History 2404 Study Guide
Readings-
Name/Title/Date
Thesis
Specifics
Broader Context
- Prussian Census of
1817
- Correlations between
population density,
marriage rates,
illegitimacy rates
-Showed average birth,
death rates for men and
women in rural and urban
areas
-Age structure and demographic
patterns have an effect on
individual behaviour, social
structures, and beliefs
- Behrens .The
Ancien Regime
(1967)
- The Old Regime is
characterized by the loss
of legitimacy by those
involved in the
aristocracy of the regime
-France caught between
the old order which was
failing and revolution
- The enlightenment in
France was incoherent
-Philosophies were too
Utopian, offered no
applicable solutions to
problems in society
- France was intellectual
developed enough to know
that they had to keep up
with British development,
other European nations
lacked this intellect
-New Regime period of
oppression, many people
joined the nobility
-Radishev and Kant were
exempted from Behren’s
critique; both had solid issues
they wanted to solve
-social revolution was possible
because of a combination of
oppression and substantial
education within the population
-vast majority of peasants,
however France also boasted
more educated peoples than
most other countries
- The Day Labourer
in Britanny
- life for a day labourer
was extremely hard in
France
- all members of the
family expected to work
-production more
important than their
comfort
-wages not regulated,
fluctuated across regions
-life was hard for all
members of the family
-said slaves in the colonies
had better lives
-day labourers easily
replaced
-no opportunities or
education available to
better themselves
-Shows how the French
Revolution did little to help the
situation of laborers
-connection to Behrens
- The Russian Surf
-in legal and physical
terms the large
population of Russian
-like in France there were
many types of serfs
-some had the option of
-as in France the introduction of
a middle managerial class made
conditions even worse for the
serfs were much more
oppresses and deprived
than the peasants of
western Europe
paying a commutation tax
to the lord instead of
working his land,
opportunity to escape
dependence on the lord
(many lords wouldn’t allow
this)
-serfs and families forced
to work the land night and
day to survive
serfs and peasants
-unlike in France hopelessness
and isolation of Russian serfs
made revolt/reform from below
nearly impossible
- Kropotkin, Peter.
Memoirs of a
Revolutionist (1899)
-told through the
perspective of a wealthy
young man with serfs
belonging to his family
-people (upper class) did
not realize how severe
the conditions of serfdom
in Russia were
-working class in Russia
could do no right, blamed
for all shortcomings
regardless of who’s fault
they were
-punishing serfs physically
was the norm
-ordered marriages
between their male and
female peasants if the
peasant population was
not reproducing quickly
enough
-serves to show how revolution
like what was to happen in
France wasn’t possible in
Russia because of the extreme
oppression
-connection to Behrens
- Tillers of the Fields
and Woodspeople.
Rural Society in
France
- in the past everyone
was poor but life was
better because everyone
gelped out one another
-the division of classes
created tensions and a
strong sense of identity
and solidarity
-small towns divided into
rich and poor (haves and
have-not)
-“Messieurs” or haves
were educated, therefore
had power over others in
the village
-“Tillers of the land” owned
land and cows, self
sufficient
-“Woodspeople” only
owned a goat, pig, and a
-connection to Tocequville’s
fears of individualism in a
democracy: division of classes
led to the population becoming
too proud to ask for help, strong
sense of solidarity
few chicken- depended on
landlord for payment in
return for physical labour
- Breunig and
Levinger,
Revolutionary Era,
1789-1850 (2002)
-Mantoux, Paul. The
Industrial Revolution
in the 18th Century
(1961)
-innovation, enclosure,
and engrossment
changed the methods
employed by farmers, the
productivity of farming,
and the structure of land
ownership in the English
countryside during the
18th century
-spinning jenny, steam
engine, and flying shuttle
-industrial development
and therefore a rise in
consumer demand
resulted from agricultural
reforms (led to population
boom-wouldn’t have been
possible without food
production)
- Kant, Immanuel. An
Answer to the
Question: What is
Enlightenment?
(1784)
-Maturation and
development will come to
society through
obedience and gradual
legal reform
-pre revolution however
there were stirrings
-wanted slow reform,
wanted it to move “top
down”
-reform started with
enlightened monarch,
trickle down into society
-leaders will lead the
people out of immaturity
-must still obey!
-practical terms
-idea of a people to mature
together over a period of
time
-writing specifically for a
monarch, elite
-Progressive conservative like
Burke
-Ideas come out in Fichte, he
see’s a long process and notes
the next step as unifying the
people and resisting foreign
ideas
-fichte moves philosophical
concept of Kant into a popular
direction (developing stronger
sense of German identity
through language)
-like Tocqueville he believes that
sudden freedom within the
population will be detrimental to
society, unlike him he
emphasizes learned individuals
spreading their knowledge to the