was Ben Messali Hadj. he was a communist leader that helped establish the North African Star, aka the ENA.

• There were a couple problems with communism. To partake in communism one had to see themself as a colonist. The french communist party,

• Abdelhamid Ben Badis established the Association of Algerian Muslim Ulama, which aimed to revive Algerian culture via a “pure” version of Islam. This association existed but didn’t necessarily clear a path straight to revolution

• There were multiple changes that led to Algerian unity, connection and nationalism, Limited political reforms that gave some local political control to Algerians (45% of Algerian men received the vote), organized sports brought men together creating connection, and the start of scouting (boy scouts) was introduced. These changes created a unified sense

• Military service was an equalizer among the algerians. The soldiers who were fighting for the french cause heard the atlantic charter and also hoped to be free from tyranny

•  There was a group of Algerian men who upon hearing the Atlantic charter formed the Friends of the Manifesto and Liberty (AML). the manifesto was a document with requests

• May 8th, 1945, the govt and pied noir tried to crush any attempts at reform. The French arrested members of the AML and outlawed the AML. 

• France in 1945 faced serious economic difficulties at the end of the war. The French maintained their Algerian colony in order to maintain the appearance of power.

• The French indochina struck back at the empire and declared independence for themselves. Ho Chi Minh the leader of the Viet Minh established what he called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

• Leclerc, the french leader at the time, realized that there was no way to regain control of the french indochina. Instead they made a deal with vietnam, they said the vietnamese had to be part of the french union. 

• Vietnamese independence only lasted for a year, becoming reoccupied but eventually they gained independence again

• New groups began forming in the aftermath of the AMLs downfall. The former AML founder Messali Hadj called for a free Algeria, not mentioning the Pied Noirs or a continued relation with france.

• The french toyed with the algerians, giving them more local control but nothing substantial

• Three things changed the world order post 1945: the establishment of the UN which reestablished France as a world power, 

• France subdued the Viet Minh, but couldn’t defeat them. 

• The political structure of the algerian revolutionaries:

FLN (Algeria) – local groups fighting. Limited communication to outside

…

National revolutionary Council (CRNA) (in Tunis)– FLN leaders who organized the regional effort against the french. Official political and military leadership of FLN.

…

Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA) (in Cairo) – some of the early FLN leaders or other independence leaders who escaped pre/post-revolution or ended up in exile. The political leadership of the overall Algerian independence movement.

• What is the FLN? The FLN is a group that looked at past Algerian attempts of independence. They decided to not look at themselves as an extension of the french. They saw themselves as muslims from North Africa, a new independent identity.

• How did the FLN grow? The FLN were people who didn’t live in urban areas and weren’t largely educated or into political ideology. Most of the people who joined were recruited through familial relations. It took time for the ideology to spread. As the revolution continued more people were convinced by the ideology.

• Something that worked against the FLN, is that early in the revolution they saw other revolutionary groups as threats they had to eliminate in order to lead the revolutionary front, forcing people to swear allegiance to them.

• The FLN was a new way of approaching revolution in the Arab world. 

• The sultan of the ottoman empire in 1876, sultan abdul hamid II, spoke of democracy. A young revolutionary group arose and led a successful revolution. After succeeding they had a lot of structural issues, not being able to deliver on their promises.

• Something similar occurred in Egypt in 1952. A coup was led by young officers, after 2 years one of the officers, Gamel Abdel Nasser, declared himself president and renamed Egypt as the United Arab Republic. He hoped to modernize but this failed. Confrontations centered around the suez canal resulted in the suez crisis.

• In the 1950s and 60s, a movement arose that said people didn't have to align themselves with the Soviets or the americans. There was a joining of many african and asian countries, representing 50% of the world's population, who said that the FLN had a valid reason to want independence

• To sustain the war, the French army relied on a variety of Algerian troops who they called Harkis. This showed that there were plenty of Algerians who maintained loyalty to the french. There were also many Algerians who believed that in order to modernize they had to stay with the French, as they would have the money and power to make modernization happen. The French believed they would win the war because they thought there were just as many Algerians who supported France as there were who supported the FLN.

• The fight for independence in Algeria had its ties to the cold war. USSR leaders supported the Algerian cause. The US, hoping to be on the right side of history, limited their support of the French despite their alliances.

• Eventually, in 1960 the UN supported the FLN cause, a slap in the face to France who was one the founding members of the UN.

