• Louis Napoleon surrenders to Prussians in September 1870
• Sept4: Parisians declare 3rd Republic o Government Of National Defense instituted
• Government flees Paris to Bordeaux
• Offers no help for Paris
• Siege of Paris begins by mid-September o Most well to do have left city
• Servants and workers are a majority---Unusual o Public meetings legal again o Starvation Increases o Economy falters o Cold and Disease
o December: Bombardment begins o January 1871: French government surrenders city
• Germany declares itself a nation of Versailles
• French government will not return to Paris---remains at Versailles
• February: French National Assembly elections o Declares all debts and rents accrued during siege within 1 month
• Threatens at least 40,000 small businesses with bankruptcy
1871 Paris Commune
March 18-May 28, 1871
• Working people of Paris expelled government troops from the city
• Declared their own government
• Battled French troops over 2 ½ months in what was: o Revolution o Civil War o Socio-economic and political experiment
• By May 22: o French Government troops entered Paris o Annihilated the Commune o Often target women “Communardes”
Evolution of Thought: Darwin, Spencer, and the Sexes
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) On the Origin of Species (1859) Animals evolved through variation and natural selection Those most fit to survive
The Descent of Man (1871) Applied theory directly to question of human evolution Humans capable of advancement Virtuous tendencies can be inherited Civilized races and those still savages
Militarization
• Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy
• Triple Entente: France, Russia, eventually Britain
• 1890-1914: Most all European armed forces grew
• Mostly conscripts will fill ranks o Britain is exception (until WWI) o If men are citizen-soldiers, should they have a say?