Monthly Archives: January 2015

The Declaration of Independence and The Third Estate

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Thomas Jefferson wrote up the draft to a very important document back in 1776. It was known as “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America” (Blaisdell 63) but came to be known as the Declaration of Independence. This document explained what the government should do for its people to prove that the king of England was not the proper or wanted ruler for the colonies anymore. It explained how the government should help out the citizens rather than hold them back, how it should promote safety and happiness (Blaisdell 64).

This leads into Sieyès’ document “What is the Third Estate?”. He is trying to provoke a similar rebellion to the one that happened over in America. He wants  the people of France to realize they don’t need. King just like the colonies of America didn’t. To do this, Sieyès explains how the Third Estate is everything (Blaisdell 70) and how they don’t need anyone from outside the Third Estate to help them run the government (Blaisdell 74). All this talk of a new government would lead up to the Tennis Court Oath, where the National Assembly of France. Owed to work until they made a new constitution and the king was out of power (Blaisdell 78).

Cultural Revival pre Revolution

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When speaking about the revival of art in Russian in the early 20th century it is important while reviewing this information to understand what Avant-Garde refers to  and who Diaghilev is. Avant-Garde refers to experimental or innovative cultural work that pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable as the norm. Second, Sergei Diaghilev could be considered a patron of the arts during the early 20th century in Russia. He was an art critic, patron of the Ballets impresario, and founder of the Ballet Russes, where many famous dancers and choreographers would come from. The beginning of the 20th century Russia was a hotbed for a variety of new art movements. Some of the main ones where: the Symolists who for them music was the pinnacle of their art form. This movement was challenged by the Acmeists who were realist in expressing art. From this radical movement of the avant-garde to notable artist emerged-Natalya Goncharova and Mikhail Larionov. They where the first Russian “Impressionist” and launch a new movement Primitivism. This movement spanned painting, poetry and music and the influence could be seen in Stavinsky’s Rite of Spring. Rite of Spring, from my own impression reminded me of a folklore ballet that are performed throughout the world. It breaks from tradition in that it does not remind one of the refined ballets one is use to seeing. It show raw and unconstrained emotion. It is more about expression of emotion set to dance then performing specific dance moves is as the case in a traditional ballet. The Primitivist movement no doubt had a strong influence on Stravinsky while creating this ballet. During this time period another unusual thing that is worth noting is the great number of women artist. During this same time period in Europe few major women artist stand out but that is not the case in Russia. The influence of Russian art on the rest of Europe cannot be overlooked. While many of the great Russian impressionist are not as familiar to mainstream as other notable impressionist of this time are they led the way in true abstract art that Europe followed a few years later. Personally I love Malevich pride in his abstract art when he proclaims “objects had disappeared like smoke.” Russian artist culture was on a roll. During a brief period Russia had ushered in the 20th century as a leader in artistic expression. They were truly progressive and ahead of the times in many way. However almost overnight the curtain fell, i.e. the Russian Revolution, on the cultural revival taking place with a dearth of expression coming from the Rodina.

Independence and the Third Estate

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After years of British tyranny over the colonies, a call for revolution was drafted to grant freedom and equality to all. A government was established that gave power to the people. As a result of restrictive British control, the writers of the declaration declared, “that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive, it is the Right of the people to alter or to abolish it” (Blaisdell 64). Jefferson and his counterparts believed that all men were equal and attacked British tyranny over the colonies, listing a number of facts of their tyranny to be read by the rest of the world. As representative of the United States, they conclude “these United Colonies… are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown… and that all political connection between them… is ought to be totally dissolved… as Free and Independent States… they have full power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce” (Blaisdell 66). Breaking away from British control would allow an entire new nation to take form built on its own beliefs and policies, different from those seen previously in Europe (absolute monarchs).

 

According to Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes, in order for a nation to survive “it needs private and public services” (Blaisdell 71). These activities are needed to support a society, without them a nation would crumble. In his work, What is the Third Estate?, Sieyes claims that the Third Estate is the group that performs “nineteen-twentieths” (Blaisdell 72) of these activities. Without this group, society would not exist. The very importance of the Third Estate constitutes its power it should have within a given society. They should have more rights than others, including nobility, because they are the glue that keeps society together.

