The French Revolution established abstract universalistic principles based on a responsibility to human rights, while the Americans preferred to focus on immediate problem-solving and rights (to land they took from the natives.) The French are more conservative in this sense, since the decisions they take are still informed by a single common vision for the long-term good. While France’s focus has not changed, America’s destiny is now shaped by anonymous market forces, public relations specialists, lobbyists, investors, a vastly richer, more influential corporate overclass directly implicated in politics,
In Chapter 13 of “Major Problems in California History”, the author of the third document, Bobby Seale describes in his own words how the Black Panther party was “waging a class, and not a race, struggle.” The author Bobby Seale, also known as the cofounder of the Black Panther party, describes his experience by stating what the Black Panther party means, “We, the Black Panther Party, see ourselves as a nation within a nation, but not for any racist reasons. We see it as a necessity for us to progress as human beings and live on the face of the earth along with other people. We do not fight racism with racism. We fight racism with solidarity.”
During the 1960s and 70s, America became a nation of issues and controversy. In fact, various groups of people attempted to identify the root problems within American society and the role of citizens in resolving them. During this time, the most prominent groups, still in existence today, were the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Black Panther Party, and the United Farm Workers. In the following documents, there were numerous issues within American society that were discussed, however, one of the most common problems were centered around freedom. In addition, another reason for change comprised of self-reliance.
Black Panthers The Black Panthers and SNCC were two very different black power groups leading into two different directions in the United States in the 1960s. SNCC stands for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee which was founded in 1960 to organize the protests of African American college students against segregation. The Black Panthers were a radical political organization ranked among the more militant in the 1960s. The Black Panthers though more radical impacted the African American civil rights movement more than the SNCC.
There was a group founded in 1996 called “Black Panthers”. It was a U.S. African American militant party who used self-defense against the local police. They grew to espouse violent revolution as the only means of achieving black liberation. This is similar to the “Black Lives Matter” protesters, but they wanted a more peaceful protest. They both are dealing with our cruel police who are killing African-Americans, and getting away with it instead of helping them.
In watching the documentary of the Black Panther Party (movement) and how they were form to better the communities around them. The Government officials, FBI in particular infuriated to destroy them in light to keep power among the weaker individuals of society. The individuals happen to be of color (Blacks, Latinos, and Asians). I did however admire how the documentary portrayed black culture at that time. Despite the things that were occurring between law enforcement and the Black Panther party, blackness was promoted and people were proud to be black.
Cozette Fortune Professor Collingwood POSC 171 23 November 2015 The Black Panthers The Black Panther Party was originally created in Oakland, California by Huey P. Newton and Bobby G. Seale in 1966. Newton and Seale attended community college at Merritt and they acquired their exposure to politics by being active in various political organizations. The pair soon realized that the organizations on campus were not enough.
The United States prides itself on being a democratic nation that serves its citizens, yet its voting system throws democracy away in favor of efficiency. Even on the state level, not all states are represented equally when electoral votes are distributed. Finally, the Electoral College discourages third-party candidates from running, giving too much power to the two political parties of the nation and robbing the nation’s citizens from potential leaders who could change the country for the better if they could win the
Malcolm X once said “Early in life [he] had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.” The Black Panther Party lived by this quote. The party rose from the foundations of Malcolm X. The party was much different from other civil rights movements. They went by direct confrontation.
In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville provides an analysis and critique of American civic life. During his travels across the country, he discovered how different America was from Europe, particularly France. While the majority of Europe consisted of aristocratic countries with hundreds of years of history, America was a young democratic country. Most notably, he observed that America was growing in equality. The growing equality becomes a presupposition of individualism and isolation, but despite this inevitable growth of equality, individualism and isolation can be minimized.
America prides itself on being one of the most effective democratically governed counties. The idea of the American dream is that all people have equivalent political freedoms and a responsive government. However the effectiveness of social equality is being threatened by increasing inequality in the United States. Economic inequality in the US has expanded drastically. The wealth gap has had drastic changes over the past 35 years.
The Black Panthers were a Black Power group that wanted equality for everyone. The Black Panther Party for Self Defense helped shape the Civil Rights movement immensely. Who they were, what their core beliefs were, and how they shaped the Civil Rights movement, and America today will be covered. The Black Panthers were originally started by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton.
America is regarded highly in the world, due to its economic, political, as well as social development. As countries mature politically, voter turnout is expected to increase. This is the case for most industrialized nations who experience an average voter turnout above 70%. However, it is troubling to see that America still lags below 60% in voter turnout. Viewed as one of the healthiest democracies in the world, the United States is always referred to as an example that other countries should follow.
Problems in America only grew worse when democracy was being added to the mixture of already complicated politics. In Woody Holton’s book, Unruly American and the Origins of the Constitution, he stated that, “many Americans. . . were growing ‘tired of an excess of democracy,’ a ‘prevailing rage of excessive democracy. . .’ [or] ‘democratical tyranny.’” Democracy was an attempt at home rule among the colonies, but not everyone was happy with this extreme excess of colonial citizens contribution to the government.
In the United States, people always talk about freedom and equality. Especially they want elections could be more democratic. In American Democracy in Peril, Hudson’s main argument regarding chapter five “Election Without the People’s Voice,” is if elections want to be democratic, they must meet three essential criteria, which are to provide equal representation of all citizens, to be mechanisms for deliberation about public policy issues, and to control what government does. Unfortunately, those points that Hudson mentions are what American elections do not have. American elections do not provide equal representation to everyone in the country.
