So The Government Gets A Twitter?

We have put together the tweets that started it all. Enjoy taking a look at the highlights.

I May Not Be the King of France, but I Am the King of Burning It Down

When we are born, we are all squalling little babies, dependent on our mothers for food and our fathers for protection. We are all born the same, so why is it that when we become older, we allow worldly concerns like wealth, skin color, and station define us? We should not but in 18th century France, there social stratification running in the air. This is unacceptable, in more places than just France. Citizens of the world, if you have suffered the same social injustices that I see plaguing my beloved France, then I urge you to raise your voices and join me in burning down France and creating it anew!

The only way to vanquish the omnipresent injustice in our dear countries is to revolt, we must destroy all we know and rise as a formidable new country from the ashes. I do not say this without reason. In my France, we have for a while had three separate estates. The first estate is the clergy, the second is the nobility, and the third is the citizens. The injustices begin here. For example, when you look at the breakdown of taxes, the clergy and nobility pays no taxes while the citizens pay it all. This is unfair in and of itself, but in addition to this, when it comes to representation whilst making laws, the first and second estates hold all of the power while the third estate holds no say in the laws and institutions of France. This is unacceptable, especially when considering that all of the money for funding the government comes entirely from the third estate. This is completely unfair and needs to be changed. This stratification is apparent in all ways of life. Due to the lavish life of the nobility, most of the third estate's hard earned taxes are depleted to fuel their taste for finery. If, like me, you see how unfair and unjust this is, then join me in burning down the French government.

We, the revolutionaries of France, will recreate the French government better than before. 

Anti-Colonial Revolutions: An Insight Into Haiti

The 18^th century was a melting pot of various colonies in the Americas deciding to stick it to the man and declare independence from their mother countries. The Thirteen Colonies stood up to Britain in 1775, engaging in a ten year long war in which the colonists eventually earned their sovereignty. Similarly, many different independence movements in South and Central America in the late 1700s and early 1800s led to many colonies, such as Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, etc, gaining their independence from their colonizers, mainly Spain and Portugal. The most pivotal of these, however, may be the Haitian Revolution. Not only was the Haitian revolution the first successful revolution in Latin America, but it is widely considered the most successful slave rebellion and became a defining moment in the history of the Americas.

The Haitian Revolution fulfilled all of the requirements of a budding revolt, so it is a miracle that the French did not see it coming. For one, the lower class people of Haiti were not pleased. Life in Santo Domingo, the biggest city in Haiti, was not pleasant for the lower class. There was a very high percentage of slaves, almost 90%. They clearly outnumbered the natives. However, the slaves were still brutally oppressed and forced to work in horrible conditions, leading to much unhappiness among the slaves. In addition to this, there was prominent middle class leadership, divided into three main groups. The Grand Blancs were rich white French men who were minor aristocrats that spent very little time in Haiti, preferring to stay in France. The Petit Blancs were also white men, but considerably less rich, often middle class doctors, lawyers, or plantation owners. Lastly, there were the Gens de Coleur, who were educated and powerful freed black men often acting as artisans or plantation managers. Despite their education and freedom, the Gens de Coleur were feared to be gaining too much power and thus where heavily discriminated and persecuted by the Petit and Gran Blancs. Lastly, there was incredible economic upgrade accompanied by a sharp decline. Haiti was, for a time, the richest colony in the Caribbean. As it was predominately sugar plantations, Haiti monopolized the sugar industry, producing 50% of all sugar consumed in Europe and the Americas. However, Haiti saw their economic downfall in the form of mercantilism. When France fell into debt and succumbed to inflation, France could not buy sugar from Haiti and due to this practice, Haiti could not sell to anyone else, destroying the economy of the colony. With all of these requirements in place, it was only a matter of time before Haiti rose up against its colonizer.

