First Outline for Term Paper

This outline has been constructed off of mostly secondary sources because I’m waiting for my subscription from the Times newspaper to come in.

Thesis: The Times newspaper in London challenged government ideas, as seen in the debate over the Peterloo Massacre, and revolutionized the journalistic world with its use of the steam-powered printing machine, deeply affecting the development of journalism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.




OR


The Times newspaper in London challenged government ideas, as seen in the debate over the Peterloo Massacre, and revolutionized the journalistic world with its uses of the steam-powered printing machine, while The Illustrated London News brought the element of art to newspapers, both deeply affecting the development of journalism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Definitions:

Steam-powered printing machine (printing press): a machine which uses steam power to print text or pictures from type or plates

Journalism:

-          Modern: “the activity or profession of writing for newspapers or magazines or of broadcasting news on     radio or television” (Oxford English Dictionary)

-          Historical: a profession or activity in which authors wrote about social gatherings and local entertainment, and focused less on news aspects except when confronted with a major event

Other terms to later be defined: romanticism, liberalism, Jacobinism, sister paper, the press, logography, chartist

Types of Sources:

Primary Sources: So far the primary sources I am using consist of pieces of papers I mention from Google Books, the Times archive, Google Images, and other newspaper archives.

Secondary Sources: I have found a website which outlines publishers of the 18^th and 19^th centuries which is very helpful for my paper. Other secondary sources include scholarly essays by professors about the history of journalism.

Outline:

1.      Background on journalism before the 18^th century

a.       Before the 18^th century, newspapers were not really newspapers, they were more like magazines and pamphlets

b.      The term press came into existence around the 1700s. But the press still was not like it is today. The press did not really consist of reporters and journalists; it was more like a group of authors who wanted to inform the people. Newspapers were still a social outlet for the most part.

c.       There were very few daily newspapers; there were not even that many weekly newspapers.

d.      The printing press by Gutenberg allowed for faster printing but that did not bring about the newspaper right away.

e.       Pamphlets were more popular than a large newspaper

f.       The first newspapers were only about a page or two long

2.      Very little news actually went into the first newspapers

a.       Since most newspapers were not daily, authors did not tend to write about small news events that were happening.

b.      However, major events like the Lisbon earthquake in 1755 was put in newspapers throughout Europe.

                                                              i.      It was a major event so newspapers spent weeks talking about this event and even put out special issues to discuss the topic.

3.      The majority of newspapers in the 18^th century were controlled by the government.

a.       Most governments had some control over the major newspapers in their area.

b.      Napoleon went as far as stopping almost all newspapers in France while he was in control

c.       There went from about 70 newspapers to 12 newspapers

4.      Beginning of the Times newspaper

a.       Started by John Walter in 1785

b.      The paper started off as a daily advertising sheet called The Daily Register

c.       There were 8 other daily newspapers in London at the time

d.      John Walter was mostly interested in advertising at first and therefore said, “The Register, in its politics, will be of no party. Due attention should be paid to the interests of trade, which are so greatly promoted by advertisements."

e.       The Times also wrote about parliamentary reports and foreign news

f.       In 1788, the Times started to have stories about the latest gossip and scandals of famous people in London

g.      John struck a deal with the government to make it look favorable in his paper

5.      John Walter II

a.       John Walter the II was the next owner who really took the Times to the next level

b.      He purchased a Koenig printing machine, the steam-powered printing machine, which allowed for faster and more efficient printing of the paper. About 7,000 copies of the paper were being sold a day

c.       Hired Thomas Barnes as editor in chief

d.      Walter stepped out of his comfort zone and published articles going against the government for the first time. The event that made the Times change their ways: The Peterloo Massacre.

e.       Walter and Barnes even went on to criticize papers who later supported the government

6.      The Morning Chronicle

a.       Started in 1769

b.      Originally a strictly social newspaper

c.       Discussed only topics of opinion and latest scandals

d.      Major competition of the Times

e.       Heard about the deal John Walter struck with the government to say favorable things about the government in the paper

                                                              i.      The Times sold better than the Morning Chronicle during this period

                                                            ii.      The Chronicle started saying favorable things about the government in its paper and gained support from the government

f.       John Walter II and Thomas Barnes began to criticize the Morning Chronicle and its overly excessive support to the Whigs party which had bought control of the Morning Chronicle in 1834

g.      Followed early example of the Times by showing support for the government

7.      The Manchester Guardian daily newspaper

a.       Founded in 1821

b.      In competition with the Times

c.       The Times had more followers then the Guardian

d.      Guardian began to publish stories in support of government reform and liberty for the people; sales went up

