Layla Quinones
SSh104.7761
Prof. Tim Coogan
January 29, 2008
Sources Homework 7
Document 2 (page 158)
1. Why was Edmund Burke opposed to the French Revolution?
According to Edmund Burke, the French Revolution as well as the Enlightenment
was a detachment of old ideas and old government that has held France together for
centuries. He also believed that the revolution would only bring upon them uncertainty,
anarchy and chaos. He believed that all the elements of the Old Regime such as
aristocracy, monarchy, and Christianity helped the French people survive in a civilized
and respectable society. He also asserted that the Republic was not a government that
could promise the people peace and a better life; it would hinder all of the morals that
exist in the country and be the source of new problems that the people would have no
experience in solving. Lastly, he exclaims how the French Revolution brought nothing
but chaos, violence, death and a decrease in moral and wisdom. In addition, he pointed
out all the negativity that would occur in the process of obtaining equality and questioned
weather it was worth it or not.
2. What was Klemens von Metternich’s opinion of “the progress of the human mind…in
the…last three centuries” and its effect upon the society of his time
Mettenich’s opinion of “the progress of the human mind” was that new opinions
and new ways of thinking was developed however, wisdom did not develop at the same
pace. According to him, wisdom was left behind in progress and it could be directly seen
in the French Revolution. Like his fellow conservationists, Metternich felt that the ideas
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of the Enlightenment and the ideologies of the French Revolution broke apart the stability
of society and broke many bonds that were formed due to religion. He denounced the
ideas of the philosophes and declared them false and fatal errors that contributed in
disintegrating the stable government as well as morality, respect, responsibility and
tradition. Lastly, he also asserted that the ideas of the Enlightenment as well as the
philosophes, influenced the world with no regards to the results and price that would
come for their ideas.
3. What did Metternich mean by, “Drag through the mud the name of God and the
powers instituted by His divine decrees, and the revolution will be prepared!”?
By this quote, Metternich meant that all the morals, tradition, stability and respect
for God was attacked and broken apart by the ideas of the Enlightenment. This therefore
fueled the revolution and destroyed the traditional government that had held France stable
for centuries. More directly, he also meant that all of the politics, royalty and laws
situated under the Old Regime, as well as royalty, were denounced by the Enlightenment
and brought down.
4. Why did Joseph de Maistre believe that man cannot create a constitution and no
legitimate constitution can be written?
Maistre believed that man cannot create a constitution by writing down because
the power of the human mind is not enough to recognize universal and equal laws among
every human being o n earth. He also mentions that, according to a constitution, not ALL
people would be equal and even if it was so, this would be degrading the church, God,
and church officials. He also states that in writing this constitution, there is no way, not in
history or in science, to foresee all of the obstacles that would come from this written
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constitution. He says it directly when he states that “if [one] really possessed seeds of
truth, [one] could never believe that a little black liquid and a pen could germinate them
in the world…”(157).
5. What views of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century conservatives are valued
by American conservatives today?
I could only speculate that the conservative views of the late eighteenth- and early
nineteenth-century can be seen in American conservatives today through the importance
of the community over the individual, the denunciation of revolution due to violence, and
the idea that the government should look towards the betterment and stability of the
nation, despite the negative connotations of apposing groups of people. This, in essence,
would preserve and aid the nation into becoming stable and healthy. Lastly, I do believe
that certain conservative value reform over rebellion and revolution therefore, they would
be open to reform to serve the people.
Document 3 (page 160)
1. What was the purpose of John Stewart Mill’s essay?
The purpose of Mill’s essay was to explain the definition of liberty. He explains
how everyone in a free society must be able to act, think, speak and assemble for any
purposes, unless it were to prevent or harm another person or his own liberty. He points
out most importantly that, no matter right, wrong, good or evil, an individual must be
allowed to exercise his opinion freely. This goes with the same respect for those who are
for or against the revolution, republic, theology, science, etc.
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2. For Mill, what is the “peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion,” however
unpopular?
In this case, Mill asserts that the “peculiar evil of silencing the expression of
opinion” would be the denunciation and prevention of an individual’s liberty. This
therefore, would be a direct violation of the freedom and liberty of that individual which
therefore goes against the constitution and the natural rights of humanity. Mill states that
“If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified
in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in
silencing mankind” (160). With this statement, Mill validates the opinion of everyone
and anyone to be expressed freely, no matte how unpopular. Just as a king would not be
able to suppress the opinions of his people under a liberal constitution, the same would go
for the whole of the nation to have no right to suppress the opinions of one man.
3. On what grounds would Mill permit society to restrict individual liberty? Do you think
it is ever legitimate for the state to restrain an individual from harming himself?
According to Mill, the only grounds for restricting individual liberty would be in
the case that his actions would harm or restrict another’s liberty. This also goes for he
restricting his own or harming himself. I do believe that it is legitimate for the state to
retrain an individual from harming himself because not all men are, at ever point of their
lives, rational. In anut shell, I feel that life is certainly very long, and for an individual to
feel at one point that he must harm himself, he should be retrained and restricted from
doing so until his mind deems rational enough to care for himself. On the other hand
however, I do not believe that an individual should be retrained from indirectly harming
himself. For example, of a person does not go to the doctor when he is sick, he is not
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directly harming himself, he is just exercising the right to seek care or not. In this case, as
well as alike cases, he should not be retrained from his right to freedom.
Document 4 (page 164)
1. Ernst Moritz Arndt’s writings show the interconnection between romanticism and
nationalism. Discuss this statement.
