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Course Question & AnswerModern Revolutions
Purpose of Course showclose
Course Information showclose
Primary Resources: This course is composed of a range of different free, online materials. However, it makes primary use of the following materials:
- CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions” Course
- U.S. Library of Congress’ Country Studies
- George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Exploring the French Revolution and Making the History of 1989
- The Historical Text Archive
- Fordham University’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook
- Columbia University’s Asia for Educators
- The Final Exam
At the end of the course you will also need to complete the Final Exam. In order to “pass” this course, you will need to earn a 70% or higher on the Final Exam. Your score on the exam will be tabulated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam, you may take it again.
Time Commitment: This course should take you a total of approximately 137.25 hours to complete. Each unit includes a “time advisory” that lists the amount of time you are expected to spend on each subunit. These should help you plan your time. It may be useful to take a look at these advisories and to determine how much time you have over the next few weeks to complete each unit, and then to set goals for yourself. For example, Unit 1 should take you 4 hours. Perhaps you can sit down with your calendar and decide to complete subunits 1.1 and 1.2 (1.5 hours) on Monday night, and subunits 1.3 and 1.4 (2.5 hours) on Tuesday night. Then, move on to Unit 2 and complete subunit 2.1 (3 hours) on Wednesday night; subunit 2.3 (2.5 hours) on Thursday night; etc.
Tips/Suggestions: This course covers a very broad range of information, and it is essential to keep careful notes as you study. Review your notes from previous units before starting a new unit, so that comparisons between the various revolutions will be more easily apparent and you will be able to think through them with the necessary facts at hand. In addition, making timelines and refining them as you study is a very useful strategy when learning new historical information. As you add events to your timelines always ask yourself why you are choosing them, and what role they played in the course of each revolution.
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This course features a number of Khan Academy™ videos. Khan Academy™ has a library of over 3,000 videos covering a range of topics (math, physics, chemistry, finance, history and more), plus over 300 practice exercises. All Khan Academy™ materials are available for free at www.khanacademy.org.
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Learning Outcomes showclose
? Provide a concise historical narrative of each of the revolutions presented in the course.
? Identify the origins and causes of each revolution, and compare revolutions with respect to their causes.
? Analyze the goals and ideals of the revolutionaries, and compare how these functioned in various modern revolutions.
? Discuss how revolutions in various parts of the world have affected women’s rights.
? Analyze how religious and secular worldviews came into conflict during times of upheaval and revolution.
? Discuss the patterns and dynamics of revolutionary violence, and evaluate how revolutionaries have used nonviolent tactics against oppressive regimes
? Evaluate connections between revolutionary ideologies and revolutionary events.
? Analyze how the legacies of each revolution are present in modern politics..
? Describe and evaluate competing theoretical models of revolutionary change.
? Interpret primary historical documents.
Course Requirements showclose
√ Have access to a computer.
√ Have continuous broadband Internet access.
√ Have the ability/permission to install plug-ins or software (e.g. Adobe Reader or Flash).
√ Have the ability to download and save files and documents to a computer.
√ Have the ability to open Microsoft files and documents (.doc, .ppt, .xls, etc.).
√ Have competency in the English language.
√ Have read the Saylor Student Handbook.
√ Have completed the following courses from “The Core Program” of the history discipline: HIST102, HIST103, and HIST104.
Unit Outline show close
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Unit 1: What is a Revolution?
This unit will seek to answer the seemingly basic question: what is a revolution? Historians have debated this question since the great political revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries. Most scholars will agree that dramatic transformations of political systems of a nation, often accompanied by violence, qualify as a revolution, but few agree about the fundamental factors that cause revolutions. In this unit, you will examine various types of revolutions and evaluate theoretical models that seek to explain the causes and consequences of revolutions. You will consider how such theoretical models help to make sense of history and how they sometimes hinder understanding.
Unit 1 Time Advisory show close
Unit 1 Learning Outcomes show close
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1.1 Common Meanings
- Activity: Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Link: Merriam-Webster Dictionary (HTML)
Instructions: On the Merriam-Webster dictionary website, look up the word ‘revolution,’ and carefully study all the different definitions provided. Consider the reasons for the conflicting meanings of the term; write a few sentences that reflect your thoughts.
This activity should take approximately 15 minutes.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Activity: Merriam-Webster Dictionary
- 1.2 Types of Revolutions
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1.2.1 Political Revolutions
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions - Lecture 1A”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions - Lecture 1A” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch the introduction to this lecture (view the lecture up until 5 minutes, and then view the lecture from minutes 24-34). Professor O’Brien distinguishes between spontaneous uprisings, rebellions inspired by a new vision of society, and military coups. What are the most important distinctions between these three types of revolutionary change?
This video lecture should take you approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions - Lecture 1A”
- 1.2.2 Other Types of Revolutionary Change
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1.2.2.1 The Scientific Revolution
- Reading: University of Florida: Professor Robert H. Hatch’s “The Scientific Revolution: Definition, Concept, and History”
Link: University of Florida: Professor Robert H. Hatch’s “The Scientific Revolution: Definition, Concept, and History” (HTML)
Instructions: This course and Professor O’Brien’s lecture to which you listened in sub-subunit 1.2.1 focus primarily on political revolutions, but it is important to be aware that there are other types of revolutionary change. There was, for example, the “Scientific Revolution,” the “Industrial Revolution,” the so-called “Revolt against positivism,” in Europe’s arts and philosophy at the end of the nineteenth century, and we are now in the midst of what many call the “Environmental Revolution,” or intensified efforts to make economic growth sustainable. The reading in this sub-subunit is a brief conceptual definition of the Scientific Revolution. Please read this text in its entirety, focusing on any similarities you perceive between political and scientific revolutionary change.
This reading will take you approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: University of Florida: Professor Robert H. Hatch’s “The Scientific Revolution: Definition, Concept, and History”
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1.2.2.2 The Industrial Revolution
- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Lecture 8 - Industrial Revolutions”
Link: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Lecture 8 - Industrial Revolutions” (Flash)
Instructions: Please listen to this lecture in its entirety. Focus on the ways in which the Industrial Revolution changed the lives of various social groups throughout Europe. Why do you think Professor Merriman uses the plural concept of “revolutions” rather than a single “revolution” to characterize this period? Please write a brief paragraph to answer this question.
This lecture and writing assignment should take approximately 1 hour.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Lecture 8 - Industrial Revolutions”
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1.2.2.3 “Revolt Against Positivism”
- Reading: Dr. Steven Kreis’s The History Guide: Lectures on Modern European History: “Lecture 27: The Revolt Against the Western Intellectual Tradition: Friedrich Nietzsche and the Birth of Modernism”
Link: Dr. Steven Kreis’s The History Guide: Lectures on Modern European History: “Lecture 27: The Revolt Against the Western Intellectual Tradition: Friedrich Nietzsche and the Birth of Modernism” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this lecture in its entirety. What were the most important characteristics of the late nineteenth-century rebellion against the established traditions and conventions of Western thought? Do you think it useful to compare intellectual and political moments of revolutionary change? Why, or why not?
This reading and these questions should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Dr. Steven Kreis’s The History Guide: Lectures on Modern European History: “Lecture 27: The Revolt Against the Western Intellectual Tradition: Friedrich Nietzsche and the Birth of Modernism”
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1.3 Theory and History: Influential Analytic Models for Interpreting Revolutionary Change
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions - Lecture 1A”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions - Lecture 1A” (YouTube)
Instructions: Watch the second part of this lecture (minute 34 to the end), and focus on understanding the competing analytical models historians have used to explain revolutionary change. Professor O’Brien discusses several models which make connections between revolutions and the following factors: Marxist theory, political centralization, modernization, intellectuals, and the international context. As you listen to the lecture, make sure you can discuss each of these, and identify the most important theorist associated with each approach. More broadly, consider the following questions: what are the advantages of building conceptual models to characterize revolutions? What are the drawbacks of using conceptual models to understand history?
This video lecture and these questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions - Lecture 1A”
- 1.4 Evaluating Competing Analyses of Revolutionary Change
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1.4.1 Hanna Arendt’s Analysis of Revolutions
- Reading: Politics and Metapolitics: Arya Rejaee’s “Arendt’s On Revolution and Its Implications for Political Science”
Link: Politics and Metapolitics: Arya Rejaee’s “Arendt’s On Revolution and Its Implications for Political Science” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the entire article. Rejaee presents a short review of political theorist Hannah Arendt’s book On Revolution. In this book, Arendt argues that political revolutions are a necessary part of fostering liberty and a sense of freedom and equality in modern societies. Rajaee critiques Arendt’s ideas and asserts that she fails to account for non-altruistic motivations in her arguments about the origins and causes of revolutions. What do you think are the most important factors that motivate individuals to participate in revolutionary events?
This reading and question should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Politics and Metapolitics: Arya Rejaee’s “Arendt’s On Revolution and Its Implications for Political Science”
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1.4.2 Violent versus Nonviolent Revolutionary Change
- Reading: The New York Review of Books: Timothy Garton Ash’s “Velvet Revolution, The Prospects”
Link: The New York Review of Books: Timothy Garton Ash’s “Velvet Revolution, The Prospects” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this article in its entirety, focusing on the similarities and differences between violent and nonviolent revolutions. What definitions of revolutions do you find in this article? How do these compare to the definitions provided by Professor O’Brien?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 1 Quiz: Defining and Analyzing Revolutions” and “Unit 1 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 1 Quiz: Defining and Analyzing Revolutions” (PDF) and “Unit 1 Quiz – Guide to Responding” (PDF)
Instructions: Please open the “Unit 1 Quiz” first and work through all the questions. Instructions for how to take the quiz and how to time it appear at the top of the page. Please time yourself, and take no more than 60 minutes to complete the quiz. Once you have completed the quiz, please open “Unit 1 Quiz – Guide to Responding” and follow the instructions at the top of the page to evaluate your answers.
This assessment and evaluation of your responses should take you approximately 1.5 hours to complete.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The New York Review of Books: Timothy Garton Ash’s “Velvet Revolution, The Prospects”
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Unit 2: Revolutions and Modernity
It is a commonplace among historians that the ‘modern age’ began with the French Revolution. Though there were revolutions in the ancient world, many argue that something radically new appeared in history at the end of the eighteenth century. In this unit, you will explore the connection between revolutions and modernity by focusing on the following questions: What was the western world like before modernity? What ideas inspired the French Revolution, and what was modern about them? Your analysis of pre-revolutionary Europe will also give you a point of comparison for later units, which turn to non-western revolutions.
Unit 2 Time Advisory show close
Unit 2 Learning Outcomes show close
- 2.1 Ancien Régime Europe – Two Examples
- 2.1.1 France
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2.1.1.1 French Absolutism in the Broader European Context
- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Absolutism and the State” Lecture
Link: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Absolutism and the State” Lecture (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this entire video lecture (45 minutes), focusing on understanding the ways in which the Thirty Years War (1618–1648) influenced state-building in France and England. As you listen to the lecture, focus on the following aspects of pre-revolutionary societies: the institution of kingship, the role of religion, and the mechanisms of taxation.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Absolutism and the State” Lecture
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2.1.1.2 French Absolute Monarchy and Its Symbols
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress’s “Creating French Culture: Treasures from the Bibliothéque Nationale de France:” “The Rise and Fall of the Absolute Monarchy”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress’s “Creating French Culture: Treasures from the Bibliothéque Nationale de France:” “The Rise and Fall of the Absolute Monarchy” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this brief text to better understand the political structure of pre-revolutionary France. Examine the portraits and pictures of French kings to understand how power was represented at this time.
This reading should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress’s “Creating French Culture: Treasures from the Bibliothéque Nationale de France:” “The Rise and Fall of the Absolute Monarchy”
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2.1.1.3 Tax Farming
- Reading: Rutgers University: Professor Eugene N. White’s “France's Slow Transition from Privatized to Government-Administered Tax Collection: Tax Farming in the Eighteenth Century”
Link: Rutgers University: Professor Eugene N. White’s “France's Slow Transition from Privatized to Government-Administered Tax Collection: Tax Farming in the Eighteenth Century” (PDF)
Instructions: Click on the hyperlink at the bottom of the page to download the PDF file. Read this paper in its entirety (26 pages) to understand the practice of “tax farming” in France.
This reading should take you approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Rutgers University: Professor Eugene N. White’s “France's Slow Transition from Privatized to Government-Administered Tax Collection: Tax Farming in the Eighteenth Century”
- 2.1.2 England
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2.1.2.1 The English Political System
- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Lecture 3: Dutch and British Exceptionalism”
Link: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Lecture 3: Dutch and British Exceptionalism” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch the entire 45-minute video lecture linked above. This video lecture will discuss how and why both England and Holland rejected absolutist rule.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Lecture 3: Dutch and British Exceptionalism”
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2.1.2.2 Religion and the State in Seventeenth-Century England
- Reading: Union County College: Dr. Harold Damerow’s “England in the 17th Century”
Link: Union County College: Dr. Harold Damerow’s “England in the 17th Century” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this brief essay to get an overview of the conflicts between religion and the English state before the English Civil War.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Union County College: Dr. Harold Damerow’s “England in the 17th Century”
- 2.2 The Enlightenment
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2.2.1 Overview of the Most Important Themes and Characteristics of the Enlightenment
- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “The Enlightenment and the Public Sphere” Lecture
Link: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “The Enlightenment and the Public Sphere” Lecture (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this entire video lecture (48 minutes), and focus on the different meanings of the Enlightenment among the intellectual elites and in popular culture. What did the Enlightenment thinkers focus on? What did they critique? How was the influence of the intellectuals different from that of the “street?”
This video lecture and these questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “The Enlightenment and the Public Sphere” Lecture
- 2.2.2 Enlightenment Ideas
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2.2.2.1 Jean Jacques Rousseau
- Reading: Fordham University’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of Jean Jacques Rousseau’s “The Social Contract” Excerpts
Link: Fordham University’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of Jean Jacques Rousseau’s “The Social Contract” Excerpts (HTML)
Instructions: In “The Social Contract” Rousseau articulated the concept of the ‘general will,’ an idea which was often evoked by revolutionaries in France and in later eras. Read this selection of excerpts from Rousseau’s influential text to understand what he meant by the concept of the general will.
This reading should take you approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Fordham University’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of Jean Jacques Rousseau’s “The Social Contract” Excerpts
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2.2.2.2 Immanuel Kant
- Reading: Fordham University’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of Immanuel Kant’s 1784 Essay “What Is Enlightenment?”
Link: Fordham University’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of Immanuel Kant’s 1784 Essay “What Is Enlightenment?” (HTML)
Instructions: This is one of the most important texts of the European Enlightenment. As you read it, ask yourself: what does Kant mean by “emergence from self-incurred immaturity?” What is the relationship between thinking for oneself and obedience to political authority? What do you think is revolutionary about this text?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Fordham University’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of Immanuel Kant’s 1784 Essay “What Is Enlightenment?”
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2.2.2.3 Marquis de Condorcet
- Reading: Fordham University’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of Condorcet’s 1794 Essay “The Future Progress of the Human Mind”
Link: Fordham University’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of Condorcet’s 1794 Essay “The Future Progress of the Human Mind” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this entire text and analyze its tone. As you read, ask yourself why Condorcet is so unshakably convinced of the necessity of progress? What does he mean by progress? What is his understanding of history?