• In 1958 the French began an effort to rebuild French Algeria called the Constantine Plan. They tried to begin a plan to improve infrastructure, education, and employment in hopes that the Algerians would switch their allegiance to the french. However, it was too little too late. Many people believed this plan would be stopped if the war ended in favor of the french.

• The French launched an attack to get rid of the FLN, called Challe-2, and it was largely successful, reducing the FLN from 100s of thousands to 8000 by 1960. While many casualties were inflicted, the FLN wasn't completely crushed. The operation, being so large, resulted in a large political cost.

• Many  French also were not supportive of the war. De gaulle assessed 3 ways to move forward in the war. What was notable about the three paths was that none of them resulted in a full victory for the french.

• France had won a military victory against Algeria and began large reforms, but even  so there were very low chances of a full victory.

• De Gaulle believed the chances of modernizing Algeria would be very slim, and he hoped to have a federal relationship between Algeria and france.

• In early 1960, large numbers of pied noirs ordered a large strike and wanted the military to support them. The pied noirs were not confident in the French government in paris. They went to France to launch a terror campaign against anyone they felt was against them. There was a lot of condescension against the French pied noirs from mainland French. The Pied Noirs campaign was seen with a lot of distaste by the French, and less and less people could continue supporting the war.

• France was a major NATO ally, and there was a threat that it would lose control of its military forces in 1961 as there was a military coup. 

• In Algeria, Messali Hadj who had created the Algerian communist party, was on the sidelines when the revolution began. There was a large push for people in Algeria to either join the FLN or die. Hadj didn’t like this so he started an organization that fought in the war but was also willing to resolve things politically. 

• The FLN didn't like Hadj’s step forward because it impeded on their goals. They said that Hadj had 30 years to make any kind of move but he didn't and the political road had been unsuccessful in the past.

• The civil war between Hadj’s faction and the FLN resulted in 6000 deaths and many more injuries.

• The FLN makes a declaration of their political ideals. They held the Soummam Congress where they laid out the goals for their future. They wanted an independent Algeria, where everyone could have an equal voice in their government (genuinely everyone). The FLN argued that they were the ones who were fighting throughout the war, so they should be the political leaders

• The FLN created a mini state within Algeria. It was meant to combat French appeals to the Algerian population. 

• The FLN collected taxes from the people to fund their war, while some was coerced, many people were willing to give the little money they had. While much of the money was used to fund the war it was also used to give pensions to the underemployed and unemployed Algerian citizens.

• The FLN also set up local institutions that served as courts and police officers. They also created a moral institution that in ways indoctrinated the Algerian people and encouraged them to support the FLN.

• There were large protests in Algeria showing that many of the people supported the FLN, showing that the French did not have the country under control.

• De Gaulle asked the country to vote on whether they wanted the French government to intervene in Algeria, but they voted that they were tired of the war.

• Eisenhower in the US, saw the FLN as a communist plant. JFK was pro-algerian however saying that the US, who had a revolutionary history, could not choose which revolutions were incorrect.

• In the endgame of the war it was unclear what would happen in Algeria. De Gaulle and the French wanted out of the war. 

• The GPRA was unsure whether French promises for negotiation would be upheld. 

• The Evian Accords of March 1962 brought the end of the war. France would withdraw and the Algerians would be free.

• The FLN were in control of the country after the war but there was conflict between the groups that remained in algeria

• De Gaulle was a hero in france. Some of De Gaulles choices after the end of the Algerian Revolutionary War soured opinions of him though, and he released a referendum to vote for whether he should stay in power and he was voted out. 

Discussion Notes:

• What is a state? What is required for a country to function? 

  • A government..

  • Rule of law (people would come take our stuff), a social contract

  • A balance between powers

  • Recognition from other countries, especially in the modern system

  • An economic system, an ability to earn a living.

  • Public safety and means of punishment

  • Monopoly of force/monopoly of violence (only the police force/military should have access to commit violence).

  • A bureaucratic/infrastructural authority that maintains the state.

  • Sovereignty within the borders

• People most often do not break laws for fear of punishment. They fear punishment because laws are established. Another reason people do not break laws is because it would undermine the social contract and potentially lead to more crime. But also, it could lead to personal harm. 

• The British soldiers who marched on concord came to reclaim a canon as the people of concord had two canons.

• What do we need for a revolution?

  • Mass mobilization (doesn’t have to be entire population, but a lot of people)

  • Forcible change in government (could be through militaristic means, or political means such as negotiation).

  • Economic strain

  • Backing from another state, favorable international relations– doesn't necessarily mean support, could be that the reigning power cannot enforce their sovereignty due to extenuating circumstances.