First of all, Arndt’s form of writing which uses imagery, metaphors and similes to
address nationalism is also a form of Romantic literature. Secondly, Arndt’s assertion that
nationalism is the glorification of the nation’s language, customs, traditions, and ways of
life is also the glorifications of Romanticism. He emphasized feeling and emotion for the
nation and it’s people to manifest nationalism, however, romanticism also glorifies
human feeling, emotion and freedom of expression to drive humanity into virtuousness.
Ultimately, the fundamental aspects of nationalism and romanticism are interconnected
and validate each other.
2. Why do you suppose many students were attracted to Young Italy?
Students were attracted to Young Italy because it aimed to preserve unity,
nationalism, liberty and equality. Also, it was the aim of Young Italy to educate citizens
on insurrection of the separated government and to unite them as one nation. This
appealed to students because it promised freedom to become what they please, to do, act,
think as they saw fit and to overthrow a government that suppressed the opinion of the
people. In addition, the aim of Young Italy was also to unite in the sense that everyone
who is part of the nation are brothers and should teach others of the brotherhood in
accordance to the aim of Young Italy. Lastly, the promise of sovereignty was also a
driving for for students to take part in Young Italy.
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3. Giuseppe Mazzini was a democrat, a nationalist, and a romantic. Discuss this
statement.
Mazzini was a democrat because he believed in liberty, equality and sovereignty.
He was a nationalist because he advocated for the unity of Italy in order to be governed
by one government who practiced sovereignty. He was a romantic because he valued the
opinion of others and through liberty, advocated that all people should not suppress their
opinion as well as emotions, but voice them out to their brethren who together would
liberate the nation.
Document 5 (page 171)
1. To what causes did Flora Tristan attribute the miseries of the working class in France?
What remedies did she propose?
According to Flora Tristan, ignorance and poverty is the cause to the miseries of
the working class. Indirectly however, is the situation in which they find themselves in in
terms of work, wages and education; it is the fault of laws that deprive them of getting an
education, jobs, and wages that would sustain them and their families. She also asserts
that working men and women should be treated equal and have the same rights. She
declares that the misiers of the working class us also due to the fact that women are not
allowed to be educated and therefore, because brutal mothers to their children. As a
consequence of the uneducated women, their children grown up to be uneducated and not
sustaining any concrete morals due to the domestic situation in thei homes. In addition,
men also have to deal with work, their wives, their children, poverty and the inequalities
of the society. This causes them also to be brutal and intolerant therefore completling the
cycle of miseries of the working class. The remedies that Tristan proposes are that
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women get an equal educated as men, equal work oppertunities and that all the workers,
men and women, untie to assert and protest for the equal treatment and betterment of the
work that they receive.
2. According to Alexis de Tocqueville, why did Parisian workers revolt in 1848?
According to Tocqueville, Parisian revolted because the national workshops that
were aiding thei employment and bring them wages had ceased. Then, the government
had seen to send these workers to the country, which they did not want to go to. They
also revolted against the social order and the upper classes because they were living in
harsh conditions. They revolted against unlawful oppression, unfair distribution of labor,
goods, wages and injustice that they were enduring due to oppression.
3. How did the goals of Parisian workers who revolted in 1848 differ from those of
member of Giuseppe Mazzini’s Young Italy?
The goals of Young Italy were to conserve liberty, equality, and sovereignty of
the Italian people. The Parisian worker revolt was due to the oppression that they were
facing as well as the sever conditions in which they lived. Their goal was to gain equal
distribution of labor, reasonable wages, and the education of their children in order for
them to grow up to be intelligent men who can acquire a job with good pay. The main
difference between both forms of revolt was that the Parisian workers fought against
social issues, were as Young Italy fought against political issues.
4. De Tocqueville observed that what distinguished this revolt was that it aimed to
change the order of society, not the form of government. Explain.
The purpose of this revolt was in fact to aid the working class into a better life by
opening up more job opportunities, better wages and education for their children. These
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issues are fundamentally social and not political because they are not asserting the reform
of the government rather, the reform of the conditions for their social class. Although
they advocated equality, they also asserted that they wanted better jobs, working
conditions and wages in order for them to live better in the society and under the
government that they already lived under. It was not their direct aim to overthrow or
reform the entire government.
5. What effect did the news of Louis Philippe’s overthrow and the founding of the French
Republic have on Carl Shurz and the young students of his day? How did they behave?
Shurz as well as the young students of his day were extremely excited about the
overthrow of King Louis Philippe in France. He and his colleagues felt that if there was
this sort of overthrow in France, there must be the same in Germany. All the students
gathered in the regular meeting area early and spoke about the formation of the republic
asserting that they should follow the example of the French. Instinctively, they all felt as
if they must protect their own rights and fight against an oppressive government; that
night they walked around their town speaking to others about what they should do until
nightfall.
6. What were the goals of Shurz and many of his colleagues? How did they seek to
reconcile nationalism and liberalism?
The goals of Shurz and his colleagues were to obtain civil rights, liberty, freedom
of speech, press, assembly, equality, and a representative government; among many other
things that constitution a united republic. In essence, they wanted a democratic
government that gave power to the voice of the people united. They intended to follow
peacefully with the reform of the government using France as an example of a model
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republic. Students and professors gathered in protests everywhere to fight for the unity of
Germany and the liberty and freedom of the German people.
7. Why have university students often been attracted to revolutions?
First of all, I believe that the teachers/professors who spread enlightened and
democratic thought, as well as the free right to education supported by liberal thinking
attracted the university students. Also, the equal treatment of all people as the right to
hold political office based on ability appealed to future politicians as well. Lastly, due to
the spread of liberal and enlightened thought, the students were influenced in many ways
to make a change in regards to the people, unity, etc.