The Maccabean Revolution
Between the books of Malachi and Matthew, the Maccabees fought for the rights and freedom of the Jewish nation. At that time the Jews were under massive oppression by the Seleucid rulers. One in particular was Antiochus, he tormented the Jews in the hope of Hellenizing them, and to top it off he used their own religious beliefs against them in massive slaughter and humiliation. The Maccabees however, against all odds, freed the nation of Judah, and successfully regained their rights. This is the Maccabean revolution.
It all began in 166 BC when Antiochus, the king of the Seleucids sent out an order for pigs to be sacrificed on the altars of the Jewish temples. This disgraced the beliefs of the Jews, because pigs were unclean for a Jew to even touch, yet they were to be sacrificed on the altars of their Lord. In the small village of Modi’in, when a small group of soldiers arrived at the Temple there to carry out Antiochus’ order. They sought out the High Priest, who was Mattathias, and ordered him to sacrifice a pig on the altar in the temple. Though the soldiers pleaded and bribed, Mattathias stayed true to the Lord, and refused to do the sacrifice. However because of Mattathias’ rejection a villager offered to do the sacrifice himself. At these words Mattathias was enraged. He grabbed the sacrificial knife and killed the man. Because the soldiers were caught off guard, Mattathias, his five sons, and several villagers succeeded in killing the soldiers, taking their gear, and retreating up into the hills. The revolt had begun.
Many of the surrounding villages joined in the revolt, and the band of men created a small guerilla force, that attacked at night. Since Mattathias died early in the revolut...
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... in the village of Modi’in the revolution expanded and grew. The Maccabees proved to be good leaders, and led the people to a spiritual awakening from idols back to the Lord. Their freedom was hard fought, and well earned from the clutches of one cruel king to the next.
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Jackson J. Spielvogel, Western Civilization: Volume I: To 1715, 8th Edition, (Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012), 90.
Jackson J. Spielvogel, Western Civilization: Volume I: To 1715, 8th Edition, (Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012), 301.
ed. Rostand, Edmond. The "Rostand, Edmond The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 22nd ed. of the book. 1994.
Nathaniel Bacon and William Berkley, the governor of Pennsylvania had many differences that stopped them from getting along one of them was their opinion on the Indians in Pennsylvania. Bacon started the rebellion because Berkley did things with out consulting Bacon, which undermined his military authority. It caused King Charles II to send 1,100 troops to Virginia and appoint a commission to determine its causes. The British rule had to get involved and put it in stricter rules, which made it harder for people to get power. Bacons Rebellion promoted people to fight for what they believe in despite its view as non-democratic. Bacons rebellion was seen as putting down democracy because it looked like a quicker way to get to slavery even though it was looked at this way it was the first of many revolutions against the government so it could be seen as a starting point of the American Revolution. Bacons Rebellion showed what seemed to be a separation from English rule.
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During the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson succeeded in defeating the incumbent, John Adams, and assumed the presidency. In terms of elections though, the election of 1800 itself was a fascinating election in that it a heavily-contested election and was effectively the first time political parties ran smear campaigns against each other during an election. The Republican Party attacked the Federalists for being anti-liberty and monarchist and tried to persuade the public that the Federalists were abusing their power through acts such as the Alien & Sedition Acts and the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion (Tindall and Shi 315). The Federalists, on the other hand, attacked Jefferson for his atheism and support of the French Revolution and warned that his election would result in chaos (316). By the end of the presidential election, neither Adams nor Jefferson emerged with his reputation completely intact. Still, rather than an election between Adams and Jefferson, the election of 1800 ultimately boiled down to a deadlock between Jefferson and his vice presidential candidate, Aaron Burr, who each held seventy-three electoral votes, resulting in the election was sent to the House of Representatives. In the end, the deadlock was resolved only by Alexander Hamilton, whose immense hate for Burr allowed Jefferson to claim the presidency. However, the election of 1800 was more than just a simple presidential election. The election of 1800 was the first peaceful transfer of power from the incumbent party to the opposition and represented a new step in politics, as well as a new direction in foreign policy that would emerge from Jefferson’s policies, and to this extent, the election of 1800 was a revolution.
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Civilization struggling for power against savagery was shown throughout Lord of the Flies. These opposite mindsets are shown battling while determining who had the right to speak during assemblies, when the group hunted pigs, throughout the struggle over Piggy’s glasses, and finally with Simon’s death. These polar opposites are shown throughout these examples and reveal the desperation of clinging to civilization while savagery took over the actions of the some of the boys in Lord of the Flies.
3. Jackson J. Spielvogel. Western Civilization Third Edition, A Brief History volume 1: to 1715. 2005 Belmont CA. Wadsworth Publishing
The American Revolution was the very first contemporary revolution. A revolution is defined as an aggressive takeover of a government or a command in order to get a new, better system in place. The American Revolution was fought between America and Great Britain. In 1755, the Revolution took place because America wanted and needed a change; they wanted to be independent from Great Britain. America craved liberty and independence. The American Revolution was the first historic time that a group of people would fight for independence for the reason of gaining a set of moralities that were universal and would act as laws. The main reason why Americans wanted to be free of the rule of Great Britain was because of trade regulations, and taxes. The American Revolution ultimately started because of the issues that the British economy put in place.
middle of paper ... ... Revolutionists fought for a government by the people and for the people, one where everyone was equal and had the right to vote. The Enlightenment changed the way people viewed politics, the government, and religion. It made the people realize what they wanted France to be, eventually causing them to revolt against the government, making France a republic.
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