8.      The Northern Star (a Chartist newspaper)

a.       Founded in 1837

b.      Supported the chartist movement in England

c.       The Times had begun reporting on the Chartist movement and had been in full support of it; not long after this paper arose

d.      It lasted only during the time of the Chartist movement in England

e.       I was inspired by the freeness which the authors for the Times wrote

9.      The Illustrated London News

a.       Founded in 1842

b.      The Times was considered a very serious publication that addressed the issues of the current times

c.       This inspired Herbert Ingram, one of the founders of The Illustrated London News, to start a paper which ran pictures and drawings in every issue

d.      Ingram wanted to start a less serious publication since most of the papers of this time period had taken after the Times and became serious

10.  The Daily Telegraph

a.       Founded by Colonel Arthur B. Sleigh in June 1855

b.      The paper was advertised as “the largest, best, and cheapest newspaper in the world”

c.       It directly competed with the Times and still competes with the Times today

First Draft of Thesis for Term Paper

The Times newspaper in London challenged government ideas, as seen in the debate over the Peterloo Massacre, and revolutionized the journalistic world with its use of the steam-powered printing machine, deeply affecting the development of journalism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Term Paper Ideas

Either:
    - Newspapers and the Journalistic World in the time of Napoleon
     OR
    - major Russian spy events of  the Cold War

French Revolution Reflection

I learned that the French Revolution did not necessarily turn out the way the people wanted to. The revolutionaries had wanted to get rid of the absolute monarchy that had ruled there country for centuries. But as a result of the revolution, new leaders came in but they were just as bad or worse than the absolute monarchies that had come before them. Robespierre was a tyrant that made the people do what he wanted by using terror. He was the main cause of the Terror and enforced his power by scaring everyone with the use of the guillotine. Napoleon was the next major leader who came in and he tricked everyone. He convinced everyone that he was doing good for France when really he was doing what he wanted. He ended up causing more harm than help. As a result of these two leaders, the French people invited the monarchy, Louis XVIII, back to power. The revolution ended with a constitutional monarchy, which is not so different from what they had started out with. The French people never received the free government they were looking for.

French Revolution/ Egyptian Revolution #1-3

1.     Compare / Contrast Louis XVI and Mubarak.

Similarities	Differences
Louis: Absolute ruler Mubarak: dictator	Louis: made peace treaties with countries far away like the United States Mubarak: made peace treaties with neighboring countries and areas like Israel
Louis: Came to power because Louis XV died Mubarak: came to power because Anwar el-Sadat was killed	Louis: the economy of France was deteriorating but he did nothing to change that, he only continued to tax the poor Mubarak: in the beginning of his regime, he tried to better the economy of Egypt
Louis: forced out of office and executed because of French revolution Mubarak: forced out of office because of Egyptian revolution	Louis: He avoids meeting with leaders of countries that France normally has problems with, like England. Mubarak: He meets with the leader of Israel in 1986, despite having previous problems with Israel.
Louis: In 1789, the National Assembly goes against the king and his people, riots start to break out around the country. Mubarak: In 1986, riots break out against Mubarak and his government; this is the most serious riot yet.	Louis: He was an absolute ruler and therefore did not allow for any laws to be made that could kick him out of his position as king. Mubarak: Egypt has a parliament so the constitution was amended so that people could run against Mubarak. (2005)
Louis: He keeps his friends that are nobles in places of power, and never assigns someone from a lower class to a position of power. Mubarak: Mubarak assigns is friends positions in his cabinet, like Atef Obeid.
Louis: The National Assembly is formed and begins to go against King Louis XVI. Mubarak: The Muslim Brotherhood fights to gain more seats in the Egyptian parliament so that they can rise against Mubarak.
Louis: When he found out that the National Assembly refused to be a part of his Estates General, he said the Third Estate was no longer welcome in his Estates General. Mubarak: When he found out his people were revolting against him, he shut down all means of communication

2.     In each case, WHY were the people protesting? (Cite primary sources).

In the French Revolution, people were protesting mainly because of taxes. At the time, the French had a large debt that could have been paid off if everyone was being taxed equally. However, the monarchy was only taxing the poor, lower class. This prevented the debt from being paid off and highly angered the lower and middle classes. The nobles, monarchies, and the clergy were free of taxes, despite those classes having the most money. The lower class did not have enough money to even pay for food so they decided to protest.

French Primary Sources:

-          http://sourcebook.fsc.edu/history/constitutionof1791.html

-          http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1791degouge1.html

-          http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/turgot/reflecti

-          http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1789platiere.html

-          http://history.hanover.edu/texts/cahiers3.html

-          http://history.hanover.edu/texts/cahier.htm

In the Egyptian Revolution, people were protesting because Mubarak had been in office too long, and he had become a dictator. Mubarak had been president for about 30 years and he made it impossible for other candidates to become president. Mubarak did as he pleased, and when people began to protest against him he banned protesting. He shut down the internet so that citizens of Egypt could not communicate with people outside of the country. He also used the military at his disposal so that people would not rise against. The people of Egypt’s rights were being suppressed so they decided to protest.