This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Fordham University’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of Condorcet’s 1794 Essay “The Future Progress of the Human Mind”
- 2.3 Characteristics of Modernity
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2.3.1 The Transformation of European Life and Culture
- Reading: Kazys Varnelis’s “Modernity and History”
Link: Kazys Varnelis’s “Modernity and History” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this text, paying particular attention to how the author characterizes modernity and how he distinguishes between traditional modes of life and the modern era.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Kazys Varnelis’s “Modernity and History”
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2.3.2 Modernization Theory: Europe and the World
- Reading: Learn Sociology’s “Modernization Theory”
Link: Learn Sociology’s “Modernization Theory” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this article carefully. Note how it characterizes modernity and modernization. What does modernization theory say about the relationship between Europe and the rest of the world? What are some alternative ways of configuring this relationship? Compare this article to the article on “Modernity and History,” which you read in sub-subunit 2.3.1. What are the features of modernity suggested by these two readings?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Learn Sociology’s “Modernization Theory”
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2.3.3 Competing Conceptions of Equality
- Reading: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Stefan Gosepath’s “Equality”
Link: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Stefan Gosepath’s “Equality” (HTML)
Instructions: Various notions of equality and inequality are essential in discussions of both revolutions and modernity. Study this article carefully, focusing on distinctions between formal and substantive equality and their various meanings in different socio-political contexts.
This reading should take approximately 2 hours to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Stefan Gosepath’s “Equality”
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2.3.4 The Modern State and Violence
- Reading: Matheiu Delfem’s Classical Sociological Theory: A Review of Themes, Concepts, and Perspectives: “Max Weber (1864-1920): The Rationalization of Society”
Link: Matheiu Delfem’s Classical Sociological Theory: A Review of Themes, Concepts, and Perspectives: “Max Weber (1864-1920): The Rationalization of Society” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the final section of this essay “Part C. State, Bureaucracy, and Law in the Age of Modernity,” focusing on how Weber defined the relationship between violence and the modern state.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 2 Quiz: History and Modernity” and “Unit 2 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 2 Quiz: History and Modernity” (PDF) and “Unit 2 Quiz – Guide to Responding” (PDF)
Instructions: Please open the “Unit 2 Quiz” first and work through all the questions. Instructions for how to take the quiz and how to time it appear at the top of the page. Please time yourself, and take no more than 60 minutes to complete the quiz. Once you have completed the quiz, please open “Unit 2 Quiz – Guide to Responding” and follow the instructions at the top of the page to evaluate your answers.
This assessment and evaluation of your responses should take you approximately 1.5 hours to complete.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Matheiu Delfem’s Classical Sociological Theory: A Review of Themes, Concepts, and Perspectives: “Max Weber (1864-1920): The Rationalization of Society”
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Unit 3: Seventeenth-Century England - Revolution or Civil War?
In this unit, you will study the English Revolution, or rather several waves of revolutionary events between 1640 and 1688, events which became an important inspiration for Enlightenment thinkers and for revolutionaries in America and France. The English Revolution was, however, an incomplete one in that it established a constitutional monarchy and not a republic. You will analyze the differences between civil war and revolution, the political and symbolic significance of beheading the king, and the hugely influential documents produced by the English revolutionaries.
Unit 3 Time Advisory show close
Unit 3 Learning Outcomes show close
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3.1 Origins of the English Revolution
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 2A”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 2A” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this entire video lecture (1 hour and 17 minutes), and make a list of long-term causes of the English Revolution. Pay particular attention to the ways in which religion and politics were in conflict in seventeenth-century England.
This video lecture and list should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 2A”
- 3.2 Revolutionary Events
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3.2.1 Overview and Chronology
- Reading: Union County College: Dr. Harold Damerow’s “Glorious Revolution”
Link: Union County College: Dr. Harold Damerow’s “Glorious Revolution” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this essay and the chronology on the webpage linked above. Make your own list of events which were most important.
This reading and list should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Union County College: Dr. Harold Damerow’s “Glorious Revolution”
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3.2.2 The English Civil War
- Reading: Dr. Steven Kreis’s The History Guide: Lectures on Early Modern European History: “Lecture 7: The English Civil War”
Link: Dr. Steven Kreis’s The History Guide: Lectures on Early Modern European History: “Lecture 7: The English Civil War” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this lecture in its entirety. What were the most important sources of conflict between the Parliament and the Monarchy? What were the most important turning points of the English Civil War?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 2B”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 2B” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this entire video lecture (1 hour, 17 minutes), and focus on the chronology of the English Revolution, the political gains of each phase of revolutionary activity, and the distinctions Professor O’Brien draws between revolution and civil war. Note that this lecture also covers the material you need to know for sub-subunits 3.2.3 and 3.2.4, as well as subunit 3.5.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Dr. Steven Kreis’s The History Guide: Lectures on Early Modern European History: “Lecture 7: The English Civil War”
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3.2.3 Cromwell and the Protectorate
- Reading: University of Wisconsin: Professor Johann Sommerville’s “The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, 1653-8” and University of Virginia: Kevin A. Creed’s “The Pamphleteers Protestant Champion: Viewing Oliver Cromwell Through the Media of his Day”
Links: University of Wisconsin: Professor Johann Sommerville’s “The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, 1653-8” and University of Virginia: Kevin A. Creed’s “The Pamphleteers Protestant Champion: Viewing Oliver Cromwell Through the Media of his Day”
Instructions: Please read both webpages in their entirety. The first one provides a chronological overview of the Protectorate, while the second one analyzes Oliver Cromwell’s leadership in its historical context. After you finish reading write a paragraph that summarizes Kevin A. Creed’s argument, and provides your evaluation of his essay. You may wish to consider the following questions: do you find the argument compelling? What evidence is used in this essay? How does this essay help you better understand Cromwell’s role in seventeenth-century English history?
These readings and questions should take approximately 1.5 hours to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: University of Wisconsin: Professor Johann Sommerville’s “The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, 1653-8” and University of Virginia: Kevin A. Creed’s “The Pamphleteers Protestant Champion: Viewing Oliver Cromwell Through the Media of his Day”
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3.2.4 Interregnum, Restoration, and the Glorious Revolution
- Reading: BBC’s British History In-depth: Dr. Edward Vallance’s “The Glorious Revolution”
Link: BBC’s British History In-depth: Dr. Edward Vallance’s “The Glorious Revolution” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this document in its entirety to better understand the causes and consequences of the so-called “Glorious Revolution.”
This reading should take you approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: BBC’s British History In-depth: Dr. Edward Vallance’s “The Glorious Revolution”
- 3.3 Revolutionary Ideas – The Government, Citizens’ Rights, and the Relationship between Religion and the State
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3.3.1 The English Bill of Rights
- Reading: Yale University: Lillian Goldman Law Library’s The Avalon Project: “The English Bill of Rights of 1689”
Link: Yale University: Lillian Goldman Law Library’s The Avalon Project: “The English Bill of Rights of 1689” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this document in its entirety, focusing on the kinds of rights guaranteed for the citizens. Write a paragraph about ways in which this document helps to explain the difference between a traditional monarchy and a constitutional monarchy.
This reading and paragraph should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Yale University: Lillian Goldman Law Library’s The Avalon Project: “The English Bill of Rights of 1689”
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3.3.2 John Locke
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: Yale University: Professor Ivan Szelenyi’s “Locke: Equality, Freedom, Property and the Right to Dissent” Lecture
Link: CosmoLearning: Yale University: Professor Ivan Szelenyi’s “Locke: Equality, Freedom, Property and the Right to Dissent” Lecture (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view the entire video lecture (45 minutes). It links the Revolutionary experience in England and John Locke’s two Treatises on Government. Focus on the second half of the lecture (starting with minute 19) and be sure you can discuss the logic of Locke’s thinking about the powers and role of government in modern societies. Try to summarize Locke’s ideology in a few sentences.
This video lecture and summary should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Reading: University of Chicago’s version of John Locke’s “A Letter Concerning Toleration” (1689)
Link: University of Chicago’s version of John Locke’s “A Letter Concerning Toleration” (1689) (HTML)
Instructions: Read this document to understand how Locke sees the relationship between politics and religion. Where does he draw the boundaries of tolerance? How does he justify this choice?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Lecture: CosmoLearning: Yale University: Professor Ivan Szelenyi’s “Locke: Equality, Freedom, Property and the Right to Dissent” Lecture
- 3.4 Analyses and Interpretations
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3.4.1 Religious Toleration
- Reading: Reviews in History: Keith Lindley’s Review of John Coffey’s “Persecution and Toleration in Protestant England 1558-1689”
Link: Reviews in History: Keith Lindley’s Review of John Coffey’s “Persecution and Toleration in Protestant England 1558-1689” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this essay in its entirety. What interpretations of the relationship between religion and the English state does the article describe? Do you find its argument convincing? Why, or why not?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Reading: Reviews in History: Keith Lindley’s Review of John Coffey’s “Persecution and Toleration in Protestant England 1558-1689”
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3.4.2 Marxist Interpretations
- Reading: The Marxists Archive: Christopher Hill’s “The English Revolution 1640”
Link: The Marxists Archive: Christopher Hill’s “The English Revolution 1640” (HTML)
Instruction: Please read this essay in its entirety. As you read focus on the following questions: what are the most important features of a Marxist interpretation of revolutionary change? How does Christopher Hill characterize the causes and the outcomes of the English Revolution?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 2 hours to complete.
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- Reading: The Marxists Archive: Christopher Hill’s “The English Revolution 1640”
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3.4.3 Legal Precedents and Ideals
- Reading: Global Dialog Project: “The Importance of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights”
Link: Global Dialog Project: “The Importance of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights”
Instructions: Please read this essay in its entirety – it analyzes the various traditions that influenced the writing of the US Constitution, and the English Bill of Rights is among the most important documents it mentions. How does the analysis provided here compare with your own reading of the English Bill of Rights? What are the most important ways in which this document paved the way for the Constitution of the United States?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Global Dialog Project: “The Importance of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights”
- 3.5 Revolutionary Legacies
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3.5.1 Cultural and Intellectual Legacies of the Revolution in England
Note: This sub-subunit is covered by Professor O’Brien’s lecture to which you listened in subunit 3.2.2. Please review the final part of the lecture (1 hour and 2 minutes until the end) to revisit the cultural consequences of the revolutionary era in England.
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3.5.2 Political Possibilities Opened by the Revolutionary Events
Note: This sub-subunit is covered by Professor O’Brien’s lecture to which you listened in subunit 3.2.2. Please review the final part of the lecture (1 hour and 2 minutes until the end), and write down what you consider to be the most important political consequences of the English Revolution.
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 3 Quiz: The English Revolution” and “Unit 3 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 3 Quiz: The English Revolution” (PDF) and “Unit 3 Quiz – Guide to Responding” (PDF)
Instructions: Please open the “Unit 3 Quiz” first and work through all the questions. Instructions for how to take the quiz and how to time it appear at the top of the page. Please time yourself, and take no more than 60 minutes to complete the quiz. Once you have completed the quiz, please open “Unit 3 Quiz – Guide to Responding” and follow the instructions at the top of the page to evaluate your answers.
This assessment and evaluation of your responses should take you approximately 1.25 hours to complete.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 3 Quiz: The English Revolution” and “Unit 3 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
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Unit 4: The American Revolution - Ideas and Experience
By the middle of the eighteenth century, Britain had colonies and trading posts throughout the world. It emerged victorious from the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), but the war pushed it to impose new taxes on the American Colonies. This, in turn, provoked the colonists’ resistance, which eventually led to revolution and the creation of the United States. With time, the initially limited goals of greater local control over trade and taxes were replaced by calls for independence and creation of democratic institutions which would help govern the new nation. The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) brought about complete separation from Britain, but there was no consensus regarding the institutions and values which should structure the newly independent state. As the Revolution proceeded, its leaders debated the nature of freedom and government, the best ways of structuring the state, the proper relationship between religion and politics, and other fundamentally important topics. Their views about all of these issues often reflected their fundamental beliefs and assumptions about human nature. In this unit, you will explore the American revolutionary experience, the creation of the United States, and the most important ideas and ideals which helped shape this time of rapid political and social transformation.
Unit 4 Time Advisory show close
Unit 4 Learning Outcomes show close
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4.1 How to Study the American Revolution
- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor Joanne Freeman’s “Introduction: Freeman’s Top Five Tips for Studying the American Revolution” Lecture
Link: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor Joanne Freeman’s “Introduction: Freeman’s Top Five Tips for Studying the American Revolution” Lecture (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this lecture starting at minute 13 to the end, and focus on how Professor Freeman proposes to analyze the revolutionary events in America. How does she relate facts and interpretations? Where does she suggest the student’s primary focus should be?
This video lecture and these questions should take approximately 45 minutes to complete.
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- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor Joanne Freeman’s “Introduction: Freeman’s Top Five Tips for Studying the American Revolution” Lecture
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4.2 Timeline and Key Problems of the Revolutionary Era
- Reading: Academic American: Henry J. Sage’s “The Era of the American Revolution 1763-1800”
Link: Academic American: Henry J. Sage’s “The Era of the American Revolution 1763-1800” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the entire text, which provides an overview of the Revolutionary Era. Before delving into the dynamics and ideals of the American Revolution, it is important to have a basic understanding of its chronology and historical context. The readings in this subunit will help you understand the timeline of the most important events. As you read, identify the most important themes and questions concerning the American Revolution.
This reading and identifying themes should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Independence Hall Association’s “Timeline of the Revolutionary War”
Link: Independence Hall Association’s “Timeline of the Revolutionary War” (HTML)
Instructions: Study the timeline of the American Revolution carefully. If there are any events with which you are unfamiliar, click on the relevant link to read additional information about them.
You should spend approximately 1 hour studying this timeline and click on the links to read any additional material.
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- Reading: Academic American: Henry J. Sage’s “The Era of the American Revolution 1763-1800”
- 4.3 England and the American Colonies
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4.3.1 Daily Life in the Colonies
- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor Joanne Freeman’s “Being a British Colonist” Lecture
Link: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor Joanne Freeman’s “Being a British Colonist” Lecture (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this entire lecture (40 minutes) to understand what it was like to live in the colonies in the eighteenth century.
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- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor Joanne Freeman’s “Being a British Colonist” Lecture
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4.3.2 British Policies after the Seven Years’ War
- Reading: Library 4 History: Charles M. Andrews’ “History of England:” “British Policy toward the American Colonies (1760-1774)”
Link: Library 4 History: Charles M. Andrews’ “History of England:” “British Policy toward the American Colonies (1760-1774)” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this essay carefully to understand the logic of the changes in British policy toward the American Colonies in the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Library 4 History: Charles M. Andrews’ “History of England:” “British Policy toward the American Colonies (1760-1774)”
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4.4 Colonial Resistance
- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor Joanne Freeman’s “Logic of Resistance” Lecture
Link: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor Joanne Freeman’s “Logic of Resistance” Lecture (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this lecture in its entirety (48 minutes), and take notes as you listen. At the end of the lecture, try to answer the following questions: why did the American colonists resist British rule? What were their most important aims?