The revolution began approaching as tension erupted between the people of Haiti and the French. For example, because France could not buy sugar from Haiti, the Grand Blancs petitioned France to allow them to sell sugar to America. As expected, France says no and this leads to many protests. In a first step towards revolution, the Haitians declare their economic independence from France. The French were unable to stop them because they were in deep debt and they were also dealing with their own revolution. In addition to this, there was deep-seeded tension unraveling between the Gens de Coleur and the Blancs. The Gens de Coleur ask for equality, but the Blancs are set against it. Everyone in the colony wants something from the French, but they are not being granted anything, much like during the American Revolution. The colonists in the Thirteen Colonies wanted exemption from taxes and the Haitian colonists wanted equality and economic independence. As if this all was not enough, a priest by the name of Boukmon encouraged slaves to kill all of the white people, leading to a two week long uprising in which slaves went from plantation to plantation killing all free Haitians, from the Blancs to the Gens de Coleur. Things are not looking good for the French right now.

Everything comes to a boiling point when during their own revolution, the French famously abolish slavery. The Haitian slaves see this as an opportunity to protest for their own freedom, as they are part of a French colony, but the Gens de Coleur swiftly denied them so as to retain their labor force. However, this leads to a monumental slave uprising, effectively beginning the long impending war. The Blancs ask the Spanish and the British for help and thus, they invade, but this makes the situation worse. The slaves rally under Tussant Le’ Ouverture to defeat both the Spanish and the English. Le’ Ouverture declares himself governor of Haiti for life and creates a Constitution. Le’ Ouverture helps to drive out the French, who were also plagued by yellow fever, and then was swiftly tossed out of power when the French imprisoned him. His lieutenant, Jean Jacques Dessalines helped the Haitians secure their independence and establishes a dictatorship. Things are finally looking up for the Haitians.

Despite their newfound sovereignty, however, Haiti ended up failing economically fairly quickly. Their new dictator had forbidden the production of sugar, a crop that had brought the Haitians heaps of wealth, and thus the economy begins its downturn. In addition, nobody wants to trade with Haiti, as the French and Spanish were upset with Haiti and the English and Dutch had their own sugar. Quickly, Haiti went from the richest colony in the Caribbean to the poorest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere due to their pivotal revolution. Haiti may be independent, but the question of the millennium is: Was it all worth it? Only the Haitians may answer that. 

Asia: Survival of the Fittest

Europe became the center of the world economy in the nineteenth century and its influenced expanded as Europeans migrated outside Europe. The expansion of their empires weakened the sovereignty of states in Asia, and spurred change. China’s role was reversed dramatically in the world economy as it went from being the center of trade to becoming weak and dependent on Europe. However, Japan was able to modernize and become a powerful, united and industrialized nation.

With the arrival of Matthew Perry, Japan went from a lacking feudal state to a westernized Asian power. From the 1870s to the 1900s Japan’s imports and exports increased by a multiple of ten or even more. The Tokugawa Shogunate’s decision to follow the United States into the western world was good for Japan from a long term perspective, but it did cost the shogunate. With the Meiji Restoration and Japan’s rush to become one of the powers alongside Britain and the United States, the people of Japan overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate. Japan began to modernize its infrastructure and military along with its education. A constitutional government arose, allowing a small percentage of the people to vote. With the feudal order abolished, equality slowly grew as over time technology and manufacturing also grew. Japan was a power far above its other Asian competitors. The Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War established the country one of the most powerful empires in the East.

Comparing Japanese naval fleets to Chinese naval fleets may seem strange, because Japan used powerful fleets modeled after the French navy while the Chinese used subpar fleets of weak ships that were nearly half the size of the Japanese ships. The war ended with Japan taking the victory and crushing the Chinese economy through one of the first unequal treaties which drained China of their resources and money. Japanese victory didn’t end there, the Russo-Japanese War marked the first time a non-European power defeated a European power. This is where Russia began to slip. The country fell into a state of reform, while Japan inclined in power. Japan survived westernization because of its ability to keep its conservatives at bay and let the ones who support industrialization thrive. Although the west did not view Japan as a power, there is no denying that Japan was the overlord of Asia.

Unlike Japan, China was not able to adapt and failed. The Qing Dynasty was conservative and inflexible. When dealing with foreign issues they did not treat other countries as being equal to China and when the Western world attempted to make contact, they initially failed. At the same time, China was facing enormous internal problems. A growing population resulted in land shortages, famines, and an impoverished rural population. China’s bureaucratic government did not enlarge along with the population and this led to an inefficiency in collecting taxes, social welfare, and public security. The central state lost power to local officials and the gentry and these officials became more corrupt. There was a growing number of bandit gangs and peasant rebellions. The Taiping Uprising between 1850 and 1864, led by Hong Xiuquan,  denounced the Qing dynasty as foreigners and called for revolutionary change. However they were stopped by Qing dynasty loyalists and Western military supporting the Qing. The Qing dynasty was saved, but was weakened as the local gentry consolidated their power. This war weakened China's economy and delayed andy real change for China.  

