HIST 1115 Lecture Notes - Emmeline Pankhurst, Protestantism, Dreyfus Affair
History 1115
Great Powers Before the War: The Democracies
There were 5 great powers: Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary,
In the west there were Liberal democracies: France and Britain
Autocratic empires of eastern Europe: German Empire, Russia (Ruled by the
Romanov family), Austria-Hungary
The first total war in history completely disconfigured the great power
autocracies, in their place are new nations
Class structures are completely reorganized, sometimes by revolution
France
Was the country of revolution
There were many revolutions
Not a stable nation
The European powers are worried so they want to keep France down, they
The Concert of Europe, they wanted to keep the peace
France disrupted the peace again in 1870, provoked by the chancellor of
Germany
oFrance declared war upon Prussia
oPrussia brought their armies together and showed that they had one of the
best armies
oThey Crowned Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm I after they defeated France in the
Palace of Versailles
oAll of Germany joined together under Wilhelm
oGermans took a chunk of French land, (Alcase Lorraine)
They were still trying to prove themselves internationally by trying to clain more
colonies
They created a lot of problems and instability
Politically they were unstable, economically and socially they were stable
They were EXTREMELY democratic
The Chamber of Deputies is full of coalition governments
oIf they disagree, the government falls ( the French gov fell a lot)
What kept France stable was the fact that the civil servants did not change
France was mostly homogenous, a lot of farmers and small business people
French industry is run by families,
Peasants usually own their own land
Most people still live in the country side, not really urbanized
The French pop was aging, birth rates were low, a lot of older people that were
not having kids
Economically, Frnace is not as advanced
They had some exports (ex. Textiles, wine, cheese)
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oThey were behind in heavy industry
oThey instead buy government bonds with their money
oThey used it to invest into France’s allies, they were putting their money
into RUSSIA to build their heavy industry
They cultivated Russia so there could be a 2 front war situation against Germany
They were stable/prosperous
French industry and agriculture were protected by tariffs, so the French farmers
could make a living
oThis made it hard for the workers because it made it hard to buy bread
because it got expensive
The French NorthEast had labor unrest
oThey were unhappy and despaired
oThey were not represented well politically
oIt was hard for the French workers to get heard
oThey did not have unions intil 1880
oThey were radical, angry, distraught
French workers wanted direct action, they wanted to strike
oThey had to call in the army to stop the strikes, they got violent
France was Ideologically divides, they were born out of the French Revolution
oRight- they liked the old regime, they needed to re-emphasise the old
traditions
oLeft- stands for the tradition of revolution, they stand for liberty,
secularism, they wanted freedom, and they wanted the separation
between church and state
The Dreyfuss Affair
oCapt Alfred Dreyfuss wa a captiaon in the Genera Staff
Basically hes the guy that makes all the plans in case of a war etc.
oAfter the Franco-Prussian War they sent the generals to school to pass
exams
oDreyfuss passed exams and was very high up
oHe was accused for high treason for selling their secrets to Germany and
was found guilty in secret military trial
oHe was sent to Devils Island off South America
oThe evidence was very circumstantial
oThey were quick to renounce Dreyfuss because he is Jewish and
Republican, while most of them were Catholic and Monarchists. So they
were very judgemental
oThe new chief of staff realized that a different man was the one that was
leaking the info (Esterhazy) because it did not stop once he was sent to
the Island
oThey opened a case on Esterhazy, but instead they got rid of the new
chief of staff
oEmil Zola “J’Accuse” was about how he was accusing the army
He was charged with libel
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Document Summary
There were 5 great powers: britain, france, germany, russia, austria-hungary, In the west there were liberal democracies: france and britain. Autocratic empires of eastern europe: german empire, russia (ruled by the. The first total war in history completely disconfigured the great power autocracies, in their place are new nations. Class structures are completely reorganized, sometimes by revolution. The european powers are worried so they want to keep france down, they. The concert of europe, they wanted to keep the peace. France disrupted the peace again in 1870, provoked by the chancellor of. Germany: france declared war upon prussia, prussia brought their armies together and showed that they had one of the best armies, they crowned emperor kaiser wilhelm i after they defeated france in the. Palace of versailles: all of germany joined together under wilhelm, germans took a chunk of french land, (alcase lorraine) They were still trying to prove themselves internationally by trying to clain more colonies.