This video lecture and these questions should take approximately 1 hour.
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- Reading: BBC’s British History In-depth: Professor Francis D. Cogliano’s “Was the American Revolution Inevitable?”
Link: BBC’s British History In-depth: Professor Francis D. Cogliano’s “Was the American Revolution Inevitable?” (HTML)
Instructions: Study this article and its analysis of the American Revolution. Compare this text with Professor Freeman’s lecture about the logic of the Colonists’ resistance against England. Ask yourself whether you think the Revolution was inevitable? If so, why? If not, what other scenarios do you think might have taken place?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor Joanne Freeman’s “Logic of Resistance” Lecture
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4.5 From Resistance to War and Independence
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions - Lecture 3A”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions - Lecture 3A” (YouTube)
Instructions: Watch this lecture in its entirety (1 hour and 17 minutes). Focus on how Professor O’Brien characterizes Republicanism. What does he identify as the most important causes of the American Revolution? How does he characterize the transition from early resistance to more radical political claims and eventual independence of the Colonies?
This video lecture and these questions should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Academic American: Henry J. Sage’s “The American Revolution 1775-1777” and “The American Revolution 1778-1783”
Links: Academic American: Henry J. Sage’s “The American Revolution 1775-1777” and “The American Revolution 1778-1783” (HTML)
Instructions: Study these narrations of the Revolutionary War carefully, and write a paragraph, describing the most important turning points in the conflict.
This reading and paragraph should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions - Lecture 3A”
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4.6 Competing Visions of the New State and the Constitution
- Reading: Academic American: Henry J. Sage’s “Constitutional Government:” “Keys to Understanding the Constitution: Important Points to Remember”
Link: Academic American: Henry J. Sage’s “Constitutional Government:” “Keys to Understanding the Constitution: Important Points to Remember” (HTML)
Instructions: The American Constitution was the outcome of much debate between statesmen with competing visions of the new American state. Study this text carefully to understand how the Constitution was created and what compromises had to be made to reach agreement about the structure of American government.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Lecture: YouTube: The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s “Carol Berkin on the Federalists and Antifederalists”
Link: YouTube: The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s “Carol Berkin on the Federalists and Antifederalists” (YouTube)
Instructions: This is a brief lecture in which Professor Berkin compares the Federalists and the Antifederalists. Carefully listen to the 4-minute lecture, and write a few sentences that note the most important ideological differences between the two groups.
This lecture and writing should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Academic American: Henry J. Sage’s “Constitutional Government:” “Keys to Understanding the Constitution: Important Points to Remember”
- 4.7 The Republic of Letters – Ideals, Principles, and Goals of the American Revolution
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4.7.1 Thomas Paine and the Question of Independence
- Reading: Bartleby.com: Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”
Link: Bartleby.com: Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” (HTML)
Instructions: This is one of the most important pamphlets of the American Revolution. Read the “Introduction” and “Parts I-IV” in their entirety. Pay particular attention to how Paine argues for independence from Britain. What are his most important claims? What does he say about religious diversity in the new nation? How does he envision equal representation?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 4.5 hours. Dedicate about 15 minutes to the Introduction and 1 hour for each part (Parts I-IV). Take about 15 minutes to answer the questions above.
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- Reading: Bartleby.com: Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”
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4.7.2 The Declaration of Independence, 1776
- Reading: Yale University: Lillian Goldman Law Library’s Avalon Project: “The Declaration of Independence”
Link: Yale University: Lillian Goldman Law Library’s Avalon Project: “The Declaration of Independence” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this document in its entirety, and examine how it shows the “logic of resistance,” which Professor Freeman discussed in the lecture you studied in subunit 4.4. In addition, refer back to the various meanings of equality which you studied in sub-subunit 2.3.3, in order to analyze how the “Declaration of Independence” defines and envisions equality. Which groups of citizens were included in its vision of equality? Who was excluded and how?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Yale University: Lillian Goldman Law Library’s Avalon Project: “The Declaration of Independence”
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4.7.3 The Constitution of the United States, 1787
- Reading: Yale University: Lillian Goldman Law Library’s Avalon Project: “Constitution of the United States: Bill of Rights”
Link: Yale University: Lillian Goldman Law Library’s Avalon Project: “Constitution of the United States: Bill of Rights” (HTML)
Instructions: Read the American Bill of Rights, and compare it with the English Bill of Rights you studied in sub-subunit 3.3.1. What are the most important differences between the two documents? What do you think accounts for them?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Yale University: Lillian Goldman Law Library’s Avalon Project: “Constitution of the United States: Bill of Rights”
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4.8 Outcomes and Legacies: The American Political System and Historical Memory
- Reading: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor Joanne Freeman’s “Being an American: The Legacy of the Revolution” Lecture
Link: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor Joanne Freeman’s “Being an American: The Legacy of the Revolution” Lecture (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this lecture in its entirety (41 minutes). How does Professor Freeman define a revolution? What does it take for a revolution to end? What are the most important legacies of the American Revolution?
This video lecture and questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Reading: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor Joanne Freeman’s “Being an American: The Legacy of the Revolution” Lecture
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Unit 4 Assessment
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 4 Quiz: The American Revolution” and “Unit 4 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 4 Quiz: The American Revolution” (PDF) and “Unit 4 Quiz – Guide to Responding” (PDF).
Instructions: Please open the “Unit 4 Quiz” first and work through all the questions. Instructions for how to take the quiz and how to time it appear at the top of the page. Please time yourself, and take no more than 60 minutes to complete the quiz. Once you have completed the quiz, please open “Unit 4 Quiz – Guide to Responding” and follow the instructions at the top of the page to evaluate your answers.
This assessment and evaluation of your responses should take you approximately 1.5 hours to complete.
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- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 4 Quiz: The American Revolution” and “Unit 4 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
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Unit 5: The French Revolution and the Birth of Modernity
The French Revolution was perhaps the most important of modern revolutions. In this unit, you will analyze its causes, dynamics, ideologies, and legacies. During the course of the revolution, its leaders abolished the monarchy and altered most of France’s social and political institutions in order to make them more rational and more modern. They proclaimed a republic, instituted parliamentary elections, introduced educational reforms, created a new revolutionary calendar, and reorganized France’s electoral districts to make representation more democratic. The revolution, however, turned sharply away from its initial ideals when the new government began to use violence and terror to maintain its hold on power. By 1799 the revolution succumbed to Napoleon’s dictatorship. In what follows, you will examine the ideas that inspired the revolutionaries, the logic of revolutionary idealism and violence, and the relationship between Napoleon and the Revolution. You will also consider ways in which the struggle that started in France in 1789 continued in Europe in the 1830s, 40s, and 70s.
Unit 5 Time Advisory show close
Unit 5 Learning Outcomes show close
- 5.1 Origins and Causes of the French Revolution
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5.1.1 Social, Political, and Economic Origins
- Web Media: Khan Academy’s “French Revolution (Part I)”
Link: Khan Academy’s “French Revolution (Part I)” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 17 minutes). The French Revolution began in May 1789 with the meeting of the Estates-General—a general assembly representing the three French estates of the realm: the nobility, the church, and the common people. Summoned by King Louis XVI to propose solutions to his government's financial problems, the Estates-General sat for several weeks in May and June 1789 but came to an impasse as the three estates clashed over their respective powers. It was brought to an end when many members of the Third Estate formed themselves into a National Assembly, signaling the outbreak of the Revolution. On July 14 of that same year, the Bastille—a medieval fortress and prison which represented royal authority in the center of Paris—was stormed by a mob that demanded the arms and ammunition stored there. Note that this video will also cover subunits 5.1.2, 5.2, 5.3.1, and 5.3.2.
Terms of Use: This resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. It is attributed to the Khan Academy.
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- Reading: Mount Holyoke College: Mr. Schwartz’s “Modern and Contemporary European History:” “The French Revolution: Causes, Outcomes, Conflicting Interpretations”
Link: Mount Holyoke College: Mr. Schwartz’s “Modern and Contemporary European History:” “The French Revolution: Causes, Outcomes, Conflicting Interpretations” (HTML)
Instructions: Study this text to gain a basic understanding of the most important causes of the French Revolution. As you read, write a paragraph on the distinctions between economic, political, cultural, and sociological causes of revolutionary change.
This reading and paragraph should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 4A”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 4A” (YouTube)
Instructions: This lecture provides a more extensive analysis of the causes of the French Revolution. Listen to it in its entirety (1 hour and 17 minutes), and consider the following questions: what were the structural, long-term causes of the French Revolution? What were the most important events that precipitated the outbreak of the revolution in 1789? How do historians relate long-term and short-term causes of this and other revolutions? What are the most important difficulties that arise in the process of linking long-term and short-term historical factors?
This video lecture and these questions should take you approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Social Causes of the Revolution”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Social Causes of the Revolution” (HTML)
Instructions: This essay provides a thorough overview of French society on the eve of the revolution. It also outlines how various social groups participated in the earliest phase of revolutionary events. Read it carefully in its entirety (4 pages), focusing on understanding the stratification of French society and the claims and needs of the different social groups in Paris and in the countryside. To access each page, click on arrow key, or the page number, at the bottom of the text.
This reading should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Web Media: Khan Academy’s “French Revolution (Part I)”
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5.1.2 The Revolution and the Legacy of the Enlightenment
Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 5.1.1.
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Enlightenment and Human Rights”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Enlightenment and Human Rights” (HTML)
Instructions: One of the most intensely debated questions in the historiography of the French Revolution is the problem of the relationship between Enlightenment ideas and revolutionary events. For over two centuries, historians have been asking how eighteenth-century and earlier philosophical analyses of freedom, rights, and equality influenced the French revolutionaries. The readings in this subunit present several viewpoints about this connection.
Read this essay in its entirety (4 pages), paying particular attention to how it makes connections between the French Revolution, French Enlightenment thinkers, and seventeenth-century English political thought. Write a paragraph that compares these different types of political thought. To access each page, click on arrow key, or the page number, at the bottom of the text.
This reading and paragraph should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Dr. Steven Kreis’s The History Guide: Lectures on Early Modern European Intellectual History: “Lecture 11: The Origins of the French Revolution”
Link: Dr. Steven Kreis’sThe History Guide: Lectures on Early Modern European Intellectual History: “Lecture 11: The Origins of the French Revolution” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this entire lecture and focus on the relationships among the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, democracy, and totalitarian political systems. Do you agree with the argument presented in the lecture? Why, or why not?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Reading: 18th Century History: Rick Brainard’s “The Influence of the Enlightenment on the French Revolution”
Link: 18th Century History: Rick Brainard’s “The Influence of the Enlightenment on the French Revolution” (HTML)
Instructions: This text contrasts a view which favors gradual change (Edmund Burke’s) against one which supports a revolutionary break with the past (Thomas Paine’s). What arguments are presented in favor of each of these viewpoints?
This reading and question should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Enlightenment and Human Rights”
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5.2 The Chronology of Revolutionary Events: From Estates General to Napoleon
Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 5.1.1.
- Reading: Marxists Internet Archive’s “Principal Dates and Time Line of the French Revolution”
Link: Marxists Internet Archive’s “Principal Dates and Time Line of the French Revolution” (HTML)
Instructions: Study this chronology of French Revolution carefully. As you study, create your own shorter chronology, selecting the events that seem most important to you. After listening to the lectures and reading the texts assigned in this unit, you will have a chance to return to your chronology and modify and extend it.
Reviewing this chronology and developing your own should take approximately 1 hour.
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- Reading: Marxists Internet Archive’s “Principal Dates and Time Line of the French Revolution”
- 5.3 The Fall of the Bastille and Transition to Constitutional Monarchy
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5.3.1 Popular Protest and the Problem of Political Authority
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 4B”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 4B” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this lecture in its entirety (1 hour and 17 minutes). In this subunit, pay particular attention to the first 30 minutes of the lecture, in which Professor O’Brien describes the early phase of the French Revolution. Note that this lecture contains material you will need for subunits 5.4 and 5.5.
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- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Monarchy Embattled”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Monarchy Embattled” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this essay to understand the political and economic situation of the French monarchy in the years leading up to the Revolution. Make sure to read all four pages of the essay, clicking on the arrow key or page number at the bottom of each page.
This reading should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 4B”
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5.3.2 Rights, Freedoms, and Duties in Revolutionary Documents
Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 5.1.1.
- Reading: Yale University: Lillian Goldman Law Library’s Avalon Project: “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen”
Link: Yale University: Lillian Goldman Law Library’s Avalon Project: “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this document carefully, and compare it with the English Bill of Rights and the American Bill of Rights. What common ideas do you notice? What are the most important differences between these documents?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Admission of Jews to Rights of Citizenship, 27 September 1791” and Olympe de Gouges’ “The Declaration of the Rights of Woman (September 1791)”
Links: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Admission of Jews to Rights of Citizenship, 27 September 1791” (HTML) and Olympe de Gouges’ “The Declaration of the Rights of Woman (September 1791)” (HTML)
Instructions: Read the first document carefully to understand what rights were extended to individual Jews in 1791. What is the most important distinction between individual rights and communal rights? Compare this document with de Gouges’ argument for extending women’s rights. What arguments does she use? Where does she focus on gender equality and where on gender differences?
These readings and questions should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Yale University: Lillian Goldman Law Library’s Avalon Project: “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen”
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5.4 The Republic, Reign of Terror, and Thermidorean Reaction
Note: This subunit is covered by the lecture assigned beneath subunit 5.3.1. As you listen to Professor O’Brien’s lecture, make sure you understand the transition from Constitutional Monarchy to the Republic, and the reasons for the demise of Robespierre.
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5.4.1 The Republic
- Web Media: Khan Academy’s “French Revolution (Part 2)”
Link: Khan Academy’s “French Revolution (Part 2)” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 15 minutes), which discusses the second stage of the French Revolution. After Louis XV and his wife tried to escape Paris in 1791, the French revolutionary wars began soon thereafter; however, fighting soon went badly and prices rose sky-high. In August 1792, a mob assaulted the Royal Palace in Paris and arrested the King. In September, the Assembly abolished the monarchy and declared a republic.
Terms of Use: This resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. It is attributed to the Khan Academy.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Paris and the Politics of Revolution” and “The Monarchy Falls”
Links: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Paris and the Politics of Revolution” (HTML) and “The Monarchy Falls” (HTML)
Instructions: Read both of these essays in their entirety to understand the political changes in France between 1791 and 1795. Make sure to read all four pages of each essay by clicking on the arrow key or page numbers at the bottom of each page.
These readings should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Constitution of 1793”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Constitution of 1793” (HTML)
Instructions: This is the constitution of the first French Republic. Study it carefully and compare it to the American Declaration of Independence. What similarities and differences do you perceive between the two documents? How do these reflect the different social and historical contexts of the American and the French Revolutions?
This reading and these questions should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Web Media: Khan Academy’s “French Revolution (Part 2)”
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5.4.2 Robespierre and The Reign of Terror
- Web Media: Khan Academy’s “French Revolution (Part 3)—Reign of Terror”
Link: Khan Academy’s “French Revolution (Part 3)—Reign of Terror” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 23 minutes) on the “Reign of Terror,” a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, and marked by mass executions of “enemies of the revolution.” The death toll ranged in the tens of thousands, with 16,594 executed by guillotine and another 25,000 in summary executions across France. Note that this video will also cover subunit 5.4.3.
