Category: Free History Essays Examples

Mark Twain, an American writer who called 19thcentury America “the Gilded Age”, was influential. This was a reference to the fact that the period was corrupt beneath the surface. Many events took place during this “Gilded Age”, such as the Panic in 1873, the Pullman strike and many more. The Credit Mobilier Scandal was one of the many events that took place during this period. This was one event that Twain called the “Gilded Age” due to many reasons.

The Credit Mobilier Scamal was a scheme by the Union Pacific Railroad to bribe federal legislators in return for business favors. Around the 1860s, Union Pacific Railroad was given the responsibility of building a transcontinental railway. Union Pacific’s corporate leaders had the idea of creating a dummy company to divert public funds to their benefit. Union Pacific Railroad stockholders set up a credit mobilier of America company and presented the contracts for the construction of the railroad. Union Pacific representatives had made secret deals with federal lawmakers. The Credit Mobilier company offered stock to congressmen in exchange for a share of the public funds that would be transferred through it. The congressmen also gave the company many land grants and nice subsidies from the government in exchange for stock options. Twain said that the period was corrupted underneath. The fact that both Credit Mobilier’s congressional stockholders and the Union Pacific got rich because of this occurred is proof of this. Each side got what it wanted. The scandal, which harmed many Gilded Age politicians, impacted America politically at that time. The scandal broke because of the obvious exchange of favors. This scandal was discovered by Congress, who conducted an investigation and brought all of the information to public attention. Oakes Ames of Massachusetts was censured, while James Brooks of New York was also censured. In addition to this, the scandal also ended the careers and political lives of Henry Wilson, James A. Garfield, as well as Schuyler Kolfax, who was left as vice president. The scandal showed how corruption corrupted Gilded Age politics. It also revealed just how far railroads, other economic interests would go in order to maximize profits.

The Marxist explanation of the French Revolution’s origins wasn’t widely accepted until 1960. This interpretation was used to view the revolution as the result of a classic Marxist struggle by a rising class. In France, this was the time when wage earners were disillusioned. It was also evident that they had growing economic power which was not possible to reflect under the constraints of the Old Regime. Albert Soboul recognized the importance lower classes in 1968’s publication, ‘The Sans-Culottes. It stated that life was difficult in the peasantry due to poor harvests in 1787-1789. The Assembly of the Notables (February 22nd, 1789) shows how the bourgeoisie failed to exert any influence on France’s financial system. The Controller of General Finances, Charles Calonne, then urged tax exempts to accept financial reform to help France’s dire financial situation. However they refused. Many historians believe France could have climbed the economic ladder had his proposals been accepted. However, France did not have representation from the 2nd estate or the third estate. This was because the nobility wanted what was best for their country and not for France as a whole.

Because Marxist history is correct, it recognizes how the bourgeoisie was dissatisfied with the Ancien Regime’s limitations and led them to challenge the monarchy. This interpretation is especially credible because of the rapid growth in urban population in the period leading up to the revolution. By 1989, there were approximately 30 French towns with a population exceeding 150,000. The major problem with Marxist interpretations is their oversimplification. They claim that the causes for the revolution were due solely to this factor. George Taylor, a revisionist historian says that the interpretation has been ‘interred at the graveyard for lost paradigms assassinated with critical research’. This is widely believed to be true by many. Revisionists challenged this view by pointing out that some enlightened elites ‘actively supported France’s political, economic and modernisation’ and were aligned with the wishes of the bourgeoisie and not in opposition. Revisionists also believe that the post-revolutionary revolution was not caused by class conflict. They claim that noblemen won over the bourgeoisie. Alfred Cobban, a historian, stated that history’s change is not the result of clearly defined class interests. His interpretation does much to discredit Marxist views, but it is not original enough to counter them. It instead denigrates Marxist views and doesn’t offer any other alternative. This is contrary to what the New Revisionist interpretation tends to do. It focuses on political facts to explain the French Revolution’s causes. This is why Post-Revisionisms do not only focus on political processes, institutions, or policies’ but also on the ’emergency of distinctive policies and the emergence of new types and conflicts of politicians, organisations, and other cultural factors’. This interpretation may be the best of all historical views, since it acknowledges that the primary factor responsible for the French Revolution is political change through many socio-economic factors. Mona Ozouf, a historian noticed a link between the Ancien Regme’s death and the rise public opinion. ‘There was never public opinion in Louis XIV’s time. Instead, the royal brilliance outshone it. The same thing happened when the public opinion was king. It made it impossible for the royal to exercise any authority. The revolution was triggered by changing public opinion. However, the Enlightenment is highlighted in this study.

This recent interpretation is certainly more useful than the others. However, it does not fully reflect the impact financial ruin in France had on the political changes which led to France’s revolution.

Given these facts, the post revisionist thought emerges as the most useful in reflecting upon the causes of France’s Revolution. It is because it allows you to look at the revolution from both a political and economic perspective.