  • Defection of elite in a society

  • New persuasive ideology (shared narrative)

  • Belief that regime is causing issues, Create us vs. them mentality

  • Anger and Injustice

• To lead revolutions you need someone in charge. Why do we follow authority? Charisma, legal authority/legitimacy, traditional authority.. (they embody ideologies, previous trust, to achieve a goal).

• There are two types of revolutional authorities: 

  • Commanding Physical Presence→ George Washington was extremely tall, and he wore his uniform (Height, uniform)

  • Ability to Plan, Foresight

The Tory Act-

The continental congress wanted people to realize that the monarchy had taken away a lot of their rights, and there were hopes for Revolution. It wanted to educate the loyalists and show them why they should want to declare independence from the monarchy.

The Tory Act hoped to minimize the amount of loyalist supporters and unify the colonies in their goals and align them to one goal, which would be to declare independence.

The Tories who were extreme in their ideology would be punished or arrested and this would hopefully encourage them to join the effort to defect from the monarchy. But for the most part they saw the Tories as uneducated and hoped that they would be able to educate them on why independence was a better choice than to remain under British control and law. 

It wanted to educate and unify the people who were against them. It would also work to justify their actions against the British and Tories by explaining why they were bad. It was also priming the people to realize they might have to end friendships and relationships and potentially kill people. The document gave legitimacy to the continental congress who took authoritative action and asked fo the help of the colonists

• The British began their campaign in the south because they believed there were more loyalists in the south who were in support of the monarchy, and they thought it would be easier to convert the neutral parties to their side. The south was also most economically stable, so gaining control of them would better enable them to fund the war. The south also had more accessible trade routes to the Caribbean which was extremely profitable at the time. The south also had a smaller population which would make them easier to control, the British had such a hard time with the northern/middle colonies because they were more populated and had more cities. The British believed that getting loyalists to support them would convince other colonists to see that sticking to the monarchy was a good idea. But not only that, the loyalists would have been more familiar with the land and they would have seemed less threatening to the other colonists. If they took over the south with the support of the loyalists, they could have the loyalists take control and stop spending so much money sending troops to the colonies. This plan of the British did not work though. The south looked like a civil war, there were complex relations between patriots and loyalists. The loyalists were treated with a lot of hostility from the patriots so when they went on to join the British army they were very violent and acting out of revenge. Once they were put in power and to govern the colonies, things didn’t go well. The British soldiers who were also very tired and demoralized after fighting for 5 years became all the more violent in hopes of showing the colonists that they should give up. 

Revolutionary mapping: Goldstone and the American Revolution

• Ideology Shift/Shared Narrative: betrayal from George III, Tory Act, Emancipation of slaves

• Anger/Injustice: unjust laws, boston massacre, lexington and concord, UK troops in boston Area, taxes, westward expansion/Canada Expansion (native americans and canadian catholics were being protected), Halifax Courts

• Favorable IR: French relations (supply colonists, and have ongoing war with Britain), Spain against Britain, Native Americans supporting the UK encourages people to join revolutionary cause

• Economic Strain: colonies trade was blocked off, Boston Tea party, loss of slaves, taxes, Stamp Act/Townshend Act, Arrest of smugglers, Boston Port Act, UK monopoly, New England was in a depression after the French-Indian War→ led to smuggling

• Elite Opposition: Continental Congress (wrote Tory Act), Loyalist support for the british cause destabilized society

Revolutionary Mapping: Goldstone and the Haitian Revolution

• Ideology Shift/Shared Narrative/Mass Mobilization: Slavery, Social Division, French Revolution (revolutionary ideals), Bois Conen Ritual, Religion (vodou→unified people gave common language and religion, catholicism→bible had a lot to say about slavery), high amount of communication and coordination between plantations (higher ranking slaves often managed plantations) 

• Anger/Injustice: France failed attempts at reform/waffling, slavery excesses and mistreatment, exclusion from enlightenment ideals, 

• Favorable IR: french revolution, UK and Spain (destabilize french control of island)

• Economic Strain: Codependency between haitian and french, trade imbalance/issues, french revolution (caused economic strain). Low level violence

• Elite Opposition: Social Division, Petit Blanc vs. everyone (fearful of the Haitian creoles for their growing influence), Haitian creoles vs. everyone (upset at not getting rights they deserved), 1790/91 france attempts to free slaves but the rich whites oppose it, maroon communities

• Why would French people collaborate with the nazis: antisemitism which had been brewing in Europe for decades. resources after the great depression: the nazis made promises that they would return stabilization and give people protection. There was an active communist party that threatened to join hands with the USSR, and many French people were afraid of this fate so they joined the Nazis instead. Germany was also very advanced in taking care of its citizens and workers, promising all workers a car (a volkswagon). So the fear of communism and the allure of a german controlled europe were very big reasons that people collaborated. Many people also collaborated because they were fearful that resistance would put their lives at risk.