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- Lecture: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Maximilien Robespierre and the French Revolution” Lecture
Link: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Maximilien Robespierre and the French Revolution” Lecture (YouTube)
Instructions: Listen to this lecture starting at 8 minutes and 30 seconds until the end. Focus on the how Professor Merriman characterizes revolutionary terror. How does he describe Robespierre’s role in the revolution?
This video lecture and question should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “War, Terror, and Resistance”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “War, Terror, and Resistance” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this essay in its entirety to understand how fears of counter-revolution fueled revolutionary violence. Make sure to read all five pages of the essay by clicking on the arrow keys or page number at the bottom of the text. Please note that this reading also contains information you will need to know for sub-subunit 5.4.3.
This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Web Media: Khan Academy’s “French Revolution (Part 3)—Reign of Terror”
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5.4.3 Thermidorean Reaction and the Directory
Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 5.4.2.
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “The Eleventh of Thermidor”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “The Eleventh of Thermidor” (HTML)
Instructions: This sub-subunit is covered by reading assigned in sub-subunit 5.4.2. In addition, please read the primary document linked above. Read this essay in its entirety to understand how fears of counter-revolution fueled revolutionary violence.
This reading should take less than 15 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “The Eleventh of Thermidor”
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5.5 Napoleon and Legacies of the Revolution
Note: This subunit is covered by the lecture assigned beneath subunit 5.3.1. As you review Professor O’Brien’s lecture, focus on how he characterizes the relationship between Napoleon Bonaparte and the Revolution.
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5.5.1 Napoleon Bonaparte’s Dictatorship: Fulfillment or Betrayal of the Revolution?
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Brumaire: Bonaparte’s Justification” and “The Napoleonic Experience”
Links: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Brumaire: Bonaparte’s Justification” (HTML) and “The Napoleonic Experience” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read Napoleon’s justification of his coup d’etat, focusing on the ways in which he describes his relationship to the revolution. Then, read the essays about the Napoleonic era to understand how French political life changed after Napoleon came to power. Make sure to read all four pages of “The Napoleonic Experience” essay by clicking on the arrows or page numbers at the bottom of the text.
These readings should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Web Media: Khan Academy’s “French Revolution (Part 4)—The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte”
Link: Khan Academy’s “French Revolution (Part 4)—The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 17 minutes), which discusses the last stages of the French Revolution and how Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate. Napoleon rose to power under the French First Republic, which formed at the end of the French Revolution, proclaimed himself dictator, and eventually, emperor under the First French Empire in 1804.
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- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Brumaire: Bonaparte’s Justification” and “The Napoleonic Experience”
- 5.5.2 Outcomes and Legacies of the French Revolution
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5.5.2.1 Social, Political, and Cultural Legacies
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Legacies of the Revolution”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Legacies of the Revolution” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this essay in its entirety (4 pages). Make sure to click on the arrow key or page number at the bottom of the text to move on to each subsequent page. Compare this essay to the final section of Professor O’Brien’s lecture, where he discusses the outcomes of the French Revolution. Compare the social and political outcomes of the French Revolution to the outcomes of the American Revolution. How would you account for both the similarities and the differences?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Legacies of the Revolution”
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5.5.2.2 The Napoleonic Code, Centralization, and Rationalization of State Administration
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “The French Civil Code (1804)”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “The French Civil Code (1804)” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this brief text. These excerpts from the French Civil Code focus on the private sphere. How do they represent the relationship between men and women? How does this compare to the vision of women’s rights proposed by Olympia de Gauges in her “Declaration of the Rights of Woman?”
This reading and these questions should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “The French Civil Code (1804)”
- 5.5.3 Revolutionary Movements in Nineteenth-Century Europe
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5.5.3.1 The Revolutions of 1830
Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 5.1.1.
- Lecture: YouTube: Winchester University Journalism Program: Lectures: “France 1830 (1) – Restoration” and “France 1815-1830 (2) – Charles X”
Link: YouTube: Winchester University Journalism Program: “France 1830 (1) – Restoration” (YouTube) and “France 1815-1830 (2) – Charles X” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please listen to both of these lectures in its entirety (each is 9 minutes long). How was France organized politically and administratively after the Congress of Vienna in 1815? What were the most important causes of the Revolution of 1830?
These video lectures and questions should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Lecture: YouTube: Winchester University Journalism Program: Lectures: “France 1830 (1) – Restoration” and “France 1815-1830 (2) – Charles X”
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5.5.3.2 The Revolutions of 1848
- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Why No Revolution in 1848 Britain” Lecture
Link: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Why No Revolution in 1848 Britain” Lecture (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this entire video lecture (45 minutes). What were the most important causes of the 1848 revolutions in Europe? How were these revolutions related to the French Revolution? Why was there no Revolution in Britain?
This video lecture and these questions should take 1 hour to complete.
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- Lecture: Academic Earth: Yale University: Professor John Merriman’s “Why No Revolution in 1848 Britain” Lecture
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5.5.3.3 The Paris Commune
- Reading: Marxists Internet Archive’s “History of the Paris Commune”
Link: Marxists Internet Archive’s “History of the Paris Commune” (HTML)
Instructions: This is a learning module, which contains the timeline and documents of the Paris Commune. First, click on the “Timeline of Events” link, and review the entire timeline. Then, click on “Documents of the Commune,” and select two or three of the primary sources provided to understand the political program of the Communards.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Marxists Internet Archive’s “History of the Paris Commune”
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5.5.4 Echoes of the Revolution throughout the World
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Slavery and the Haitian Revolution”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Slavery and the Haitian Revolution” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this entire text (2 pages). Make sure to click on the arrow key or page number at the bottom of the text to move on to the second page. These excerpts from the French Civil Code focus on the private sphere. How do they represent the relationship between men and women? How does this compare to the vision of women’s rights proposed by Olympia de Gauges in her “Declaration of the Rights of Woman?”
This reading and these questions should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – Exploring the French Revolution: “Slavery and the Haitian Revolution”
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Unit 5 Assessment
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 5 Quiz: The French Revolution” and “Unit 5 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 5 Quiz: The French Revolution” (PDF) and “Unit 5 Quiz – Guide to Responding” (PDF).
Instructions: Please open the “Unit 5 Quiz” first and work through all the questions. Instructions for how to take the quiz and how to time it appear at the top of the page. Please time yourself, and take no more than 60 minutes to complete the quiz. Once you have completed the quiz, please open “Unit 5 Quiz – Guide to Responding” and follow the instructions at the top of the page to evaluate your answers.
This assessment and evaluation of your responses should take you approximately 1.5 hours to complete.
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- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 5 Quiz: The French Revolution” and “Unit 5 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
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Unit 6: Revolutionary Mexico and the Legacies of Colonialism
In many ways, the Mexican Revolution of 1910 represented the culmination of a century of political and social conflict in Latin and South America, following independence from Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule. While Mexico had ostensibly become a democracy after it separated from Spain, the nation’s political, economic, and social institutions were dominated by wealthy elites. Lower and middle-class Mexicans had little political power and constantly faced oppression by corrupt landlords and political officials. The Mexican Revolution initially began as an upper-middle-class political conflict between the nation’s long-time president, Porfirio Diaz, and political challenger Francisco Madero, but it gradually expanded to encompass all classes of Mexican society. The conflict eventually led to Diaz’s fall from power, but a series of coups and counter-coups prevented the return of stable government. Poor farmers and indigenous peoples also took advantage of revolutionary chaos to challenge the political and economic power of wealthy landlords and local officials. Political and social order was gradually restored to Mexico by the early 1930s, after Mexico’s new president Lazaro Cardenas implemented a number of social reforms designed to address some of the extreme social and economic inequalities in the nation.
Unit 6 Time Advisory show close
In this unit, you will analyze the origins of the Mexican Revolution and examine how it affected all aspects of Mexican society. You will also explore the broader consequences of the revolution for the people and political institutions of Mexico, Latin America, and South America.
Unit 6 Learning Outcomes show close
- 6.1 Nineteenth-Century Revolutions in Latin and South America
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6.1.1 The Legacy of Colonialism
- Lecture: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 1: The Colonial Heritage of Independent Latin America”
Link: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 1: The Colonial Heritage of Independent Latin America” (Flash or HTML5)
Instructions: Please watch this lecture in its entirety (37 minutes) to understand the political situation in Latin America at the end of the eighteenth century. Were internal or external events more important in triggering Latin American independence movements? What evidence could you provide to support your argument? What were the most important social and political differences between North and South America in the final decades of the eighteenth century?
This video lecture and these questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Lecture: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 1: The Colonial Heritage of Independent Latin America”
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6.1.2 Independence Movements
- Lecture: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 2: Shaping Latin American Independence: Force and the State”
Link: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 2: Shaping Latin American Independence: Force and the State” (Flash or HTML5)
Instructions: Watch this lecture in its entirety (37 minutes) to understand the causes of the Latin American independence movements and their relationship to the French Revolution. In addition, write a few sentences that compare this lecture with the text about the state and its use of violence which you read in sub-subunit 2.3.4.
This video lecture and writing should take approximately 45 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Dickinson College: Professor Marcelo J. Borges’ “Independence in Latin America - A Chronology”
Link: Dickinson College: Professor Marcelo J. Borges’ “Independence in Latin America - A Chronology” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this chronology in its entirety. What relationships do you notice between developments in Europe and those in South America?
This reading and question should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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- Lecture: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 2: Shaping Latin American Independence: Force and the State”
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6.1.3 The End of the Spanish Empire
- Reading: Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress: The World of 1898: “The Spanish-American War: Introduction”
Link: Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress: The World of 1898: “The Spanish American War: Introduction” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this text in its entirety to learn about the Spanish-American War and the end of the Spanish Empire. Click on any embedded links in the text for more information.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress: The World of 1898: “The Spanish-American War: Introduction”
- 6.2 Origins of the Mexican Revolution
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6.2.1 Society, Politics, and the Catholic Church in the Nineteenth Century
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 6A”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 6A” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this lecture in its entirety (1 hour and 16 minutes). Focus on Mexico’s history and on the differences between the “old regime” in Mexico and France. Write a paragraph that highlights these differences.
This video lecture and paragraph should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
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- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 6A”
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6.2.2 Rural Life and Mexico’s Peasants
- Reading: University of Manchester Department of Social Anthropology and the ERA Consortium’s Peasant Social Worlds and Their Transformations: “The Mexican Revolution”
Link: University of Manchester Department of Social Anthropology and the ERA Consortium’s Peasant Social Worlds and Their Transformations: “The Mexican Revolution” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this essay in its entirety to understand how the political transformations of the nineteenth century affected Mexican peasants, most of whom belonged to the indigenous population of the area.
This reading should take approximately 2 hours to complete.
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- Reading: University of Manchester Department of Social Anthropology and the ERA Consortium’s Peasant Social Worlds and Their Transformations: “The Mexican Revolution”
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6.2.3 Colonial Legacies and the Mexican Economy
- Reading: The Historical Text Archive: Jamie O. Rodríguez’s “Down from Colonialism: Mexico's 19th Century Crisis”
Link: The Historical Text Archive: Jamie O. Rodríguez’s “Down from Colonialism: Mexico's 19th Century Crisis” (HTML)
Instructions: Study this essay to understand how industrialization proceeded in Mexico and how it changed the structure of society.
This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Reading: The Historical Text Archive: Jamie O. Rodríguez’s “Down from Colonialism: Mexico's 19th Century Crisis”
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6.2.4 Mexican Liberalism and the Rise of Porfirio Díaz
- Lecture: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 12: Mexican Liberalism - From Juarez to the Porfiriato”
Link: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 12: Mexican Liberalism - From Juarez to the Porfiriato” (Flash or HTML5)
Instructions: Please view this lecture in its entirety (22 minutes) to understand political changes in Mexico in the second half of the nineteenth century. Make sure to take notes as you view the lecture.
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- Lecture: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 12: Mexican Liberalism - From Juarez to the Porfiriato”
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6.2.5 Corruption of the Diaz Regime
- Lecture: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 13: The Porfiriato”
Link: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 13: The Porfiriato” (Flash or HTML5)
Instructions: Please listen to this lecture in its entirety (17 minutes), focusing on the reasons for the longevity of the Diaz regime, its successes in the eyes in the foreign observers, its approach to modernization, and the social cost of modernization during this time.
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- Lecture: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 13: The Porfiriato”
- 6.3 Phases and Characteristics of the Mexican Revolution
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6.3.1 The Revolution and Twentieth-Century Mexico
- Lecture: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 14: The Five Mexican Revolutions”
Link: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 14: The Five Mexican Revolutions” (Flash or HTML5)
Instructions: Watch this lecture in its entirety (34 minutes). What are the four phases of the Revolution identified by Professor Volk? What are the five themes of the revolution which he discusses?
This video lecture and these questions should take approximately 45 minutes to complete.
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- Lecture: Vimeo: Oberlin College: Professor Steven Volk’s Latin America: State and Nation since Independence: “Lecture 14: The Five Mexican Revolutions”
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6.3.2 The Armed Phase of the Revolution 1910-1920
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 6B”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 6B” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this lecture in its entirety (1 hour and 16 minutes). The first half of the lecture focuses on the grievances of the various social groups which took part in the revolution, while the second half (starting at minute 37) turns to the revolutionary events themselves. As you listen, consider answering the following questions: what was the role of peasants, the working class, and intellectuals in the Mexican Revolution? What similarities do you perceive between the Mexican Revolution and the French and American Revolutions? What was unique about the Mexican historical context and revolutionary events? Note that this lecture also contains material you will need to know for sub-subunits 6.5.2 and 6.5.3.
This video lecture and questions should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: MexicanHistory.org’s “Mexican Revolution Timeline 1910-1920”
Link: MexicanHistory.org’s “Mexican Revolution Timeline 1910-1920” (HTML)
Instructions: This is a detailed chronology of the Mexican Revolution. Read it in its entirety and make a shorter timeline of the most important events after you have listened to Professor O’Brien’s lecture.
This reading and creating your own timeline should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 6B”
- 6.4 Madero’s Revolutionary Coalition and the Downfall of the Diaz Regime
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6.4.1 Madero’s Rebellion and Presidency
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “The Revolution 1910-1920”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “The Revolution 1910-1920” (HTML)
Instructions: Study this text in its entirety to understand how the transfer of power took place in 1911.
This reading should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: The Historical Text Archive: Rosa Maria Stoops’ “Madero, Francisco I”
Link: The Historical Text Archive: Rosa Maria Stoops’ “Madero, Francisco I” (HTML)
Instructions: Study this text to better understand Francisco Madero’s background, his political goals, and his vision of the Mexican state.