Power Struggles Present in the Declaration of Independence and The Third Estate

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The Declaration of Independence clearly establishes the kind power the United States is looking for through a representation of Britain’s tight control. The Declaration of Independence exemplifies how the king caused “repeated injuries and usurpations” (Blaisdell 64) as well as acted in every way “which may define a tyrant” (Blaisdell 66). The United States is looking for a government that allows power to be given to the people. The authors of this document believe that men are born with certain rights, and in order to protect those rights, the people should have a say in the government. The Declaration of Independence goes on to state that is the “Right of the People” to alter the government if the government were not working or becomes “destructive” in any way (Blaisdell 64). The main intent behind this document is to stray away from the “absolute tyranny,” and create an inclusive government where the people’s voices are heard (Blaisdell 64).

Sieyès argues over power among classes in his What is the Third Estate? He argues that the privileged have set limits to the third estate, stating, “you can go so far and no further” (Blaisdell 72). However, Sieyès points out that it is the third estate that occupies certain jobs that keep society running as it should, therefore, the third state is everything and should have more rights. Sieyès goes on to claim that the privileged do not help society because of its “idleness,” but are granted certain rights because of their place in society (Blaisdell 73). Sieyès continues, stating that nobility has special rights making them “a people apart in the great nation” which forms the separation of powers between the third estate and the nobility (Blaisdell 73). Sieyès believed the nation would be better off without the nobility because the third state held society together.

The Declaration of Independence and the Third Estate

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The Declaration of Independence discusses the reasons why the United States decided to break off from England and become its own nation. This document discusses how it is a government’s responsibility to protect certain rights of the citizens: “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” (Blaisdell 64). If a government does not protect these rights, then it is the rights of the governed people to “abolish it, and to institute new Government” (Blaisdell 64). The British government did not protect and uphold these rights of the people; rather, it caused a series of “repeated injuries” and established “absolute Tyranny over these States” (Blaisdell 64). The writers of the Declaration were clearly not satisfied with the government and how it protected its people. Therefore, they intended to create their own new form of government, which would do a better job in helping its citizens instead of merely ignoring their concerns. In this case, political power is created through a new form of government with different branches, such as a Representative House, Legislature, and Judiciary powers.

In France, the citizens also were not satisfied with their government. The Third Estate of France is described as “everything;” the people of the Third Estate are the commoners (Blaisdell 70). Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes, author of What is the Third Estate? describes how the Third Estate is a complete nation by itself. In order to be considered a nation, it must provide “private activities and public services” (Blasdell 71), which the Third Estate does provide. For example, it must provide public services such as “the army, the law, the Church, and the bureaucracy” and private activities such as merchants, families who work on land, and the sale of goods (Blaisdell 71-72). France cannot run without the Third Estate and would ultimately do much better without the first two estates. The French are concerned with establishing their own rights: “Liberty, Prosperity, Security, and Resistance of Oppression” (Blaisdell 80). The French were less interested than the Americans establishing a new form of government that protected the rights of the citizens; rather, they concentrated on establishing a government that kept part of their old form of government and bashing the rest of their government.

Welcome to HIST 254, Spring 2015

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This is the location where we will be posting our thoughts on the blog. Make sure to create a descriptive yet enticing title, grab your readers’ attention in the first sentences, and use a professional voice in your writing. You must select the category for our course and add appropriate tags (e.g. author name, topic of the post (e.g. industrial revolution, etc.), title of document(s) read, etc.). Check current tags to see if someone else has already used a similar tag. Aim for consistency in tagging. That is, if there are existing tags for “revolution” do not add “revolutions.” This defeats the purpose of tagging.

Welcome to HIST 107, Spring 2015

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This is the location where we will be posting our thoughts on the blog. Make sure to create a descriptive yet enticing title, grab your readers’ attention in the first sentences, and use a professional voice in your writing. You must select the category for our course and add appropriate tags (e.g. author name, topic of the post (e.g. industrial revolution, etc.), title of document(s) read, etc.). Check current tags to see if someone else has already used a similar tag. Aim for consistency in tagging. That is, if there are existing tags for “revolution” do not add “revolutions.” This defeats the purpose of tagging.