• Why would the French people resist the nazis: the people may have chosen to resist if they were one of the ones being discriminated against. Frustration at the occupation by the germans. people may have also resisted because they were french patriots and wished to protect the french culture and state. People may have also opposed the German ideal. 

• Once the French fell to the Germans, there were three questions they had to ask themselves: what should I do (resist or don't resist)? What will that accomplish? Who can help? 

• France did not start a war with the Germans due to cowardice, they didn't want a war thinking the Nazis weren’t that bad. They feared what war might do to the country. The French also didn't start a war so they could build their strengths to later take on hitler more meaningfully.  

• In September 1939, France made a treaty with Poland saying that they would declare war if Germany invaded Poland, which they did.

• Nazi invasion of Poland brought Britain and France into the war. 

• In may 1940, Germany invaded other countries such as denmark. 

• How would France tell the story of what happened and justify their actions once the war ended?

• They would say that things had to be done in certain ways to survive. They would say that they were all part of the resistance. Some would say the fight for revolution was never over. They also said that they had to do it, they were victims of nazi control and threat. They also said that many of the bad people who did bad things weren’t really french.

• Why did people support the national  revolution? There was a continuation of the revolutionary ideals, and deciding who gets to be french. There was a lot of political instability and this served as an opportunity to quickly amend things. There was a threat of communism on the rise that had to be addressed, anyone could have been a communist so they had to upturn society. The national revolution would also lead to a new government, the French had attempted democracy but it didn’t work for them. They had to replace bad faith, Judaism, with good faith, Christianity. The national revolution would also give them a new foundation with school and education, resetting the youth and giving them a good example to follow.

Revolutionary Mapping: Goldstone and the French Resistance

• Ideology Shift/Shared Narrative: Nazi Occupation and taking back france (france is not dead), the Allied Powers (the fight against evil and fascism), Communism (there was a large communist sentiment in France and the fascists were anti-communism and wanted to kill them), CNR

• Anger/Injustice: revenge for 1870/1914/1940 against germany, Anti-fascism, many people persecuted by the Nazis (communists and Jews), France’s political problems (Vichy was no help, the third republic was a mess)

• Economic Strain: food shortages, STO (the french who joined the germans were forced into slave labor)

• Favorable IR: the Allied Powers support, USSR (stalin said all good communists should fight against the fascists)

• Elite Opposition: De Gaulle vs. the Vichy Government, CNR, Vichy (initial acceptance of Vichy government changed as a result of their pro-nazism)

Revolutionary Mapping: Goldstone and the Algerian Revolution

• Ideology Shift/Shared Narrative: Islam/Algerian Culture, Revolutionary Ideology, Arab Nationalism, FLN mini state (provided services the french didn't), Manifesto of the People, desire to modernize

• Anger/Injustice: the violence committed by the Pied Noirs, FLN strikes in Algeria, Terrible economy because they felt French didn’t give them economic opportunity, lack of opportunity and development (jobs, education, etc.), politics/negotiation has failed so they needed to take violent action 

• Economic Strain: French economic strain post WW2 (too expensive to continue the war), Underemployment and unemployment in Algeria, rural vs. urban population of algerians

• Favorable IR: US/NATO (anti-colonialist sentiment post WW2), the Cold war/USSR (the USSR supported Algerians' want for independence), Egypt/UAR (Arab nationalists), the UN!! (they felt the atlantic charter was applicable to their situation), non-aligned movement (egypt gives weapons, other non-aligned countries speak out against the french and support the algerian cause)

• Elite Opposition: Pied Noirs (provide a lot of violence in the war leading to desire in france for war to end), GPRA (revolutionary leaders exiled to Cairo), MNA (Messali Hadj’s revolutionary group), religious groups

Sample Final Question:

Explain how the politics of their respective eras influenced the resistance of the FLN.

• Messali hadj who advocated other ways of reforming life. The manifesto of the people. These two methods did not work. Driving people to believe violence was the only remaining method

• International relations and politics. The world movement. The B conference. The UN. Cold War. the USSR→ all good communists should fight against fascism.