This reading should take approximately 25 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “The Revolution 1910-1920”
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6.4.2 Agrarian Revolutionaries – Emiliano Zapata’s Challenge to the Madero Government
- Reading: The Historical Text Archive: Joseph Judge’s analysis of the “Plan of Ayala”
Link: The Historical Text Archive: Joseph Judge’s analysis of the “Plan of Ayala” (HTML)
Instructions: This is a study of Emiliano Zapata’s “Plan of Ayala.” Read it carefully to understand the historical context in which the document was written.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: The Historical Text Archive’s Version of Emiliano Zapata’s “Plan of Ayala” (November 28, 1911)
Link: The Historical Text Archive’s Version of Emiliano Zapata’s “Plan of Ayala” (November 28, 1911) (HTML)
Instructions: Read this document in its entirety, focusing on how it represents the Mexican population, how it delineates the needs and rights of peasants, and how it criticizes Madero’s government.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: The Historical Text Archive: Joseph Judge’s analysis of the “Plan of Ayala”
- 6.5 Conservative Counter-Revolution
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6.5.1 Huerta’s Coup d’état
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “Huerta’s Dictatorship”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “Huerta’s Dictatorship” (HTML)
Instructions: Please study this text to obtain a basic outline of Huerta’s coup.
This reading should take you less than 10 minutes.
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- Reading: The Historical Text Archive: Josh Burnham’s “Huerta, Victoriano: Excellent General or Terrible Tyrant?”
Link: The Historical Text Archive: Josh Burnham’s “Huerta, Victoriano: Excellent General or Terrible Tyrant?” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this text in its entirety to understand competing interpretations of the Huerta regime.
This reading should take you approximately 20 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “Huerta’s Dictatorship”
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6.5.2 Revolutionary Consensus Splinters
Note: Huerta’s 1913 coup d’état did not go unopposed, and various revolutionary groups began vying for power in Mexico. To review their competing aspirations please review Professor O’Brien’s lecture to which you listened in sub-subunit 6.3.2 (focus on minutes 43 through 50).
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6.5.3 External Involvement in the Revolution
Note: External involvement in the Mexican Revolution, especially on the part of the United States is covered in Professor O’Brien’s lecture to which you listened in sub-subunit 6.3.2 (minutes 50 through 54).
- 6.6 Huerta’s Downfall, the Constitution, and Carranza’s Presidency
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6.6.1 The Victory of the Constitutionalists and Carranza’s Leadership
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “The Constitution of 1917” and “Carranza’s Presidency”
Links: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “The Constitution of 1917” (HTML) and “Carranza’s Presidency” (HTML)
Instructions: Read both of these texts in their entirety, focusing on the debates about the Mexican Constitution. Write a brief paragraph summarizing this debate.
This reading and paragraph should take approximately 30 minutes.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “The Constitution of 1917” and “Carranza’s Presidency”
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6.6.2 Mexico’s Constitution of 1917: Individual Rights
- Reading: The Historical Text Archive: Mexico: 1917 Constitution (Becker version): “Title 1, Chapter 1: Individual Guarantees”
Link: The Historical Text Archive: Mexico: 1917 Constitution (Becker version): “Title 1, Chapter 1: Individual Guarantees” (HTML)
Instructions: Read Articles 1–26 of this Chapter of the Mexican Constitution. Compare them with the Bill of Rights in the American Constitution and with the French Declaration of the Rights of Man. What are the unique elements of the “Individual Guarantees” of the Mexican Constitution? What do these guarantees share with earlier revolutionary documents?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 2 hours to complete.
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- Reading: The Historical Text Archive: Mexico: 1917 Constitution (Becker version): “Title 1, Chapter 1: Individual Guarantees”
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6.6.3 Mexico’s Constitution of 1917: Securing the Dignity of Labor and the Question of Economic Rights
- Reading: The Historical Text Archive: Mexico: 1917 Constitution (Becker version): “Title VI: Labor and Social Security”
Link: The Historical Text Archive: Mexico: 1917 Constitution (Becker version): “Title VI: Labor and Social Security” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read “Title VI” of Mexico’s Constitution of 1917. How does this document specify the rights of workers? Why were the rights of workers so important in the Mexican Revolution? In what ways was this different from attitudes toward labor in the American Revolution?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 45 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: The Historical Text Archive: Mexico: 1917 Constitution (Becker version): “Title VI: Labor and Social Security”
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6.6.4 The Obregon Presidency: Restoration of Political Stability
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “The Obregón Presidency, 1920-24”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “The Obregón Presidency, 1920-24” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this text in its entirety and note the ways in which President Obregón sought to enact the political changes contained in the 1917 Constitution.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “The Obregón Presidency, 1920-24”
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6.7 Religion and the Mexican Revolution
- Reading: Kellogg Institute for International Studies: Professor Robert Curley’s “Political Catholicism in Revolutionary Mexico, 1900-1926”
Link: Kellogg Institute for International Studies: Professor Robert Curley’s “Political Catholicism in Revolutionary Mexico, 1900-1926” (PDF)
Instructions: Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find this article, and select the “Political Catholicism in Revolutionary Mexico” hyperlink to download the PDF file. Read the text in its entirety (64 pages), focusing on the following questions: what is Professor Curley’s most important claim about the role of Catholicism in the Mexican Revolution? What evidence does he use to support this argument?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 3 hours to complete.
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- Activity: The Historical Text Archive: Mexico’s 1917 Constitution (Becker version)
Link: The Historical Text Archive: Mexico’s 1917 Constitution (Becker version) (HTML)
Instruction: Open the above link to bring up the full text of the Mexican Constitution of 1917. Use the “Edit/Find” function of your browser to find “religion,” “religious,” and other similar words in the text of the Constitution. Write a paragraph to answer the following question: how does the Constitution treat the relationship between politics and religion?
This activity should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Kellogg Institute for International Studies: Professor Robert Curley’s “Political Catholicism in Revolutionary Mexico, 1900-1926”
- 6.8 Consequences and Legacies of the Revolution
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6.8.1 Economic Reforms
- Lecture: YouTube: UCLA: Mr. Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas’s “The Legacy and Promise of the Mexican Revolution”
Link: YouTube: UCLA: Mr. Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas’s “The Legacy and Promise of the Mexican Revolution” (YouTube)
Instructions: This lecture provides a useful overview of the Mexican Revolution. Please view the entire video lecture (approximately 41 minutes) to review the material you learned in this unit. Focus especially on the final section of the lecture (minute 33 to the end) to understand Mr. Cardenas’s assessment of how the Revolution influenced twentieth-century Mexican politics. Note that this lecture also contains information which you will need for sub-subunits 6.6.2 through 6.6.5.
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- Lecture: YouTube: UCLA: Mr. Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas’s “The Legacy and Promise of the Mexican Revolution”
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6.8.2 Liberal Democracy and One-Party Rule
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “The Calles Presidency, 1924-48,” “The Maximato,” “Cardenismo and the Revolution Rekindled” and “Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)”
Links: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “The Calles Presidency, 1924-48,” (HTML) “The Maximato,” “Cardenismo and the Revolution Rekindled” (HTML) and “Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)” (HTML)
Instructions: Read these texts in their entirety to understand the reasons why they Institutional Revolutionary Party became so influential in Mexican politics in the twentieth century.
These readings should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Tim L. Merrill and Ramón Miró’s (eds.) Mexico: A Country Study: “The Calles Presidency, 1924-48,” “The Maximato,” “Cardenismo and the Revolution Rekindled” and “Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)”
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6.8.3 Regional and International Consequences
- Reading: International World History Project: Peter N. Stearns, Michael Adas, and Stuart B. Schwartz’s “Mexican Revolution and the Great War”
Reading: International World History Project: Peter N. Stearns, Michael Adas, and Stuart B. Schwartz’s “Mexican Revolution and the Great War” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this text in its entirety. It provides an overview of the Mexican Revolution and identifies they ways in which both the Revolution and the First World War influenced the history of twentieth-century Latin America.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: International World History Project: Peter N. Stearns, Michael Adas, and Stuart B. Schwartz’s “Mexican Revolution and the Great War”
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6.8.4 Cultural Legacies
- Reading: Arizona State University: Dr. Celestino Fernández’s “Documenting the Revolution – Casasola and Corrido”
Link: Arizona State University: Dr. Celestino Fernández’s“Documenting the Revolution – Casasola and Corrido” (Flash or iTunes)
Instructions: Please view this lecture in its entirety (20 minutes) to understand how a new genre of political songs arose in the Mexican Revolution. You may also read the transcript of the lecture.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Arizona State University: Dr. Celestino Fernández’s “Documenting the Revolution – Casasola and Corrido”
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Unit 6 Assessment
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 6 Quiz: The Mexican Revolution” and “Unit 6 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 6 Quiz: The Mexican Revolution” (PDF) and “Unit 6 Quiz – Guide to Responding” (PDF).
Instructions: Please open the “Unit 6 Quiz” first and work through all the questions. Instructions for how to take the quiz and how to time it appear at the top of the page. Please time yourself, and take no more than 60 minutes to complete the quiz. Once you have completed the quiz, please open “Unit 6 Quiz – Guide to Responding” and follow the instructions at the top of the page to evaluate your answers.
This assessment and evaluation of your responses should take you approximately 1.5 hours to complete.
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- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 6 Quiz: The Mexican Revolution” and “Unit 6 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
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Unit 7: Revolutionary Russia – Marxist Theory and Agrarian Realities
The revolutions of 1905 and 1917 reshaped Russia’s political institutions and led to nearly a century of conflict with the West. During the 1905 revolution, Russian liberals challenged the absolute authority of the Russian tsar. A broad revolutionary coalition of workers and middle-class Russians used economic and political means to demand democratic concessions from the Russian state. While these gains were temporary, they served as an inspiration for later revolutionaries. At the height of World War One in 1917, a coalition of Russian liberals and socialists once again challenged Russia’s autocratic government. Through a series of general strikes and political protests in February of 1917, they forced the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II. Liberal leaders established a weak provisional national government, while socialist officials organized local soviets, or political councils, of workers in Russia’s industrial communities. These political bodies soon came into conflict. By October of 1917, the Bolshevik Party, a Communist organization under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, staged a revolution against the provisional government and seized control of the state. The Bolsheviks used military force to consolidate power and establish control over local soviets. Throughout the 1920s, Lenin and his successor Joseph Stalin imposed Communism on Russia’s political, economic, and social institutions. Communist leaders also attempted to export the revolution to the West by supporting Communist political organizations in Europe and the United States.
Unit 7 Time Advisory show close
In this unit, you will study the Russian Revolution and examine connections and conflicts between Marxist theory and events that took place in 1917. You will make comparisons between the Russian Revolution and other revolutions you studied in earlier units, and examine the global impact of the Communist Revolution in the 20th century.
Unit 7 Learning Outcomes show close
- 7.1 Imperial Russia and the Origins of the Russian Revolution
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7.1.1 The Russian Empire and the Problem of Modernization
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 7A”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 7A” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this lecture in its entirety (1 hour and 16 minutes). As you listen, focus on the following questions: how was Imperial Russia in the nineteenth century different from seventeenth-century England and eighteenth-century France? What were the most important similarities between pre-revolutionary regimes in these three states? How did the close ties between the Russian government and the Orthodox Church affect the evolution of Russian politics before 1917? Note that this lecture also contains information you will need to know for sub-subunits 7.1.2 through 7.1.6, as well as subunit 7.3.
This video lecture and these questions should take approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete.
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- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 7A”
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7.1.2 The 1890s: Fast Industrialization and Its Social Costs
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: Transformation of Russia in the Nineteenth Century
Links: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: Transformation of Russia in the Nineteenth Century (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the following sections: “Economic Developments,” “Reforms and Their Limits, 1855-92,” and “Witte and Accelerated Industrialization.” Note that you will need to scroll almost to the bottom of the page to find the last text. As you read, keep the following questions in mind: How did industrialization affect the Russian population in the latter part of the nineteenth century? Which social groups benefited? Which were subject to exploitation? Please note that these texts also contain information you will need for sub-subunit 7.1.3.
This reading and these questions should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: Transformation of Russia in the Nineteenth Century
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7.1.3 Social Structure of the Russian Empire – Diversity and Inequalities
Note: This topic is covered by “Transformation of Russia in the Nineteenth Century” which you read in sub-subunit 7.1.2. What were the most important social groups in the late Russian Empire? What were the most important sources of conflict among them? Take about 10 to 15 minutes to answer these questions.
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7.1.4 Russian Orthodoxy: the Church and the State
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “The Russian Orthodox Church”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “The Russian Orthodox Church” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this essay in its entirety, focusing on the reasons why an over the course of Russian history an unusually close relationship developed between the Orthodox Church and the Russian state.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “The Russian Orthodox Church”
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7.1.5 The Changing International Situation and the Breakdown of European Alliances
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: Transformation of Russia in the Nineteenth Century
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: Transformation of Russia in the Nineteenth Century (HTML)
Instructions: Please only read the section titled “Foreign Affairs after the Crimean War.” You will need to scroll down the page to find it. As you read, keep the following questions in mind: How did the Crimean War change Russia’s relationship to the European powers? How did Russia’s political alliances shift between 1856 and the 1890s?
This reading and questions should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: Transformation of Russia in the Nineteenth Century
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7.1.6 The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: Transformation of Russia in the Nineteenth Century
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: Transformation of Russia in the Nineteenth Century (HTML)
Instructions: Please only read the section titled “Imperialism in Asia and the Russo-Japanese War.” You will need to scroll down to the bottom of the page to find it. As you read, keep the following questions in mind: why did Russia seek influence in Asia? What did the Japanese victory in 1905 signal about Russia’s political power in Europe?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: Transformation of Russia in the Nineteenth Century
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7.1.7 Chronology of the Nineteenth Century and the Revolutionary Events: 1825 – 1924
- Reading: University of Arizona: Professor David Ortiz, Jr.’s “Chronology of Russian Revolution”
Link: University of Arizona: Professor David Ortiz, Jr.’s “Chronology of Russian Revolution” (HTML)
Instructions: This is a comprehensive chronology which shows key nineteenth-century developments in Russia’s politics, as well as the revolutionary events of 1905 and 1917. Study it carefully to get an overview of the various phases of the revolution. Take about 15-20 minutes to study this chronology.
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- Reading: University of Arizona: Professor David Ortiz, Jr.’s “Chronology of Russian Revolution”
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7.2 Manifesto of the Communist Party: London, 1848
- Reading: Marxists Internet Archive: Samuel Moore and Frederick Engels’s 1888 version of the “Manifesto of the Communist Party:” “Preamble and Chapter I: Bourgeois and Proleterians”
Links: Marxists Internet Archive: Samuel Moore and Frederick Engels’ 1888 translation of Marx and Engels’ “Manifesto of the Communist Party:” “Preamble and Chapter I: Bourgeois and Proletarians” (HTML)
Instructions: This is an authoritative English translation of Marx and Engels’ “Communist Manifesto.” It was originally published in German in London, in 1848, shortly before a wave of revolutions swept through Europe. Marxist theory was fundamentally important for Lenin and other Russian Revolutionaries and reading the Manifesto will give you insights into some of the key claims, problems, and contradictions that characterize Marxist theory. Read both the “Preamble” and “Chapter I: Bourgeois and Proletarians,” focusing on the following questions: how do the authors characterize these social classes? What do they claim is the role of the bourgeoisie in world history? What role do the proletarians play? Does individual human will matter in history? Can one predict a socio-political system’s future?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Marxists Internet Archive: Samuel Moore and Frederick Engels’s 1888 version of the “Manifesto of the Communist Party:” “Preamble and Chapter I: Bourgeois and Proleterians”
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7.3 The Revolution of 1905
Note: This topic is covered by Professor O’Brien’s lecture assigned beneath subunit 7.1.1. Please review the final 12 minutes of the lecture (starting at 1 hour, 4 minutes) to get a concise summary of the Russo-Japanese War and the Revolution of 1905.
