Causes Of The French Revolution Essay Example for Free

Causes Of The French Revolution Essay On July 14, 1789 a large mob stormed the Bastille, and killed the commander and some other soldiers. The fall of the Bastille marked the beginning of the French Revolution, and was a symbol to the people of France representing years of abuse by the monarchy. Also, this event served as a wake-up call to King Louis XVI. Unlike any other short protest or riot, this event actually challenge to the regime. As the French Revolution progressed, French society underwent a transformation as feudal, religious, and aristocratic privileges disappeared and the ancien rà ©gime were abruptly overthrown under the fundamental principle of Libertà ©, à ©galità ©, fraternità ©. Although there are many causes to the French Revolution, the three main ones are: the mismanagement of the economy, the pressure of taxes placed primarily onto the third estate, and the spark from Enlightenment ideas and the American Revolution. These events set a fire in France that could no longer be contained. It spread through France like a wildfire. The first cause to the French Revolution was the mismanagement of the economy. Louis XIV had left France deeply in debt with his extravagant spending. France’s Involvement in the Seven Years’ War and American Revolution put it deeper down the hole. Costs had generally risen during the 1700’s and the lavish court soaked up millions. The government borrowed more and more money to bridge the gap between income and expenses. Years of deficit spending, or spending more than the income, was taking its toll on the country’s treasury. By 1789, half of the country’s income from taxes went to paying the interest on this debt. Louis XVI was forced to raise taxes to pay back the debts, leading to further tension and revolt. The first cause to the French Revolution was the pressure that taxes placed onto the Third Estate, or anyone that wasn’t nobility or clergy. This included the wealthier middle class, or bourgeoisie, and the extremely poor working clas s and rural farmers. While the poor suffered from the agonizing taxes, the rich nobility and clergy didn’t suffer these taxes because of tradition which granted the nobles and clergy freedom from paying taxes. The political crisis of 1789 coincided with the worst famine in memory, and as taxes rose, tension rose. When taxing the First and Second Estates was proposed by the king’s advisor, Jacques Necker, the nobles and high clergy resisted the  attempt to end their exemption from taxes and forced the king to dismiss him. As the crisis deepened, the pressure for reform grew. The wealthy class demanded, however, that the king summon the Estates-General, the legislative body consisting of representatives of the three estates, before making any changes. This event later backfired on the wealthy with the creation of the National Assembly which established many reforms. The last reason to the French Revolution was the spark of Enlightenment ideas and the American Revolution. This spark set fire to the French Revolution and roared across the country. Many people believed in the ideas of â€Å"equality† and â€Å"freedom of the individual† as presented Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot and other philosophers and social theorists of the Enlightenment. They especially favored John Locke’s idea that if a government violates the people’s natural rights, the people have the right to replace that government. These ideas of life, liberty, and equality had contributed to the creation of the American Revolution and the newly formed American government served as a live example of the proper structure of government. They helped with the creation of new reforms to make life in France better. On July 14, 1789 a large mob stormed the Bastille and began started the French Revolution. The causes of this event were the mismanagement of the economy by the king, the resulting tax pressure placed onto the poor Third Estate, and the spark of Enlightenment and American Revolution reasoning. The French Revolution had accomplished its desired goal of more equal government and it still has an impact on the world. Till this day, the French celebrate Bastille Day as their national independence day.