The opium wars in China further weakened its economy because there was a massive outpour of silver, but very little coming in. The British were offended by an effort to stop the trade of opium and sent a naval expedition to China to end the restrictive trading conditions. The Treaty of Nanjing ended the war and severely diminished the sovereignty of China. It was only the first in the series of unequal treaties that would contribute to the decline of China’s power. China’s efforts to “self-strengthen” did not work because the reforms came too late and the conservative leaders felt that their privileges would erode. The Boxer Uprising led by militia organizations killed many Europeans and and seized many of the foreign embassies. When the Japanese and the Western powers had to occupy Beijing to stop the rebellion, it was clear that China was a dependent nation. More extensive reforms that were put into place, were inadequate and and in 1911, the Qing Dynasty fell.

A country's ability to survive the onslaught of Western powers was subject to its willingness to adapt and play by Europe’s rules. Japan was able to emerge as an industrial power because it opened trade to other nations, industrialized , and changed its government and policies. On the other hand, China was slow to change and that coupled with the internal social pressures it was facing and the external pressures from the Europeans, led to the collapse of the Qing dynasty, and made a once powerful nation into one that relied heavily upon others for survival.

Karl Marx Interview

Interviewer: Good evening. Tonight we have a very special guest, Karl Marx. He is joining us to  discuss his views and his works. Thank you coming, Mr. Marx.

Karl Marx: It is a pleasure to be here.

Interviewer: One of your most widely read works is the Communist Manifesto. How would you summarize it, and what pushed you to write it?

Karl Marx: I resigned from my editorial post on the newspaper Rheinische Zeitung in 1843 and moved to France where I continued studying philosophy, history, and political science. There, I adopted my communist beliefs. Friedrich Engels visited me in 1844 and we discovered that we had the same views on the nature of revolutions. We began to collaborate in order to explain the principles of communism. I moved to Brussels in 1845, as I was ordered to leave Paris because of my revolutionary activities. There I began directing and organizing  revolutionary groups called the Communist Correspondence Committees. Engles and I were commissioned to create a statement of principles that became known as the Communist Manifesto. It states that the the economic system defines the social classes and that the history of society is a history between the ruling and oppressed social classes. The capitalist society will eventually be eliminated and will be replaced by a classless society.

Interviewer: What are your views on capitalism?

Karl Marx: Well, capitalism is an economic system that is drastically different from the ones before it and it will without a doubt fail. As capitalism progresses,  the working class will become  so large and so poor that a revolution will be inevitable. The conflict between the social classes is that the working class provides the labor, but does not reap any of the benefits, while  upper class does not provide any labor, but yet benefits more from capitalism than the working class does.  

Interviewer: What would be the result of a revolution?

Karl Marx:  Initially a the result of a revolution would be a socialist state where people contribute according to their skill and will receive according to their  need .  Ultimately a government will become unnecessary and give way to a stateless society where we have communism.

Interviewer:I understand that you are currently living in London,  how did you end up there and What are you currently working on?

Karl Marx: Yes, thats right I am currently living in  London.  Previously  I had been banished from Belgium because of the revolutions that occurred in France and Germany, So I went to Paris and then the Rhineland. I started a communist periodical, and in 1849, I was arrested on a charge of incitement to armed insurrection. I was acquitted, but I was expelled  from Germany and I was banished from France again  later that year. So now I am in London where I am continuing to study and and write, I ‘m  also thinking about  building and international communist movement.

Interviewer: Unfortunately, That is all the time we have tonight. Thank you for  joining us Mr. Marx., it was a pleasure to have you.

Karl Marx: Thank you, It was great to be here.

