Do people of a country have the right to violently revolt and replace their government if the government does not act in the best interests of the

people?

2 Ways of Revolution

• Democratic revolution seeks to replace authoritarian government with a government in which the citizens vote for their leaders and have some say in the rights they have.

• Communist revolutions attempt to replace both the government & the economic system by redistributing all the wealth equally amongst the citizens and leaving management of major resources in the control of the government.

Timeline Leading to the American Revolution

1. After the French & Indian War, England decides to raise taxes in colonies

2. The Sugar Act and the Stamp Act 3. Boston Massacre4. Boston Tea Party5. The “Intolerable Acts”6. Battles of Lexington & Concord7. Thomas Paine writes “Common Sense”8. July 4, 1776 The Declaration of Independence

Guiding Principles of the Declaration

• The main purpose of government is to protect our rights.

• The power of government is with and from the people - the guiding principle of democracy.

• The government controls the army, not the other way around.

• People should not have to pay taxes unless they have representatives that speak for them about taxes.

Author of the Declaration

Thomas Jefferson(1743-1826)Influenced by

“Enlightenment” thinkers suck as John Locke. Rich, land-owning farmer and

lawyer. Acted as a US diplomat, 1st Secretary of

State, 2nd Vice President, & 3rd President of the US.

Believed strongly in civil liberties and democracy.

Major Revolutions Influenced by theCommunist Manifesto

• Russia, 1917• North Korea, 1948• China, 1949• Cuba, 1959 • Vietnam, 1945-1975

“Look everybody, it’s a Communist Party!”

Guiding Principles of the Manifesto

1. Absence of private property2. Equality in income 3. End of organized religion4. One world-wide government

Author of the ManifestoKarl Marx(1818-1883)

A German philosopher who believed that Capitalism was the

“dictatorship of the rich” and that the workers

should equally own all means of production. He

said the world would eventually become a “classless society” He

called this state Communism.

Similarities Both the Declaration of Independence and the Communist

Manifesto were reactions to the times they were written in. One was born of Enlightenment ideals and a rejection of

authoritarian government. The other was born from inequalities brought about from the Industrial Revolution. Both attempted to redress social grievances of the people

by advocating open rebellion against the status quo of their respective times.

BIG Differences

The ideals in the Declaration of Independence were realized and resulted in the creation of the United States and it has influenced Democratic

and human rights movements around the world.

True Communism has NEVER been achieved and most countries that have called themselves

Communist have actually been an Autocracy or Oligarchy. Few “Communist” countries remain now.