Egyptian Primary Sources:

-          http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/11/133675132/live-blog-latest-on-events-in-egypt

-          http://search.twitter.com/search?had_popular=true&q=%23Egypt&result_type=recent

-          http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/egypt

-          http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/10/live-blog-feb-11-egypt-protests

-          http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/201112523026521335.html

3. What role did women play?

French Revolution	Egyptian Revolution
Marched on Versailles	Marched outside the presidential palace in Cairo
Olympe de Gouges writes a pamphlet called the Rights of Women; this helps women spread the word during the revolution that they deserve equal rights	Leil-Zahra Mortada, a Facebook user, put pictures on Facebook of all the women protesting in Cairo and all around Egypt to spread the word that women were taking part in this revolution
Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, was hated by most of the French so she contributed to the people wanting to overthrow the monarchy	Women demonstrated many peaceful marches in Cairo, despite the ban by Mubarak on any type of protesting
Women weren’t officially allowed to take part in the revolution but they conducted most of the marches against the monarchy; women were banned at one point from gathering together because leaders knew that if women got together they would march	Women set up in Tahrir Square in Cairo to protest against President Mubarak. In the square, women have volunteered and set-up makeshift kitchens, bathrooms, and communication stations. They have also been bringing lots of food and water to hand out to the protesters.

French Revolution/ Egyptian Revolution #4-8

  4. What concerns are there about the current situation in Egypt? How might they relate to the days following the fall of Louis XVI?

     Some people from Cairo were saying on twitter that now that Mubarak stepped down they wanted people to stop protesting. They said that Egypt now needs to focus on rebuilding their country and government. Other people on twitter were voicing their concerns that Vice President Omar Suleiman and the military might become like Mubarak once they hold all the power. The people are concerned about another dictatorship happening again. This relates to the days following the fall of Louis XVI because people were happy he was gone but they were also concerned that another absolute monarch might come to power. In the case of France, another absolute ruler came into power, Robespierre, during the period that is known as the Terror. After the Terror was over people were even more worried that another ruler would come in and get power crazy. They even considered bringing a monarchy back to avoid that. Hopefully, that does not happen in Egypt.

 
5. How did/are people express(ing) their views?

     In the time of the French Revolution, people expressed their views by marching on Versailles, printing pamphlets that discussed their points (such as women’s rights), attending the Estates General, creating their own Estates General known as the National Assembly, writing their own constitution, and eventually completely revolt with the use of guns and fire. For the Egyptian Revolution, people stormed Tahrir Square in Cairo, people burned down and bombed government buildings, people marched around the presidential palace, citizens refused to back down until Mubarak stepped down, and finally people continued to protest, even though Mubarak had banned any protesting and shut down means of communication. People in both revolutions just wanted their voices to be heard.

6. Are the current protests violent?

    Violent protests started on January 1, 2011. These protests were religious bombings against Christians in Egypt. On January 25, the ‘Day of Wrath’ begins. Thousands of people stormed one of Cairo’s major squares and demanded the resignation of President Mubarak. The protest was unusually large and got violent at times. The next day protesters set fire to a government building. The police begin to strike back and attack protesters. There was an official ban on protesting so the police and military were ordered to stop protesters. Up until Mubarak steps down, the protests continued and so did the violence. Most government buildings were being set on fire in Cairo and Mubarak had the military strike back against protestors with bombs, gunfire, and fire.

7. What do people on the ground in Cairo think is going to happen now? (Directly contact reporters and bloggers in Egypt via Twitter during this class period).

     There are many mixed feelings about what is going to happen in Cairo now. Some people were so happy that Mubarak stepped down that they were still celebrating and not even thinking about what was going to happen next. There were many twitter messages that said things like “نبتهج! وصعدت جمال مبارك,” which means “Rejoice! Mubarak has stepped down.” Some reporters from the NY Times reported via  twitter that Swiss banks froze any accounts they had with Mubarak and that banks around the world would soon be doing the same. Other reporters from NPR’s blog about the revolution suggested that Vice President Omar Suleiman and the military being in charge of Egypt is most likely just temporary. They were saying that election are still scheduled to happen in September and that a whole new government will probably be elected.

8. Based on your study of the French Revolution and your current observations of the situation in Egypt, what do you think are possible outcomes? How are the possible outcomes in Egypt alike or different with outcomes in France -- both in the short and long term.