Citizen Kane Essay examples -- essays research papers

Citizen Kane After watching the movie â€Å"Citizen Kane† I realized why this movie was named one of the best films ever. Yellow journalism was in an era from the 1880 to the 1900 and it featured flashy journalism of that time, which made editors write about invented stories. Which went to big headlines on subjects that weren’t true. The two big writers of that time were William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. During the film Kane is depicted as a yellow journalism at different times. One example is when they put out the article â€Å"Charles Foster Kane Defeated, Fraud At Polls†. From that headline you would believe that he was beaten by some illegal purpose, but it was just a headline getting people to read the article and the enjoyment of writing against your enemy. Next, when Kane got all the writers from the chronicle to start writing for the inquirer. He put out an article that said â€Å"The Greatest Newspaper Staff In The World† and had a picture of all the new guys standing together. As you can see there it is not so much false information, but he said they are greatest writers in the world. When all these guys came form the opposing newspaper. While watching the film there are many other times that Kane portrays yellow journalism. He was out to help the poor people of the community and just have fun with the newspaper. In today’s society we think of yellow journalism as tabloids. A lot of those headline stories that we see in the supermarket get our attention. Which always lead to false information on subjects that we are interested in. In the film there are many ways that loss and belonging have a big part of Charles Foster Kane’s Life. It started when he was taken from his birth parents at a young age to go have a better life. We saw that the mother wanted to get him away from his father because we assumed that he was getting beaten. For many young children being taken away from their home, must really heart the child. We don’t know why he was taken but assume it was because of his father and also not having enough money to raise him. He must of thought that his parents didn’t love him but all they wanted was a better life for him. Another example of not feeling belonged is when his wife and himself were going through some problems. Even if he was the cause of the problem you saw how he wanted to belong to someone and for others to love him. Throughout t... ...y that they lived in during that time was a time that the majority of people didn’t have much money. For Kane power was something that he never lived without. He was given a newspaper to run on his own, which made him have a lot of people that worked under him. Throughout the film anything he wanted was done. Since he was the one calling the shots in the newspaper he could have anything printed. For example during the beginning of his election he would print articles that would make him look better then his opponent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For society, during that time period know one knew of anything else but to listen to people that had a lot of power. They would also follow in their footsteps. When people of that time had power they were looked up too as a very high person in life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To sum everything up this film was one of the greatest films ever made. There are so many different parts of the movie that made other filmmakers take a look at â€Å"Citizen Kane† before starting their own film. This film has change many filmmakers decisions on how to portray there film. â€Å"Citizen Kane† will never be forgotten and will on in every filmmakers decisions.

Compare and Contrast, from Cholos to Surfers and My Latino Heart

The connections in these two stories is that in Mr. Lopez story is that a young boy is troubled because he is not sure on what being a â€Å"Mexican† is all about, and that ties in with what is California image really trying to say. The next story â€Å"Of Cholos and Surfers† is a depiction of a young boy also, but he is having trouble trying to break out of the tradition of being a normal â€Å"Mexican† and do what he is more comfortable doing. In the story of â€Å"My Latino Heart† it is about a young teenager who is having trouble finding what the Mexican culture is all about.He is not sure on how to fit in with his Mexican culture. The identity of his culture is hard for him to comprehend. He asked his mother â€Å" What am I†. His mother answered â€Å" You’re a Mexican American† He replied â€Å" But what does that mean†. He couldn’t didn’t know what his parents were trying to tell him. He did not think he wa s Mexican because he couldn’t speak the Spanish. He wanted to have a answer to his question. He went to his Aunt and asked her what it meant to be a Mexican American. His Aunt replied â€Å" You’re you†.Again he was not sure of what this meant? He didn’t get another opportunity to ask his Aunt again because she had died of alcoholism. When the family had a gathering he shied away from the younger parts of his family, and went to the adults to see what his Aunt was really like when she was alive and didn’t drink. He could get a sense of what being a Mexican meant. Remembering the people that had died and to never forget them. To think of the good things about the person and to credit them for their influence they had in his life.Also in the lives that she had contact with long enough to make a difference in their lives. In the story â€Å"Of Cholos and Surfers† this teenage boy depicted by the author Jack Lopez, was a boy who lived in a Mexic an family in the Los Angeles area. His family was a family who kept their roots, and never forgot where they came from. Also there were two sides of the neighborhood were they grew up. You were either a cholo or a surfer. This young teenage boy had more of a interest in the surfer lifestyle. He wanted to be a surfer so bad that he wore clothes that the surfers would wear.His family would not allow to him to have his hair down to his ears. His friends in junior high where Sheldon Cohen and Tom Gheridelli. They were both surfers. He naturally became good friends with them because they had the same interest. He wanted to buy a surfer magazine that cost forty-five dollars. He would read Surfer Quarterly, and other surfer magazines with his friends at Sportsman Park under the bleachers. Him and his dad made an agreement that his dad would take him to get a magazine in Vermont.When he and his dad arrived in Vermont they got the magazine his father looked at him and said â€Å" Is that it ? †. He didn’t believe that his son was serious about getting the magazine. When his father got to the counter to pay for the magazine, the clerk and his dad were poking fun at the magazine in Spanish. In these stories starting with â€Å"My Latino Heart† and the California myth of a glamorous life is this; in this story, this young boy wants to know what it means to be a Latino/Mexican. He asks’ his Aunt, his father, and his mother on what it means to be Mexican.He has to go to through a journey and figure out on what this Mexican culture is all about. n the story â€Å" Of Cholos and Surfers† the similarities of this story to that of the California dream is this. This young boy wanted something more out of his life. He did not think that the life of a cholo was the right life for him. He wanted to do something that he thought would have purpose and that made sense to him, and something that would make him succeed. Even though his parents did not l ike the idea. He was willing to make that dream come true.

