American History

Essay Assignment #1

History can be used as a stepping stone in understanding the contemporary world and why its relevance can be connected to what has happened in the past to what is happening today. One of these examples in history that has made a huge impact in todays world is the social and economic inequalities leading up to the American Revolution. The cause of the Revolution was due to many of the grievances that colonists had for the British. Knowing this fact, we can better understand how this is useful and relevant in understanding the economic inequalities in Egypt which led to the Revolution in 2011.

The American Revolution was fought because of numerous unresolved conflicts that the colonists had with the British. Even after the war, there were problems still lingering. Some of these issues included freedom of expression, voting rights and political participation, and the Inflation of goods. Many of these disagreements resulted in rioting and protests, as well as boycotting of goods and such. Lets start with freedom of expression. Speech was limited in Britain, but if referring to the boundary outside of Parliament, then there was no legal protection for freedom of speech. Moreover, an individual could be beheaded for criticizing the king and the government. Even before the Revolution, voting rights and the political participation was very limited when electing government officials. There were property qualifications in order to vote in America. For example, nearly every adult male could meet the voting qualification of fifty acres of land. This meant that only the rich or middle class had any say in politics during this time. After the Revolution, the states became more lenient in the voting rights by allowing all men to vote for town officers and essentially opening the doors for citizens to secure their liberties. There is a clearer understanding for this matter in the Declaration of Independence as well. As stated in this quote, That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the Power to alter or abolish it. Another problem following shortly after the Revolution was the inflation of prices on goods. This was caused by the disruption of agriculture and trade due to the war and many had tried to profit from the crop shortages. The huge monopoly on crops often led to confrontations of merchants and crowds.

With the information of the causes and after effects of the Revolution, we can have a better understanding of how this is relevant today in the contemporary world. The 2011 revolution in Egypt happened for similar reasons. This includes but is not limited to the lack of free elections and freedom of speech, and the food price inflations. In terms of freedom of speech, Egypt is no different than what happened during the events leading up to the revolution. In the past we can see that a person could be

beheaded for criticizing the authority of the government, whereas a person could be jailed for criticizing Egypts president today. To better understand why the revolts happened, we can connect the similarities from the past to the present. When we look at the elections in Egypt today, we can say that their government does not have regulations when it comes to elections. There are no term limits and we can see that with the President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, ruling for his fifth term and over 30 years now. This could not be done without rigging the system. Looking at the food price inflations, we can see that inflation has gone up even though Egypt is in poverty. Because of the scarcity of food, the prices on wheat have risen by 20 percent in 2010 alone. Coupled with the fact that Egyptians live on $2 a day and getting paid minimum wages, its hard to believe why they wouldnt have revolted. As Patrick Henry warns the British of an attack if they did not maintain its liberties, he says these infamous lines give me liberty, or give me death! This is relevant in the revolts because people have died from the uprisings fighting for what they should have had all these years.

So as we have seen in the past as well as the present, History can be beneficial in understanding why something occurs in the contemporary world. We have just compared the events and after effects of the American Revolution to the Egyptian Revolutions of 2011. The Revolutions were based on similar ideas such as freedom of speech, voting rights and political participation, and the inflation of food prices. There were certainly more reasons behind these revolts, but I think its safe to say that the past paves the way for the future.

Bibliography

1. Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History. New York: Norton & Company, 2009

2. Hoffman, Elizabeth Cobbs and Gjerde, Jon, Major Problems in American History, Volume 1: To 1877. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2007.

3. Egypt activists plan biggest protest yet on Friday, Al Arabiya News Channel, http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/01/27/135207.html (accessd Mar. 14, 2011)

4. Egypts Hosni Mubarak 30 years in power, TVNZ, http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/egypt-s-hosnimubarak-30-years-in-power-4022559 (accessed Mar. 14, 2011).

5. Inflation, Rising Food Prices Spark Egyptian Revolution, Provident Metals Blog, http://www.blog.providentmetals.com/market-updates-analysis/inflation-rising-food-prices-sparkegyptian-revolution.htm (accessed Mar. 14, 2011).

--------------------------------------------

[ 1 ]. Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty! An American History (New York: Norton & Company, 2009), 149

[ 2 ]. Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty! An American History (New York: Norton & Company, 2009), 145

[ 3 ]. Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman and Jon Gjerde, Major Problems in American History, Volume 1: To 1877 (New York: Houghton Mifflin 2007), 105.

[ 4 ]. Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty! An American History (New York: Norton & Company, 2009), 214

[ 5 ]. Egypt activists plan biggest protest yet on Friday, Al Arabiya News Channel, http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/01/27/135207.html (accessd Mar. 14, 2011)

[ 6 ]. Egypts Hosni Mubarak 30 years in power, TVNZ, http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/egypt-s-hosnimubarak-30-years-in-power-4022559 (accessed Mar. 14, 2011).

[ 7 ]. Inflation, Rising Food Prices Spark Egyptian Revolution, Provident Metals Blog, http://www.blog.providentmetals.com/market-updates-analysis/inflation-rising-food-prices-sparkegyptian-revolution.htm (accessed Mar. 14, 2011).

[ 8 ]. Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman and Jon Gjerde, Major Problems in American History, Volume 1: To 1877 (New York: Houghton Mifflin 2007), 99.