The Fall of Russia

The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the fall of the Russian empire were a result of a government that was slow to change,  social and economic tensions, and a series of military defeats. At the start of the twentieth century , Russia remained as the only absolute monarchy in the western world, and without a national parliament, legal political parties, or any elections, its citizens lived under an oppressive government. Several political parties and movements were created in an effort to overthrow the tsar and demand change. The Russian’s defeat in the Sino-Japanese war and the consequences of World War I only added to the people's dissatisfaction with the government  and led to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the fall of an Imperial Russia.

    In Russia , change was slow and often initiated by the state in an effort to catch up with other European powers. Military defeat at the hands of the French and British in the Crimean war once again simulated change brought on by the Russian state with the abolition of Serfdom in 1861. The Emancipation Edict given by Alexander II abolished serfdom, but it did little good for the serfs themselves. The serfs were given small plots of land which they had to pay the government for, making it hard to improve on  their land. To many Russians, the country’s  economic and industrial backwardness held back the the country just as much as serfdom had, so the state began a program of industrial development. Many of the serfs who had had a difficult time headed to the cities in order to work in many of the developing industries. In the cities they also faced harsh conditions, such as ruthless discipline, disrespect from superiors, unsanitary conditions and long working hours, as the industrial reforms in other Western countries were slow to reach Russia. These harsh working conditions led to a shared sense of injustice among workers, and without any political parties or unions,their grievances were made known through large scale strikes.

As the country became more industrialized, its political system experienced more strain. A growing middle class of businessmen and professionals objected to the conservatism of  tsarist Russia, and wanted a greater role in politics, but at the same time, depended on the government for jobs, contracts, and suppressing the growing radicalism of  the workers. A small number of growing educated Russians turned to Marxist socialism as a way of understanding changes that they witnessed and hope for a revolutionary upheaval of workers. In 1898, they created the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party illegally, and became involved in workers’ education, union organizing , and eventually became involved in revolutionary action. The government remained conservative as attempts were made by the lower class to gain more freedoms, and the inadequacies of the autocratic tsarist rule was becoming increasingly evident.

In an effort to unite the Russian people, the reigning tsar, Nicholas II, went to war with Japan over Manchuria in 1904. Both countries had been interested in dividing up China since the 1890s, but could not agree on who got control of which part. Russia had control over the Liaodong Peninsula, south of Manchuria, and Port Arthur at the end of the peninsula had been fortified as a major naval base and included a line of the Trans-Siberian Railway to carry supplies to the port. For the Japanese Port Arthur was a crucial point to control if they were to conduct operations in Manchuria. The Japanese sent an ultimatum to the Russians and broke off diplomatic relations before launching a surprise attack on Port Arthur. The Russians had gravely underestimated the Japanese naval force and were defeated in the Russo-Japanese war after a series of victories by Japan. The war did not have the effect on the people that Nicholas II had hoped for. Instead of uniting the people, it only helped to create more social unrest. The war was taking place hundreds of miles from the majority of the population, and many people would have felt removed from it. The political parties felt that there was no justification for the war; the Social Revolutionaries indulged in terrorism and the Social Democrats were staging strikes.

In an event that would come to be known as Bloody Sunday, moderates marched on the tsar’s palace in a protest in order to encourage him to enact Enlightened ideas, but Nicholas felt threatened and ordered his troops to fire on them. The 1905 revolution, although it was suppressed, forced the tsar’s regime to make more substantial reforms. It granted a constitution, legalized trade unions and political parties and permitted the election of a national assembly called the Duma. Censorship was eased and and industrial development continued at a rapid rate. The political reforms were granted with reluctance and failed to tame working class radicalism or bring social stability. The Duma was intended to represent the people, but every time the Duma was critical of the tsar, it was immediately disbanded. As a result people had a limited voice in politics and even the representatives of the upper classes had become so alienated that many felt that a revolution was inevitable. Revolutionary groups published pamphlets and newspapers, organized trade unions and spread their message among workers and peasants .