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7.3.1 The Duma and Russian Liberalism
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “The Last Years of the Autocracy”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “The Last Years of the Autocracy” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this text to get a more extensive understanding of the Revolution of 1905 and of the ways in which it affected the tsarist regime in the years leading up to the First World War. Focus especially on the question of authority: who had the authority to govern? Could the Duma carry out reforms? Note that this reading also covers information you will need to know for sub-subunit 7.3.4.
This reading and these questions should take approximately 45 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “The Last Years of the Autocracy”
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7.3.2 The Revolutionary Coalition: Competing Groups and Their Aims
- Reading: The Marxists Archive: Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party Second Congress’ “Programme of the Social-Democratic Workers’ Party” and “The Menshevik Party”
Links: The Marxists Archive: Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party Second Congress’ “Programme of the Social-Democratic Workers’ Party” (HTML) and “The Menshevik Party” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the program of the Bolshevik party carefully; as you read, take notes on their most important claims and demands. Then read the document describing the Menshevik Party, the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, the Bolshevik party, and reformism. After completing the reading, write a brief paragraph describing the most important differences between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks.
Completing these readings with the writing activity should take approximately 30 minutes.
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- Reading: The Marxists Archive: Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party Second Congress’ “Programme of the Social-Democratic Workers’ Party” and “The Menshevik Party”
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7.3.3 The October Manifesto and Political Compromise
- Reading: Durham University: Russian History Home Page: Russian History 1905-1930: “Manifesto of 17 October 1905”
Link: Durham University: Russian History Home Page: Russian History 1905-1930: “Manifesto of 17 October 1905” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this brief text. This is the Manifesto issued by Tsar Nicholas II in response to the demands put forward by the revolutionary coalition. Compare it with the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen” put forward by the French revolutionaries in 1789. What are the most important similarities and differences between the two documents?
This reading and questions should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Durham University: Russian History Home Page: Russian History 1905-1930: “Manifesto of 17 October 1905”
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7.3.4 The Return of Authoritarian Rule
Note: This topic is covered Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “The Last Years of the Autocracy,” which you read in subunit 7.3.1.
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7.4 The Revolutions of 1917
- Activity: MIT’s “The Deepening of the Russian Revolution 1917”
Link: MIT’s “The Deepening of the Russian Revolution 1917” (Flash)
Instructions: This is an interactive chronology which allows you to explore in detail the revolutionary events that took place throughout 1917. Read the instructions at the bottom of the page, and then explore both the events and the activities of the various social groups and revolutionary leaders.
This activity should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Activity: MIT’s “The Deepening of the Russian Revolution 1917”
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7.4.1 February: Abdication of the Tsar and Establishment of the Provisional Government
- Reading: YouTube: UCLA’s “Modern Civilization 1750-Present, Lecture 12”
Link: YouTube: UCLA’s “Modern Civilization 1750-Present, Lecture 12” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this lecture in its entirety (1 hour and 13 minutes). Focus on understanding the transitions between the different phases of the revolution and the goals of the competing parties in February 1917. Note that this lecture also contains information you will need to know in sub-subunits 7.4.2 through 7.4.6.
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- Reading: YouTube: UCLA’s “Modern Civilization 1750-Present, Lecture 12”
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7.4.2 Competing for Authority: The Kerensky Government and the Soviets
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “Revolutions and Civil War”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “Revolutions and Civil War” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the following sections in this article: “February Revolution” and “The Period of Dual Power.” You will need to scroll down the page to find the second reading. Please read the assigned text with the following question in mind: what were the competing visions of the Russian state which emerged during this time?
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: The Marxist Internet Archive’s version of V.I. Lenin’s “April Theses”
Link: The Marxist Internet Archive’s version of V.I. Lenin’s “April Theses” (HTML)
Instructions: Lenin’s “April Theses” was a crucially important document that outlined the aspirations of the Bolshevik Party. Please read it in its entirety, and compare it to the Communist Manifesto which you studied in subunit 7.2. What are the most important ways in which Lenin departs from the Communist Manifesto?
This reading, comparison, and question should take approximately 45 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “Revolutions and Civil War”
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7.4.3 October 1917 – The Bolshevik Seizure of Power
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “Revolutions and Civil War”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “Revolutions and Civil War” (HTML)
Instructions: Please scroll down the page to find the section called “The Bolshevik Revolution.” Study the text carefully to understand how the Bolsheviks came to power in Saint Petersburg.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Durham University: Russian History Home Page: Russian History 1905-1930: “Declaration of the Rights of the Toiling and Exploited Peoples”
Link: Durham University: Russian History Home Page: Russian History 1905-1930: “Declaration of the Rights of the Toiling and Exploited Peoples” (HTML)
Instructions: Read the entire text. This declaration, published in January 1918, outlines the key rights which are to obtain in the new Soviet state. Compare it with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, the English Bill of Rights, and the American Bill of Rights. What common themes and values do you notice? What is unique about this document when compared to earlier revolutionary declarations?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “Revolutions and Civil War”
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7.4.4 Civil War and the Peace Treaty with Germany
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “Revolutions and Civil War”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “Revolutions and Civil War” (HTML)
Instructions: Please scroll down the page to find the section called “Civil War and War Communism.” Study the text carefully to understand how the outbreak of the Civil War changed the actions and ideological commitments of the revolutionary leaders. What was the effect of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on the Russian Revolution?
This reading and question should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “Revolutions and Civil War”
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7.4.5 Revolutionary Terror and Violence
- Reading: Durham University: Russian History Home Page: Russian History 1905-1930: Vladmir Illyich Lenin (1870-1924): “On the Organization of and Extraordinary Commission to Fight Counter Revolution, Letter to Dzerzhinskii, December 19, 1917”
Link: Durham University: Russian History Home Page: Russian History 1905-1930: Vladmir Illyich Lenin (1870-1924): “On the Organization of and Extraordinary Commission to Fight Counter Revolution, Letter to Dzerzhinskii, December 19, 1917” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this document, and compare counter-revolutionary measures in 1917 Russia with those in Paris during the Jacobin Republic.
This reading and comparison should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Fordham University’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of Vladimir Illyich Lenin’s “The State and Revolution” Excerpts
Link: Fordham University’s Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall’s version of Vladimir Illyich Lenin’s “The State and Revolution” Excerpts (HTML)
Instruction: Please read this entire crucial, revolutionary text from 1918. What does Lenin mean by the “withering away of the state” and the “dictatorship of the proletariat?”
This reading and question should take approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Durham University: Russian History Home Page: Russian History 1905-1930: Vladmir Illyich Lenin (1870-1924): “On the Organization of and Extraordinary Commission to Fight Counter Revolution, Letter to Dzerzhinskii, December 19, 1917”
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7.4.6 Consolidation of Power and Building the First Communist State
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 7B”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 7B” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please listen to this lecture starting at minute 28:00 until the end. It will provide you with a narrative of the consequences of the Russian Revolution after 1920. Note that this lecture also contains material you will need for subunit 7.5, as well as inclusive sub-subunits 7.5.1 through 7.5.6.
This video lecture should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “The Era of the New Economic Policy”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Glenn E. Curtis’s (ed.) Russia: A Country Study: “The Era of the New Economic Policy” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this entire essay, and compare its analysis of the emergence of the Soviet Union with the analysis provided in the lecture you studied in subunit 7.4.1.
This reading and comparison should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 7B”
- 7.5 Revolutionary Legacies
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7.5.1 A Marxist Revolution in a Predominately Agrarian Economy
Note: Please note that this topic is covered by Professor O’Brien’s lecture, which you studied in sub-subunit 7.4.6. Please listen to the lecture from minute 43 to minute 55 to review how collectivization policies hurt the local population.
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7.5.2 Ideology and Violence
Note: Please note that this topic is covered by Professor O’Brien’s lecture, which you studied in sub-subunit 7.4.6. Please listen to the lecture from minute 57 to 1 hours 8 minutes to review the terror, purges, and show trials conducted by Stalin and the Soviet police apparatus.
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7.5.3 Socialism and Modernization
Note: Please note that this topic is covered by Professor O’Brien’s lecture, which you studied in sub-subunit 7.4.6. Please listen to the lecture from minute 50 to minute 57 to review the goals of socialist modernization.
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7.5.4 Twentieth-Century Anti-Imperialist Struggles
Note: Please note that this topic is covered by Professor O’Brien’s lecture, which you studied in sub-subunit 7.4.6. Please listen to the lecture from 1 hour 12 minutes to the end to review how the Russian Revolution was an anti-imperialist struggle.
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7.5.5 1945 and the Iron Curtain – Creation of the Soviet Bloc
- Reading: The University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 17: “Eastern Europe 1945-56 and Czechoslovakia 1968”
Link: The University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 17: “Eastern Europe 1945-56 and Czechoslovakia 1968” (HTML)
Instructions: Read the first part of this lecture (17A), Parts I through III. Focus on the creation of the Soviet Bloc and the ways in which the Soviet Union controlled Eastern European politics and economies. Please note that these sections of the lecture also contain information which you will need in sub-subunit 7.5.6.
This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the web page above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 17: “Eastern Europe 1945-56 and Czechoslovakia 1968”
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7.5.6 Cold War and the Nuclear Arms Race
- Reading: The Atomic Archive’s “Cold War: A Brief History”
Link: The Atomic Archive’s “Cold War: A Brief History” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this presentation in its entirety (27 slides) to better understand the history of the nuclear arms race and the Soviet-American rivalry, which developed after 1945.
This presentation should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Atomic Archive’s “Cold War: A Brief History”
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Unit 7 Assessment
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 7 Quiz: The Russian Revolution” and “Unit 7 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 7 Quiz: The Russian Revolution” (PDF) and “Unit 7 Quiz – Guide to Responding” (PDF)
Instructions: Please open the “Unit 7 Quiz” first and work through all the questions. Instructions for how to take the quiz and how to time it appear at the top of the page. Please time yourself, and take no more than 60 minutes to complete the quiz. Once you have completed the quiz, please open “Unit 7 Quiz – Guide to Responding” and follow the instructions at the top of the page to evaluate your answers.
This assessment and evaluation of your responses should take you approximately 1.5 hours to complete.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 7 Quiz: The Russian Revolution” and “Unit 7 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
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Unit 8: Two Revolutions in China - Liberalism and Marxism in a New Context
In the twentieth century, China experienced two revolutions which dramatically reshaped its social and political institutions. In 1911, nationalist forces overthrew the Qing Dynasty and established a republican government. The experiment with democracy did not last long and the nation soon fell into anarchy. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the revolutionary Chinese Communist Party battled Chinese Nationalists for political control over major regions of the country. Both sides agreed to a truce in order to respond to the Japanese invasion of China in the late 1930s, but the Communists and the Nationalists resumed their civil war following the end of the Second World War in 1945. In 1949, Mao Zedong’s communist forces defeated the Nationalist forces and established a communist government in China. Communist policies resulted in large-scale land reforms and the government instituted dramatic industrial development initiatives. While these policies contributed to China’s remarkable economic development, they also resulted in the suffering and death of millions of Chinese citizens.
Unit 8 Time Advisory show close
In this unit, you will investigate how China’s 20th-century revolutions altered the nation politically, economically, and socially. You will also evaluate the international consequences of these revolutions and their broader implications for global history.
Unit 8 Learning Outcomes show close
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8.1 China: Social, Historical, and Political Background
- Reading: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “Introduction to China’s Modern History”
Link: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “Introduction to China’s Modern History” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this page in its entirety, and carefully study the chronology at the bottom of the page.
This reading should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of use: Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 8A”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 8A” (YouTube)
Instructions: Listen to this lecture in its entirety (1 hour and 16 minutes). Professor O’Brien provides the historical background necessary to understand political transformations that took place in China in the twentieth century. As you listen, focus on the following questions: what were the most important attempts to centralize China’s government? How did the agrarian nature of Chinese society influence the forms of government that developed over time?
This video lecture and questions should take you approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “Introduction to China’s Modern History”
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8.2 Xinhai Revolution and Its Failure: 1911 - 1927
- Reading: Harvard Extension School Open Learning Initiative: Chinese Studies Online Courses: Traditions and Transformations. Dr. Peter K. Bol and William C. Kirby’s Lecture 26: “Foreign Models for a Chinese Republic”
Link: Harvard Extension School Open Learning Initiative: Chinese Studies Online Courses: Traditions and Transformations. Dr. Peter K. Bol and William C. Kirby’s Lecture 26: “Foreign Models for a Chinese Republic” (Flash)
Instructions: Scroll down about 2/3 of the page until you find this “Foreign Models for a Chinese Republic” on the list. Open the lecture in a format compatible with the capabilities of your computer. View the lecture in its entirety (approximately 52 minutes) to understand what models of government were of interest to Chinese politicians and political activists in the early twentieth century. Note that this lecture contains information which you will also need for subunit 8.3.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Harvard Extension School Open Learning Initiative: Chinese Studies Online Courses: Traditions and Transformations. Dr. Peter K. Bol and William C. Kirby’s Lecture 26: “Foreign Models for a Chinese Republic”
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8.2.1 The Attempt to Establish a Republic
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “The Republican Revolution of 1911” and “Republican China”
Links: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “The Republican Revolution of 1911” (HTML) and “Republican China” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read both texts from the U.S. Library of Congress’s Country Studies series. These readings should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpages above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “The Republican Revolution of 1911” and “Republican China”
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8.2.2 Conflicts between Communists and Nationalists
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 8B”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 8B” (YouTube)
Instructions: Listen to this lecture in its entirety (1 hour and 17 minutes), focusing on the origins of the conflict between the nationalists and the communists. Please note that this lecture also contains information you will need for subunit 8.3.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “Nationalism and Communism”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “Nationalism and Communism” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this text in its entirety to better understand the conflicts between the communists and the nationalists. This reading should take you approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ version of Sun Yat-sen’s “Selections from A Program of National Reconstruction:” "The Three Stages of Revolution” (1918)
Link: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ version of Sun Yat-sen’s “Selections from A Program of National Reconstruction:” "The Three Stages of Revolution” (1918) (HTML and PDF)
Instructions: Scroll down to the “Government and Administration” section and find the “Rebuilding China” subsection. Download the PDF file of Sun Yat-sen’s text, read the introduction and the “Longer Selection” part starting on p.3. How does Sun Yat-sen define various stages of a revolution?
This reading and question should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 8B”
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8.2.3 The May Fourth Movement
- Reading: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “Before and After the May Fourth Movement”
Link: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “Before and After the May Fourth Movement” (HTML and PDF)
Instructions: Read both the introduction and the primary texts provided on this page. What were the most important goals and ideals of the cultural movement that came in the wake of the failed liberal revolution?