How The NACW Fought Sexism and Racism in Jim Crow Era

The National Association of Colored Women was established in July of 1896  after Southern journalist, James Jacks referred to African American women as â€Å"prostitutes, thieves and liars.† African American writer and suffragette, Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin believed that the best way to respond to racist and sexist attacks was through social-political activism. Arguing that developing positive images of African American womanhood was important to countering racist attacks, Ruffin said, Too long have we been silent under unjust and unholy charges; we cannot expect to have them removed until we disprove them through ourselves. With the help of other notable African American women, Ruffin initiated the merger of several African American women’s clubs including the National League of Colored Women and the National Federation of Afro-American Women to form the first African American national organization. The organizations name was changed in 1957 to the National Association of Colored Womens Clubs (NACWC). Notable Members Mary Church Terrell: first president of the NACWIda B. Wells-Barnett: publisher and journalistMary McLeod Bethune: educator, social leader and eighth president of NACWFrances Ellen Watkins Harper: feminist and poetMargaret Murray Washington: educator and served as the fifth president of the NACW Mission The NACW’s national motto, â€Å"Lifting as We Climb,† embodied the goals and initiatives established by the national organization and carried out by its local and regional chapters. On the organizations website, the NACW outlines nine objectives which included developing the economic, moral, religious and social welfare of women and children as well as enforcing the civil and political rights for all American citizens. Uplifting the Race and Providing Social Services One of the NACWs main focuses was developing resources that would help impoverished and disenfranchised African Americans. In 1902, the organizations first president, Mary Church Terrell, argued: Self-preservation demands that [black women] go among the lowly, illiterate, and even vicious, to whom they are bound to ties of race and sex...to reclaim them.   In Terrells first address as president of the NACW, she said, The work which we hope to accomplish can be done better, we believe, by the mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters of our race than by the fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons. Terrell charged members with the task of developing employment training and fair wages for women while establishing kindergarten programs for young children and recreational programs for older children. Suffrage Through various national, regional and local initiatives, the NACW fought for the voting rights of all Americans. Women of the NACW supported womens right to vote through their work on the local and national level. When the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, the NACW supported the establishment of citizenship schools. Georgia Nugent, chair of the NACW Executive Committee, told members, the ballot without intelligence in back of it is a menace instead of a blessing and I like to believe that women are accepting their recently granted citizenship with a sense of reverent responsibility. Standing Up To Racial Injustice The NACW vehemently opposed segregation and supported anti-lynching legislation. Using its publication, National Notes, the organization was able to discuss its opposition to racism and discrimination in society with a wider audience. Regional and local chapters of NACW launched various fundraising efforts after the Red Summer of 1919. All chapters  participated in nonviolent protests and boycotts of segregated public facilities. Todays Initiatives Now referred to as the National Association of Colored Womens Clubs (NACWC), the organization boasts regional and local chapters in 36 states. Members of these chapters sponsor various programs including college scholarships, teenage pregnancy,  and AIDS prevention. In 2010, Ebony magazine named the NACWC as one of the top ten non-profit organizations in the United States.