What is going on in Europe in the 19th Century?

The 19^th century brought many changes to Europe; both positive and negative. New ideas of an ideal society spread at the same time as people tried to preserve tradition. Technology advanced, and new opportunities were created as a result. Many new inventions of the Industrial Revolution facilitated work and created new jobs and brought a higher standard of living. People in the lower classes became more active in society. Although it brought many positive advances to Europe, the revolution also lead to poorer working conditions and child labor which became major social issues that influenced many philosophers’ outlooks.

The Dreyfus affair, occurring as a result of a lack of a stable government, negatively affected France, a once prosperous, key European power. Many Jews boycotted French goods and suddenly money stopped coming into the country, bringing halted business growth and less job opportunities. France feared the chance of German domination.

The Congress of Vienna created new borders after Napoleon. It also eliminated the Holy Roman Empire and created a new balance of power. The 19^th century also brought about the unification of Germany and Italy, and the Greek war of independence. Nationalism was the main fuel of the creation of these new nations. European Imperialism was also a result of nationalism, as countries disputed over territories in the Far East to benefit their homelands and for political power. The Irish during the Potato Famine were against colonialism, since it prevented England from aiding them in a time of great disease and population decrease.

Romanticism was an artistic movement that reflected the political events of this period. It expressed mixes of nationalism, liberalism, and conservatism to reveal the mix of ideal political situations that were present throughout Europe. A new idea that arose during the 19^th century was communism, created by Karl Marx. In this new, politically radical idea of a society, Marx hoped to rid people of the class struggle, or the oppression of the workers. This new idea became idealistic in the French Revolution in 1848 as the people of the working class looked for liberation. Feminism was a movement that changed women’s role in society. It challenged the traditional teachings of the church and its views of a typical family. Women could attend universities and had more influences on intellectual aspects of society.

DBQ Essay #1

Outbreaks of disease, known as the black plague, occurred in Europe from the mid-fourteenth century to the eighteenth century. The plague wiped out a large portion of the Western European population and caused people to fear normal everyday life. Many avoided public areas such as schools, workplaces, and means of transportation, out of fear of becoming infected. This fear, however, appeared to have diminished somewhat as the centuries progressed.

According to a schoolmaster from Deventer, Netherlands in a 1484 letter, many of the students had been killed by the dreaded plague. This caused other students, as well as potential new students, to be prevented from attending. In this period of time, education was quite poor and led to intellectual problems. Workers also did not attend their jobs, despite the possibility of higher wages. In Book of Reason, written by Nicolas Versoris in 1623, it is declared that the rich had fled from Paris, leaving the poor vulnerable to the plague. There was a lack of sufficient workers, which caused great economic difficulty.

It was at this time that the Age of Discovery and Exploration was occurring in Europe. Several European nations had sailed to the Far East and to the Americas, trading various goods and discovering new lands. The constant communication between nations contributed to the spread of the plague. To prevent further coverage of the disease, transportation was halted, bringing about a lack of trade and communication. As witnessed by Henrich von Staden, from The Land and Government of Muscovy, all roads and highways were blocked to detain transportation within the country. International trade was especially halted, for foreign goods could have possibly contained the disease.

During the 1400’s and 1500’s, the terror of the plague was at its highest. In the 1600’s, people’s ideas began to change as their lives started to lighten up. Lisabetta Centenni, in a 1624 legal deposition, claimed that her husband’s severe illness was cured after he had eaten a piece of bread that had touched the body of St. Domenica. This reveals the fact that people began to turn back to religion to solve their problems and regained a sense of faith. As people’s lives slightly improved, they reached out to help others because of religion. In a 1630 letter, Father Dragoni, a priest, expresses his unconditional aspiration to help others in need. Also, the halting of transportation had been terminated. In Sir John Reresby’s memoirs of 1656, he expressed his desire to travel to Italy, despite the plague which still persisted. Although the plague discouraged many from traveling, people were still eager to travel throughout Europe.

The black plague was a long period of hardships for the Europeans. As time progressed, the toll of the black plague on people’s everyday lives decreased. The concerns of the people in the 1600’s were not the same as in the 1400’s and 1500’s.

Current Event #2

http://www.adelphia.net/news/read.php?id=13143354&ps=1012&cat=&cps=&lang=en

The article is on the subject of illegal immigration, and how the United States are planning to build a fence across the southern border. Coincidentally, the author of the article happens to be Hispanic. Despite her ethnic background, her insight is not biased in the least. However, a person of a different background may view the issue differently and may make different points.

The author is a good example of primary source. Reading the personal stories about the harsh situations of life in Mexico from the people and their feelings on the issue, one can understand how difficult life is for these “illegal immigrants”, and their reasons for attempting to find a better life. The addition of other people’s opinions helps to convince readers to understand their intentions.

Current Event

http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901060918-1533389,00.html

The author of the article, writing about the future prime minister of Great Britain after Tony Blair's term ends, strongly and frequently expresses his/her own point of view and opinions. He/she seems to be in great favor of Gordon Brown as a new prime minister, promoting his favorable personality and abilities, possibly attempting to gain more supporters. When expressing feelings on several other candidates, the author's negativity is quite evident. He/she states that candidate John McDonnell has no chance of winning. Also, he/she criticizes flaws and disadvantages, such as not having technological strengths. The author shares a rather negative opinion of former president Bill Clinton and former vice-president Al Gore, giving the idea that they had done a poor job as politicians.

The article contains limited facts. Above all, the only non-subjective statements are poll results and true feelings of other people. It appears the author had not done much research prior to creating the article.