    World War I provided the perfect opportunity for the Russian Revolution. The Russian army suffered many defeats at the hands of Germany and the war proved to be a complete disaster. Many soldiers and civilians suffered and were looking for someone to blame. Nicholas II decided to take personal command of the army in 1915 in order to inspire his army, but he did not know about commanding and organizing large militaries and the army continued to be defeated. The Russians viewed his decision to take charge as having a personal responsibility for the military disaster. Nicholas II ‘s departure meant that the government came under the control of the Tsarina Alexandra, who influenced the appointment of ministers to the government. She didn’t want anyone to challenge the authority of her husband and as a result members of the government tended to be weak and ineffective. From the start of the war, Russia’s economy had been steadily growing worse. Russias industry suffered has raw materials could no longer reach Russia and the army faced a shortage of supplies and weapons. Many peasant farmers were conscripted into the army and led to a decline in agricultural production, shortage of food and the increase in the price of food. The infrastructure that russia had could not keep up with the demands. The railway system had to deal with moving troops and supplies to the battlefronts which made it more difficult to keep the cities supplied with food.

All of these issues sparked the Revolution of 1917. Rioting in the capital city of Petrograd (St. Petersburg) began in February and strikes and demonstrations took place and even the soldiers began to join in. The tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate, and his brother Michael declined the throne, bringing an end to the Romanov dynasty. A provisional government led by liberals and moderate socialists was established under Alexander Kerensky, but was ineffectual because it shared power with the local councils called soviets, who represented the interests of workers, peasants, and soldiers. The provisional government wanted to continue war against Germany so that Russia could secure its borders and become a liberal democracy. Soviets did not support a defensive war because they wanted to end the conflict through general peace. The soviets rallied behind a socialist party called the Bolsheviks and Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the party mobilized the support of the workers and soldiers. The Bolsheviks were able to overthrow Kerensky and take power.

The fall of the Russian empire was caused by a government that was stuck in the past and changed slowly. The people had a small voice when it came to politics and were not pleased with the government at all and wanted change. They slowly made their voice heard through protests, political parties, and reforms. The government tried to change and catch up to other countries when it realized it was falling behind, but change came too late. World War I provided the Russians with a window of opportunity for change and they took it, overthrowing the government and eventually bringing the Bolsheviks into power. 

1787 - Paris, France - The Pitfalls of Revolution

Kumel Waliany - 1787 - Paris, France

Revolution, both capitalist and imperialist, is one of the most dangerous and malevolent threats to civilizations today. The American Revolution was not only pointless because of its lack of any large social or political reform, but it harmed certain ethnic groups and degraded the structure of affiliated countries such as France. We can solve the problems of these civilizations through reformations, not revolutions.

In 1492, Europe first colonized the Americas. Spain and Portugal were first while England and our home country, France, followed. Powerful white Englishmen moved to the colonies such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. These men were wealthy, owned property, and had some form of power in the English government. The American Revolution was started by these intellectuals shifting loyalty away from the English government and manipulating others into charging against the English government as well in order to establish a similar government without the British restraints on the upper class. The intellectuals who believe that revolution is necessary state that the British tax laws are an attempt to control the colonies and create a consistent gain from them, but in reality, the English government attempted to make amends with the colonies through actions such as repealing the Stamp Act and Tea Act. These intellectuals also state that revolution can unite the people of the society to fight against a larger force to gain their independence. The problem with this idea is that only a small portion of the colonists actually supported the revolution and wanted to separate from Britain.

Although revolution can sometimes help the people escape from a vicious government, it can also cause problems to affiliated countries. One of the reasons that the American Revolution was possible, was because of the French funding the colonies. This may have been good for the colonists at the time, but very little changed in the colonies after the separation of the two nations. The lower and middle classes received very little while the upper class released itself from restrictions and continued to buy slaves and land freely. The act of slavery did not decline as a result of the American Revolution. Although certain officials and political leaders seemingly opposed slavery, the practice only stayed constant and, in some areas, increased with the development of new technology such as the cotton gin. The American Revolution took a toll on France as well as the colonists. France is currently under an economic crisis, due to the debt of funding the Americans. If France did not fund their revolution, the French economy would be much more sound due to the increased manufacturing and trade due to industrialization.

A combination of upset intellectuals, an upset lower and middle class, and a financial crisis may lead to a revolution in France and many fear that a revolution could cause more harm than help. In order to strengthen and unite France, we must have reform. Reform and reconstruction may be the only way to keep the country from falling into the dangerous hands of rebellion and revolution. There are worries that the revolution of the people may eventually end up hurting the people that created it. For the good of the people of the government and the people of the French community, we must not have revolution.