     I think that Vice President Omar Suleiman will stay in office as stand in president until the September elections. Then I think Mohamed ElBaradei will be voted in as the new President if he runs. During this revolution, he was a major opponent to Mubarak and the people really seemed to stand behind him. I think if he runs for President, he is very likely to be elected. I also think that the Egyptian parliament is going to enforce laws so that elections are fair, and so that other candidates can legitimately run against the current president, unlike when Mubarak was in office. I also think parliament will set up more checks and balances for the president so that it is harder for future presidents to gain as much control as Mubarak had. These possible outcomes are similar to the outcomes of the French Revolution in that a new leader arose after the French Revolution, Napoleon, and that is similar to ElBaradei rising as a new possible leader. Also, new laws that parliament might set up in Egypt are similar to that of the French Revolution. The French made a new constitution that prohibited future leaders from gaining too much power. There is a good chance that is also going to happen in Egypt. However, the two revolutions are different in their outcomes because France still emerged with one leader who wasn’t directly elected by the people. In Egypt, the people will directly elect their leaders. 

Results for Pages 134-136

16/20

Surprise DBQ about the Terror

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the Terror as an instrument of the French Revolution.

The French Revolution was a revolution that happened based on the French monarchy ignoring its people. This revolution was a major movement towards the government France knows today. France was a country filled with people who wanted a free nation, and they made it happen. However, some parts of the revolution did not go as hoped. During the French Revolution, the time known as the Terror was advantageous because it brought the French people together by fighting against a common enemy, Robespierre; but it was also disadvantageous for the revolution as a whole because it suppressed the rights of the people and made citizens want a monarchy back in power. 


The Terror was a dark time in French history. The guillotine was used as a weapon to slaughter the masses. According to document 2, around 13,000 people died during the Terror. These numbers show that people had a reason to ban together and stop the Terror from continuing. The enemy they wanted to stop: Robespierre. Robespierre stated in a speech to the National Convention that, "Its force to repress must be
commensurate with the audacity or treachery of those who conspire against it…." (doc. 7). He was saying that people that went against him deserved to be punished. He suppressed the rights of the people so that a person was either with him or against him; there was no middle ground. The people finally joined together to stand against him. In 1794, a report to the government on public opinion said, "It is a fact that there is no section in Paris which is not dissatisfied with its revolutionary committee or does not seriously desire to have
them abolished," (doc. 13). The reports discusses how the people were not satisfied with the National Committee and that they were ready to take measures against them. This terrible part of the French Revolution brought the people of the country back together.

The French Revolution was highly effected by the Terror. People's rights were suppressed by Robespierre and his followers so much that people were considering having a monarchy again. Louis Antoine de Saint-Jus said in a speech, "Yet the greatest of our misfortunes was a certain fear of the concentration of authority
necessary to save the state," (doc. 11). De Saint-Jus addressed the fact that people were so scared that another citizen might rise up and take power like Robespierre did that they were ready to invite the monarchy back to France. In his speech, Jus tried to convince theses citizens not to backtrack in the revolution. During the Terror, people were disgusted with all the innocent lives being taken. However, citixens could not say anything because then they would be executed. Another public opinion piece states, “Bitter complaints already expressed numberless times, were repeated today of the arrest and imprisonment of citizens who are good patriots and are victims of ambition, cupidity, jealousy, and, in short, every human passion," (doc. 10).
The citizens of France knew their rights were being taken away, but they could not do anything to stop it. William Pitt, a British Prime Minister, summed up how the French people were feeling when he said, "They are compelled into the field by the terror of the guillotine," (doc. 8). This quote shows how even leaders of other countries knew  that unlawful acts were happening in France during the Terror.

The disadvantages of the Terror outweigh the advantages of the Terror on the French Revolution. Too many people were suppressed, too many people were killed, and too many backtracking thoughts came out of the Terror for it to be more advantageous than disadvantageous. According to document 3, incidents leading to executions during the Terror were  mostly of people who were trying to get their rights back. Robespierre and his followers killed anyone who stood against them. A journalist and former ally of Robespierre even turned against him. He said, "Do you believe that these women, these old men, these weaklings, those egoists,
these stragglers of the Revolution, whom you imprison, are really dangerous? Of your enemies there
remain among you only the cowardly and the sick. The strong and the brave have emigrated. They have
perished at Lyon or in the Vendée; the remainder (consisting of some renters and shopkeepers] do not
merit your wrath," (doc. 6). This writer was showing the ridiculous things Robespierre was doing to prevent his enemy from succeeding. But Robespierre's enemy was the people, so he was really fighting an uphill battle.
Document 1 shows that executions were done in major cities. This proves that Robespierre wanted everyone to see the damage he was doing, and be afraid. A good leader would not instill that much fear in his people.

The Terror can be concluded to have advantages and disadvantages in the overall scheme of the French Revolution. However, those advantages are outweighed by the disadvantages. The Terror resulted in even more death, debt, and bad thoughts than it had started with. People were discouraged after the Terror and it is surprising that the revolution was able to continue. The Terror can be seen as an instrument of torture in the French Revolution.