This reading and question should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “Before and After the May Fourth Movement”
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8.2.4 The Long March
- Reading: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “The Long March (1934-1936)”
Link: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “The Long March (1934-1936)” (HTML)
Instructions: Read both the introduction and the primary texts provided on this page. What do these texts tell you about the experiences and mentality of Chinese Communists?
This reading and question should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “The Long March (1934-1936)”
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8.2.5 Suspension of Hostilities during the Japanese Invasion
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “Anti-Japanese War”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “Anti-Japanese War” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this document to supplement the description of the Japanese Invasion provided in Professor O’Brien’s lecture, which you studied in subunit 8.2.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “Anti-Japanese War”
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8.2.6 Return to Civil War
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “Return to Civil War”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “Return to Civil War” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this document to supplement the analysis of the final phase of hostilities between the Nationalists and the Communists, which was provided in Professor O’Brien’s lecture, studied in subunit 8.2. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “Return to Civil War”
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8.3 Establishment of the People’s Republic of China
Note: Please note that this topic is also covered by Professor O’Brien’s lecture, which you studied in subunit 8.2. You may wish to review the latter part of the lecture (minute 30 until the end) before proceeding to read the following documents.
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8.3.1 Victory of Communist Forces and Consolidation of the New Government
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “The People’s Republic of China” and “The Transition to Socialism, 1953-57”
Links: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “The People’s Republic of China” (HTML) and “The Transition to Socialism, 1953-57” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read these two texts in their entirety. They provide the historical context of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and describe its early years.
These readings should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “The People’s Republic of China” and “The Transition to Socialism, 1953-57”
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8.3.2 Mao Zedong’s Political and Economic Objectives
- Reading: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “Mao Zedong: Biographical and Political Profile”
Link: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “Mao Zedong: Biographical and Political Profile” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this text in its entirety to better understand Mao Zedong’s personal background and his most important political goals.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “Commonly Read Speeches and Writings of Mao Zedong (1927-1945)”
Link: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “Commonly Read Speeches and Writings of Mao Zedong (1927-1945)” (HTML and PDF)
Instructions: Read the four selections from Mao Zedong’s writings provided on this page. How do the values in these texts compare with values expressed in Marxist texts you read while studying the Russian Revolution in Unit 7?
This reading and question should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “Mao Zedong: Biographical and Political Profile”
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8.3.3 Tensions between Communism and Traditional Religion in China
- Reading: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “20th Century: Communism and Internal Challenges to Tradition”
Link: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “20th Century: Communism and Internal Challenges to Tradition” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this page in its entirety, focusing on the ways in which religious and secular worldviews came into conflict during the Chinese Revolution.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Columbia University: Asia for Educators’ “20th Century: Communism and Internal Challenges to Tradition”
- 8.4 Consequences and Legacies of the Chinese Revolution
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8.4.1 Chinese-Soviet Relations and the Cold War
- Reading: Princeton University Press: Lorenz M. Lüthi’s The Sino-Soviet Split: Cold War in the Communist World: “Introduction”
Link: Princeton University Press: Lorenz M. Lüthi’s The Sino-Soviet Split: Cold War in the Communist World: “Introduction” (HTML and PDF)
Instructions: Please read this essay in its entirety. What is the main argument proposed here regarding the breakdown of Soviet and Chinese in 1966? What historical sources does the author analyze to support his argument?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Reading: Princeton University Press: Lorenz M. Lüthi’s The Sino-Soviet Split: Cold War in the Communist World: “Introduction”
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8.4.2 Agrarian Land Reforms and Terror Campaigns against Enemies of the State
- Reading: Radio86.com: All About China: “The Cultural Revolution Series – An Overview”
Link: Radio86.com: All About China: “The Cultural Revolution Series – An Overview” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this interview in its entirety. How was violence used by the Chinese government? How did Mao Zedong justify the use of violence against the Chinese people? How was his justification of violence different from that of other revolutionaries you studied in this course?
This reading and questions should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: Radio86.com: All About China: “The Cultural Revolution Series – An Overview”
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8.4.3 Development Plans
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “The Great Leap Forward, 1958-60”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “The Great Leap Forward, 1958-60” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this text in its entirety. What differences and similarities do you perceive between Chinese and Soviet versions of planned economy?
This reading and question should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “The Great Leap Forward, 1958-60”
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8.4.4 Social and Cultural Consequences
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “The Cultural Revolution 1966-1976”
Link: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “The Cultural Revolution 1966-1976” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this text in its entirety to better understand how Communism came into conflict with traditional Chinese culture.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan’s (eds.): China: A Country Study: “The Cultural Revolution 1966-1976”
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8.4.5 Economic and Social Consequences
- Reading: Mount Holyoke College: Dr. Satya J. Gabriel’s “Capitalism, Socialism, and the 1949 Chinese Revolution: What Was the Cold War All about?”
Link: Mount Holyoke College: Dr. Satya J. Gabriel’s “Capitalism, Socialism, and the 1949 Chinese Revolution: What Was the Cold War All about?” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this article in its entirety. What is its main argument? What evidence is offered in support of this argument? Do you find the argument convincing?
This reading and these questions should take you approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Reading: Mount Holyoke College: Dr. Satya J. Gabriel’s “Capitalism, Socialism, and the 1949 Chinese Revolution: What Was the Cold War All about?”
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Unit 8 Assessment
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 8 Quiz: The Chinese Revolution” and “Unit 8 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 8 Quiz: The Chinese Revolution” (PDF) and “Unit 8 Quiz – Guide to Responding” (PDF)
Instructions: Please open the “Unit 8 Quiz” first and work through all the questions. Instructions for how to take the quiz and how to time it appear at the top of the page. Please time yourself, and take no more than 60 minutes to complete the quiz. Once you have completed the quiz, please open “Unit 8 Quiz – Guide to Responding” and follow the instructions at the top of the page to evaluate your answers.
This assessment and evaluation of your responses should take you approximately 1.5 hours to complete.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 8 Quiz: The Chinese Revolution” and “Unit 8 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
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Unit 9: Revolution and Religion - The Islamic Republic of Iran
Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1978-1979 shared similarities with other 20th century revolutions, but religion played a central role in the revolutionary events. In the late 1970s, a broad coalition of religious leaders, students, workers, and middle-class Iranians challenged the political power of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s secular, autocratic leader. A series of strikes and demonstrations in 1978 forced the Shah to flee Iran. Following his departure, Iran’s theocratic leaders appointed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as the new supreme religious leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Khomeini consolidated power by arresting and persecuting members of the secular political groups that had initially supported the revolution. As with the Shah, Khomeini did not tolerate political or social dissent. He used state institutions to eliminate dissent and impose a fundamentalist, socio-religious political system on the nation.
Unit 9 Time Advisory show close
In this unit, you will study the creation of the Islamic Republic of Iran and compare the Iranian Revolution with earlier revolutions in the United States, France, Mexico, and Russia.
Unit 9 Learning Outcomes show close
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9.1 Origins of the Iranian Revolution
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 12A”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 12A” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please listen to this lecture in its entirety (1 hour and 17 minutes). What long-term causes of the Iranian Revolution does Professor O’Brien identify? What were the immediate triggers that precipitated the outbreak of the Revolution? How does the situation in pre-revolutionary Iran in the 1970s compare to pre-revolutionary France in the late 18th century and pre-revolutionary Mexico in the early 20th century? What are the most important differences?
This video lecture and these questions should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
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- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 12A”
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9.1.1 Iran in the Broader Regional Context
- Reading: iTunes U: Columbia University: Richard Bulliet’s W3719 History of the Modern Middle East: “Lecture 23: Iran under the Shahs”
Link: iTunes U: Columbia University: Richard Bulliet’s W3719 History of the Modern Middle East: “Lecture 23: Iran under the Shahs” (iTunes U Audio)
Instructions: On the webpage linked above, scroll down to the lecture titled “Iran under the Shahs.” Click on the “View in iTunes” link to launch the video lecture. Please listen to the entire lecture (1 hour and 18 minutes), and focus on the following questions: how does Professor Bulliet situate Iran in the Middle East? How does he characterize the commonalities between Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan? Why are these commonalities important in understanding the Iranian Revolution in the broader regional context?
This video lecture and these questions should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: iTunes U: Columbia University: Richard Bulliet’s W3719 History of the Modern Middle East: “Lecture 23: Iran under the Shahs”
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9.1.2 Religious Background of the Iranian Revolution
- Reading: Religious Studies and Baha’i Studies: Dr. Moojan Momen’s “The Religious Background of the 1979 Revolution in Iran”
Link: Religious Studies and Baha’i Studies: Dr. Moojan Momen’s “The Religious Background of the 1979 Revolution in Iran” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this essay in its entirety, focusing on the tensions between religion and politics in the years leading up to 1979.
This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Religious Studies and Baha’i Studies: Dr. Moojan Momen’s “The Religious Background of the 1979 Revolution in Iran”
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9.1.3 Class and Economic Factors
- Reading: Mount Holyoke College: Satya J. Gabriel’s “Class Analysis of the Iranian Revolution of 1979”
Link: Mount Holyoke College: Satya J. Gabriel’s “Class Analysis of the Iranian Revolution of 1979” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this essay in its entirety and focus on the following questions: what was the structure of Iranian society in the decades leading up to the revolution? How did tensions among social groups contribute to the eruption of the revolution?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
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- Reading: Mount Holyoke College: Satya J. Gabriel’s “Class Analysis of the Iranian Revolution of 1979”
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9.2 Diverse Currents in Twentieth-Century Islam
- Reading: University of Notre Dame: Professor A. Rashied Omar’s Islamic Ethics of War and Peace: Lecture 1: “Islamic Worldview”
Link: University of Notre Dame: Professor A. Rashied Omar’s Islamic Ethics of War and Peace: Lecture 1: “Islamic Worldview” (HTML)
Instructions: Shi’a Islam in Iran is only one among many currents in the Muslim world, and it is essential to understand it in a broader context. Study the lecture notes above to understand the diversity of Muslim beliefs and religious practices. Follow the hyper-linked terms to understand their meanings, focus especially on the “Eight Major Islamic Tendencies” and explore how they differ from one another.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
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- Reading: University of Notre Dame: Professor A. Rashied Omar’s Islamic Ethics of War and Peace: Lecture 1: “Islamic Worldview”
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9.3 Revolutionary Events
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 12B”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 12B” (YouTube)
Instructions: Listen to this lecture in its entirety (1 hour and 17 minutes) to understand the most important events and turning points of the revolution in Iran. Please note that this lecture also contains information you will need for sub-subunits 9.2.1 through 9.2.5
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: iTunes U: Columbia University: Richard Bulliet’s W3719 History of the Modern Middle East: “Lecture 23: Iran under the Shahs”
Link: iTunes U: Columbia University: Richard Bulliet’s W3719 History of the Modern Middle East: “Lecture 24: The Islamic Republic of Iran” (iTunes U Audio)
Instructions: After listening to Professor O’Brien’s lecture above, listen to this analysis by Professor Bulliet (1 hour and 12 minutes), which focuses less on the revolutionary events themselves and more on a broad analytical framework of the revolution. According to Professor Bulliet, why was the revolution in Iran an Islamic one?
This video lecture and question should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 12B”
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9.3.1 Formation of a Broad Revolutionary Coalition and Collapse of the Pahlavi Dynasty
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Helen Chapin Metz’s (ed.) Iran: A Country Study: “The Coming of the Revolution” and “The Bakhtiar Government”
Links: U.S. Library of Congress: Helen Chapin Metz’s (ed.) Iran: A Country Study: “The Coming of the Revolution” (HTML) and “The Bakhtiar Government” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read these essays in their entirety, focusing on the different groups who participated in the revolution.
This reading should take approximately 45 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpages above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Helen Chapin Metz’s (ed.) Iran: A Country Study: “The Coming of the Revolution” and “The Bakhtiar Government”
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9.3.2 Organization of the Theocratic Islamic Republic
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Helen Chapin Metz’s (ed.) Iran: A Country Study: “The Revolution,” “The New Constitution,” and “The Bani Sadr Presidency”
Links: U.S. Library of Congress: Helen Chapin Metz’s (ed.) Iran: A Country Study: “The Revolution” (HTML), “The New Constitution” (HTML), and “The Bani Sadr Presidency” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read these essays in their entirety, focusing on the process whereby power passed into the hands of Ayatollah Khomeini and the Revolutionary Council.
These readings should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpages above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Helen Chapin Metz’s (ed.) Iran: A Country Study: “The Revolution,” “The New Constitution,” and “The Bani Sadr Presidency”
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9.3.3 Consolidating the Revolution
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Helen Chapin Metz’s (ed.) Iran: A Country Study: “Terror and Repression” and “Consolidation of the Revolution”
Links: U.S. Library of Congress: Helen Chapin Metz’s (ed.) Iran: A Country Study: “Terror and Repression” (HTML) and “Consolidation of the Revolution” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read these essays in their entirety. Were there similarities between the use of violence in revolutionary Iran and during the French and Bolshevik Revolutions? How was the use of violence justified in each case?
These readings and questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpages above.
See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: U.S. Library of Congress: Helen Chapin Metz’s (ed.) Iran: A Country Study: “Terror and Repression” and “Consolidation of the Revolution”
- 9.4 Revolutionary Ideas and Documents
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9.4.1 Ayatollah Khomeini’s “Islamic Government”
- Reading: Iran Chamber Society’s version of Ayatullah Ruhallah Khomeini’s Islamic Government: “The Form of Islamic Government”
Link: Iran Chamber Society’s version of Ayatullah Ruhallah Khomeini’s Islamic Government: “The Form of Islamic Government” (HTML)
Instructions: Scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the link titled “Governance of Jurist (Velayat-e Faqeeh) / Islamic Government” to download the PDF file, and read pages 29 through 35 from “The Form of Islamic Government.” How does the vision of government presented here differ from that advocated by the French and the American Revolutionaries?
This reading and question should take approximately 45 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Iran Chamber Society’s version of Ayatullah Ruhallah Khomeini’s Islamic Government: “The Form of Islamic Government”
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9.4.2 Khomeini on Women in Islam
- Reading: Iran Chamber Society’s “The Position of Women from the Viewpoint of Imam Khomeini”
Link: Iran Chamber Society’s “The Position of Women from the Viewpoint of Imam Khomeini” (HTML)
Instructions: Scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the link titled “The Position of Women from the Viewpoint of Imam Khomeini” to download the PDF, and read pages 33-37. How does Khomeini describe women in relation to men? How does he define their rights?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 45 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Iran Chamber Society’s “The Position of Women from the Viewpoint of Imam Khomeini”
- 9.4.3 Mehdi Bazargan
- 9.5 Legacies or the Iranian Revolution
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9.5.1 Socio-cultural Factors and the Effects of the 1980-1988 War with Iraq
Note: Please review the last 20 minutes of Professor O’Brien’s lecture to which you listened in subunit 9.2 (starting at minute 56:00). What were the most important differences between the outcomes of the Iranian Revolution and earlier revolutions in Europe, Russia, and America?
