wc19tchpol

France: 3rd Republic, beg.

Paris Commune: socialists control Paris for @2 months w/demise of Napoleon III

enact universal manhood suffrage, various economic reforms put in place

commune attempt also to establish a separate & independent workers’ community

then defeated by forces of National Assembly (bourgeois & conservatives)

National Assembly forges a relatively democratic government

Great Britain, 19th C politics

Dramatic expansion of (male) suffrage takes place in 1867 - working-class included

liberal agenda pursued under Gladstone (1868-1874) & Disreali (1874-1880)

public education, eradicate aristocratic control of state are priorities

social reform efforts instituted: govt. protection to unions, housing, health reform

material comfort, power & strong democratic values underlay GB strength & prosperity- minimize social conflict

Dreyfus Affair: 1894-1906

Dreyfus (military officer) found guilty of treason due to trumped-up & forged evidence

Dreyfus eventually pardoned in 1906 w/new evidence & public campaign

exposed strong French anti-semitism- esp. from right-wing groups & institutions

rallied left-wing, republicans, literary figures together

exposed major social & political divisions in 3rd Republic

Russia - late 19th C.

1861 - Alexander II abolishes serfdom- peasantry- beholden to large landowners

legal reforms,local committees - zemstvos - instituted for internal improvements

Poland is "Russified" in 1864 - lasts to end of WWI

Tsarist suppression of rights leads to early revolutionary activity - rooted in grass-roots rural and student activities, socialist theory

Alex. II assassinated - 1881 - "People’s Will" responsible - Alexander III: increasingly autocratic, oppressive

Home Rule for Ireland (?)

Irish nationalism increased w/liberal government est. in England

Irish Catholic tenant farmers vs. English/Irish Protestant landowners

Irish Land League formed in 1870’s - beg. guerrilla war vs. Protestants

Irish question splits English liberals by 1885 - Gladstone emerges as champion of home rule

By 1890’s, English attempts to coerce & nationalize Ireland has increased tension