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9.5.2 The Revolution and the Status of Women
- Lecture: Fora.tv Conference Center: Dr. Haleh Esfandiari’s “Iranian Women Between Resistance and Repression”
Link: Fora.tv Conference Center: Dr. Haleh Esfandiari’s “Iranian Women Between Resistance and Repression” (Flash)
Instruction: View this lecture in its entirety (1 hour and 6 minutes). As you listen, focus on the ways in which women’s experiences in Iran during and after revolution differed from the experiences of women in the French and Russian Revolutions.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: Fora.tv Conference Center: Dr. Haleh Esfandiari’s “Iranian Women Between Resistance and Repression”
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Unit 9 Assessment
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 9 Quiz: The Iranian Revolution” and “Unit 9 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 9 Quiz: The Iranian Revolution” (PDF) and “Unit 9 Quiz – Guide to Responding” (PDF)
Instructions: Please open the “Unit 9 Quiz” first and work through all the questions. Instructions for how to take the quiz and how to time it appear at the top of the page. Please time yourself, and take no more than 60 minutes to complete the quiz. Once you have completed the quiz, please open “Unit 9 Quiz – Guide to Responding” and follow the instructions at the top of the page to evaluate your answers.
This assessment and evaluation of your responses should take you approximately 1.25 hours to complete.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 9 Quiz: The Iranian Revolution” and “Unit 9 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
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Unit 10: 1989 – Nonviolence and the End of The Cold War
In the mid 1980s, the Soviet Union underwent extensive political and economic reforms known as Glasnost and Perestroika. During this time, democracy advocates in many East European nations within the Soviet Bloc began to openly challenge communist authorities and communist rule. The governments initially attempted to suppress this opposition, but many gradually recognized the futility of the effort. In 1989, a series of mostly non-violent revolutions swept the Warsaw Pact nations of Eastern Europe and effectively ended communist rule in these countries. Provisional democratic governments took control and began making arrangements for free and open elections. Meanwhile, in the summer of 1989, Chinese democracy advocates, inspired by the revolutions in Eastern Europe, staged a major protest in Tiananmen Square. The Chinese government eventually used police and military forces to violently put down the democracy movement and reestablish firm communist control of the nation. For the Soviet Union, the Eastern European revolutions of 1989 led to a gradual thawing of relations with the West. In 1991, conservative communist officials in Russia attempted to stage a coup and regain control of the state. The people of Moscow successfully resisted their efforts, but the coup attempt revealed the declining power of the party. In December of 1991, the Soviet Union was officially disbanded and Russia’s long experiment with Communism came to an end.
Unit 10 Time Advisory show close
In this unit, you will examine the factors that led to successful democratic revolutions in Eastern Europe and analyze the broader social and cultural changes that came about in Eastern Europe and Russia after 1989.
Unit 10 Learning Outcomes show close
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10.1 Nonviolent Revolution in Eastern Europe – Historical Background
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989: “Origins of Change in Eastern Europe”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989: “Origins of Change in Eastern Europe” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the entire document. Then, write a paragraph that identifies the four factors the author sees as crucial in ending the Cold War.
This reading and paragraph should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: American.gov Archive: The Berlin Wall: 20 Years Later: “Introduction” and “Paths to 1989”
Links: American.gov Archive: The Berlin Wall: 20 Years Later: “Introduction” and “Paths to 1989” (PDF)
Instructions: Click on the “View PDF” hyperlink in the middle of the webpage to open the PDF file, and read the “Introduction” (pp. 2-4) and Michael Jay Friedman’s “Paths to 1989” (pp. 5-12).
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989: “Origins of Change in Eastern Europe”
- 10.2 Behind the Iron Curtain
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10.2.1 The Soviet Union between World War II 1992
- Reading: Dr. Steven Kreis’s The History Guide: Lectures on Early Modern European Intellectual History: “Lecture 16: 1989: The Walls Came Tumbling Down”
Link: Dr. Steven Kreis’s The History Guide: Lectures on Early Modern European Intellectual History: “Lecture 16: 1989: The Walls Came Tumbling Down” (HTML)
Instructions: Read the first part of this lecture (up to and including the paragraph which starts with the words “By early May 1992…”) to understand how the Soviet Union was changing in the post-Stalin era. Click on all the hyper-linked names of communist officials and dissidents to learn more about their role in Soviet politics.
This resource should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the web page above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Dr. Steven Kreis’s The History Guide: Lectures on Early Modern European Intellectual History: “Lecture 16: 1989: The Walls Came Tumbling Down”
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10.2.2 Soviet Bloc Countries between 1945 and 1968
- Lecture: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 17: “Eastern Europe 1945-56 and Czechoslovakia 1968”
Link: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 17: “Eastern Europe 1945-56 and Czechoslovakia 1968” (HTML)
Instructions: This lecture has parts A and B, please read both in their entirety. Lecture 17A has a section entitled “The Revolts of 1956,” which is particularly important to understand. As you read this section, ask yourself the following question: what were the most important differences between the revolts in Poland and Hungary? As you study lecture 17B, focus on both the origins and the outcomes of the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia.
This lecture and question should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the web page above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 17: “Eastern Europe 1945-56 and Czechoslovakia 1968”
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10.2.3 Dissident Movements and Transformation of the Soviet Bloc Countries before 1980
- Lecture: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 18A: “Poland 1956-81” and Lecture 18B “Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany 1968-1980; The Balkans, 1948-1980”
Links: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 18A: “Poland 1956-81” (HTML) and Lecture 18B “Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany 1968-1980; The Balkans, 1948-1980” (HTML)
Instructions: Study both lectures to understand the goals and tactics of Eastern European dissidents active before 1980. Review your lecture notes from sub-subunit 10.1.1 to analyze how the changing policies of the Soviet Union were related to the internal situations of the countries examined by the readings in this sub-subunit.
These lectures should take approximately 2 hours to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the web pages above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 18A: “Poland 1956-81” and Lecture 18B “Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany 1968-1980; The Balkans, 1948-1980”
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10.2.4 The Final Decade of Communism in Eastern Europe
- Lecture: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 19A: “Toward the Collapse of Communism” and Dr. Steven Kreis’s The History Guide: Lectures on Early Modern European Intellectual History: “Lecture 16: 1989: The Walls Came Tumbling Down”
Links: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 19A: “Toward the Collapse of Communism” (HTML) and Dr. Steven Kreis’s The History Guide: Lectures on Early Modern European Intellectual History: “Lecture 16: 1989: The Walls Came Tumbling Down” (HTML)
Instructions: Read Professor Cienciala’s lecture in its entirety. Read the final part of Professor Kreis’s lecture (starting with the paragraph that begins with the words “Outside the Soviet Union…”). As you read, consider the following questions: what were the most important reasons for popular protest in the Soviet Bloc in the 1980s? What role did economic, cultural, and international factors play? Which do you think were most important?
These lectures and questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the web pages above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 19A: “Toward the Collapse of Communism” and Dr. Steven Kreis’s The History Guide: Lectures on Early Modern European Intellectual History: “Lecture 16: 1989: The Walls Came Tumbling Down”
- 10.3 Democratic Revolutions
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10.3.1 Revolutionary Events: Commonalities and Local Differences
- Reading: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 19B: “The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, 1989”
Link: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 19B: “The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, 1989” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this lecture in its entirety. Focus on the following questions: why did communist authorities decide to negotiate with the dissidents in various Eastern Bloc states in 1989 and 1990? What were the most important aims of the dissidents? Which aims were shared across the Soviet Bloc and which aims were specific to each country? Why did the revolution turn violent in Romania and not elsewhere in the region?
This lecture and these questions should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the web pages above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 19B: “The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, 1989”
- 10.3.2 The 1989 Revolution in Primary Documents
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10.3.2.1 Poland
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989: “Geremek on Solidarity’s Strategy of Restraint in the Spring of 1989”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989: “Geremek on Solidarity’s Strategy of Restraint in the Spring of 1989” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this interview in its entirety. Focus on the reasons why Solidarity sought to avoid a violent confrontation with the communist regime.
This reading should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989: “Geremek on Solidarity’s Strategy of Restraint in the Spring of 1989”
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10.3.2.2 Hungary
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989:: “Record of Conversation between Representative of the Opposition Roundtable and Boris Stukalin”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989: “Record of Conversation between Representative of the Opposition Roundtable and Boris Stukalin” (HTML)
Instructions: After reading the description of this document, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on the “Hungarian Roundtable” link to download the PDF file of the conversation between Viktor Orban and Boris Stukalin, and read the entire document (3 pages). What are Orban’s most important claims about the possibility of a stable transition away from Communism?
This reading and question should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989:: “Record of Conversation between Representative of the Opposition Roundtable and Boris Stukalin”
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10.3.2.3 East Germany
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989: “Bonn Embassy Cable, The German Question and Reunification”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989: “Bonn Embassy Cable, The German Question and Reunification” (HTML)
Instructions: Read the excerpts of the Bonn Embassy cable reprinted on this page, focusing on the way in which this document envisions the process of reunifying Germany.
This reading should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: American.gov Archive: The Berlin Wall: 20 Years Later: Adam Michnik’s “I Will Remember That Day All My Life”
Link: American.gov Archive: The Berlin Wall: 20 Years Later: Adam Michnik’s “I Will Remember That Day All My Life” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this document in its entirety, paying attention to the values and ideals implicit in Michnik’s statements. What connections do you see between these and the values of the American and the French Revolutionaries?
This reading and question should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989: “Bonn Embassy Cable, The German Question and Reunification”
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10.3.2.4 Czechoslovakia
- Reading: George Mason University: Vaclav Havel’s First New Year’s Presidential Address to the Nation – January 1, 1990
Link: George Mason University: Vaclav Havel’s New Year’s Presidential Address to the Nation – January 1, 1990 (PDF)
Instructions: After reading the description of this document, scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the “Havel Speech” link to download the PDF file, and read Havel’s New Year’s Presidential Address in its entirety (7 pages). As you read, consider the following questions: how does Havel assess the effects of communist rule on Czechoslovak society? What does he see as the most important tasks ahead?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: George Mason University: Vaclav Havel’s First New Year’s Presidential Address to the Nation – January 1, 1990
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10.3.2.5 Romania
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989: “Romania – Letter of the Six, March 1989”
Link: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989: “Romania - Letter of the Six, March 1989” (HTML)
Instructions: This letter was written by Romanian Communist party members to Nicolae Ceau?escu. Please read it in its entirety, and consider the following questions: how does their dissent differ from liberal democratic dissent? What similarities do you notice?
This reading and these questions should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: George Mason University: Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media’s Making the History of 1989: “Romania – Letter of the Six, March 1989”
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10.4 Outcomes of Eastern European Revolutions
- Reading: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 20A: “Central and Eastern Europe since the Fall of Communism”
Link: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 20A: “Central and Eastern Europe since the Fall of Communism” (HTML)
Instructions: Read this lecture in its entirety. Focus on the following questions: what were the most important problems of making the transition from communism to democracy? What policies did the new governments implement to enable the transition from planned to market economy? What were the most important social problems in the aftermath of 1989? What difference did it make that the 1989 Revolutions were nonviolent? To answer this last question, compare the outcomes of 1989 to outcomes of the French Revolution of 1789 and the Russian Revolution of 1917.
This reading and these questions should take approximately 2 hours to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the web pages above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: University of Kansas: Dr. Anna M. Cienciala’s Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe: Lecture 20A: “Central and Eastern Europe since the Fall of Communism”
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Unit 10 Assessment
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 10 Quiz: 1989 – Nonviolence and the End of the Cold War” and “Unit 10 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 10 Quiz: 1989 – Nonviolence and the End of the Cold War” and “Unit 10 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
Instructions: Please open the “Unit 10 Quiz” first and work through all the questions. Instructions for how to take the quiz and how to time it appear at the top of the page. Please time yourself, and take no more than 60 minutes to complete the quiz. Once you have completed the quiz, please open “Unit 10 Quiz – Guide to Responding” and follow the instructions at the top of the page to evaluate your answers.
This assessment and evaluation of your responses should take you approximately 1.25 hours to complete.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Assessment: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 10 Quiz: 1989 – Nonviolence and the End of the Cold War” and “Unit 10 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
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Unit 11: Revolutions in Perspective
This unit provides a critical overview of the revolutions examined in this course. It returns to broad questions about revolutions and contemporary realities: how have revolutions shaped the modern world? Is violence a necessary component of revolutionary change? What are the connections between revolutionary ideas and revolutionary action? Are deteriorating economic conditions the most important cause of revolutionary unrest or can other factors take precedence? Approaching the material in this unit with these questions in mind will help you trace the commonalities, differences, and linkages among modern revolutionary movements. By studying the historiographical essays and analyses included in this unit, you will also return to the problem of identifying useful theoretical models of revolutionary change and confronting these with existing historical evidence. Finally, you will identify and analyze ways in which contemporary politics throughout the world still show traces of revolutionary legacies.
Unit 11 Time Advisory show close
Unit 11 Learning Outcomes show close
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11.1 Select Problems from the Historiography of Modern Revolutionary Movements
- Lecture: Select Problems from the Historiography of Modern Revolutionary Movements
Link: CosmoLearning: Houston University: Professor Thomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 13A” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please view this lecture starting at minute 4:00 until the end. Pay particular attention to the models of revolutionary change which were discussed at the outset of the course. How has your understanding of each of the models evolved during this course? Consider which of the models you find particularly compelling now that you have a more extensive understanding of the historical realities of revolutions.
This video lecture and these questions should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: Select Problems from the Historiography of Modern Revolutionary Movements
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11.2 Is the Era of Revolutions Over?
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Tomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 13B”
Link: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Tomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 13B” (YouTube)
Instructions: Listen to the first part of this lecture (stopping at 34:47 minutes). Professor O’Brien talks about the possibility of revolutionary change in the twenty-first century; the lecture was recorded before the eruption of protests now known as the Arab Spring. Write a paragraph based on the following prompt. Consider how having studied the historical revolutions in this course helps you make sense of the revolutionary transformations that have been taking place in North Africa and the Middle East since December 2010.
This lecture and paragraph should take you approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: CosmoLearning: University of Houston: Professor Tomas O’Brien’s “World Revolutions – Lecture 13B”
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Unit 11 Assessment
- Reading: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 11 Quiz: Revolutions in Perspective” and “Unit 11 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 11 Quiz: Revolutions in Perspective” (PDF) and “Unit 11 Quiz – Guide to Responding” (PDF)
Instructions: Please open the “Unit 11 Quiz” first and work through all the questions. Instructions for how to take the quiz and how to time it appear at the top of the page. Please time yourself, and take no more than 45 minutes to complete the quiz. Once you have completed the quiz, please open “Unit 11 Quiz – Guide to Responding” and follow the instructions at the top of the page to evaluate your answers.
This assessment and evaluation of your responses should take you approximately 1 hour to complete.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Saylor Foundation’s “Unit 11 Quiz: Revolutions in Perspective” and “Unit 11 Quiz – Guide to Responding”
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Final Exam
- Final Exam: The Saylor Foundation's HIST362 Final Exam
Link: The Saylor Foundation's HIST362 Final Exam
Instructions: You must be logged into your Saylor Foundation School account in order to access this exam. If you do not yet have an account, you will be able to create one, free of charge, after clicking the link.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Final Exam: The Saylor Foundation's HIST362 Final Exam
