The Day of Tiles Precursor to the French Revolution

Although the French Revolution is usually said to have started in 1789 with the actions of the Estates-General, one city in France lays claim to an earlier start: in 1788 with the Day of Tiles. Background In late eighteenth-century France  there existed a number of ‘parlements’ with various judicial and governmental powers covering all of France. They liked to think of themselves as a bulwark against royal despotism, although in practice they were as much a part of the ancient regime as the king. Yet as financial crises beset France, and as the government turned to the parlements in desperation to have their monetary reforms accepted, the parlements did emerge an opposition force arguing for representation instead of an arbitrary tax. The government tried to get around this obstacle by forcing through laws that would effectively shatter the power of the parlements, reducing them to simply panels of arbitration for the elite. Across France, the parlements gathered and rejected these laws as illegal. Tension Erupts in Grenoble In Grenoble, the Parlement of Dauphinà © was no exception, and they declared the laws illegal on May 20,  1788. The magistrates of the parlement felt they had support from a large group of urban workers angry at any challenge to their city’s status and the prospect of their local income. On May 30th the royal government ordered the local army to banish the magistrates from the town. Two regiments were duly sent, under the command of the Duc de Clermont-Tonnerre, and as they arrived on June 7th agitators stirred up feeling within the town. Work was shut down, and an angry crowd marched to the house of the parlement’s president, where the magistrates had gathered. Other crowds formed up to shut the city gates and harangue the governor at his house. The Duc decided to counter these rioters by sending in relatively small groups of soldiers who were armed but told not to fire their weapons. Unfortunately for the army, these groups were too small to coerce the crowds but large enough to enrage them. Many protesters climbed to their roofs and started hurling tiles down onto the soldiers, giving the day a name. Royal Authority Collapses One regiment stuck to their orders, despite injury, but another opened fire causing casualties. Literal alarm bells were rung, summoning assistance for the rioters from outside the city, and the riot increased in intensity. As the Duc scrabbled for a solution that was neither a massacre nor a surrender he asked the magistrates to leave with him to calm things down, but they felt the crowd would prevent them from leaving. Finally, the Duc pulled back, and the mob seized control of the city. As the governor’s house was looted, leading magistrates were paraded through the town and asked to host a special session. While these magistrates were heroes to the crowd, their reaction was frequently one of terror at the chaos developing in their name. Aftermath As the order was slowly restored, older magistrates fled the city for order and peace elsewhere. A number of younger members remained, and they began turning the impromptu riot into a politically important force. An assembly of all three estates, with improved voting rights for the third, was formed, and appeals sent to the king. The Duc was replaced, but his successor failed to have any effect, and events outside Grenoble overtook them, as the king was forced to call an Estates General; the French Revolution would soon start. Importance of the Day of Tiles Grenoble, which saw the first major breakdown of royal authority, mob action and military failure of the French Revolutionary period, has thus claimed itself to be the ‘cradle of the revolution.’ Many of the themes and events of the later revolution had a precursor in the Day of Tiles, from crowds changing events to the creation of a modified representative body, all a year ‘early’.

The Death Of Robert F. Kennedy - 2176 Words

The American Dream: success, happiness, riches, stability; all of these went out the window after the stock market crash in 1929. As we’ve all read about in history books and listened to the monotonous lectures in high school, America was a place of promise and full of revolutionary new ideas. Men were investing, women were working, and kids could play in the streets with a twinkle in their eye. Arthur Miller was the prodigal son of hard-working American immigrants who struggled through the depression. Married three times, once to the famous Marilyn Monroe, Miller was a critic at heart; chasing the American Dream in the 1940’s until the sole wore out of his shoes. Because America has been bigger on promises than any other country, she†¦show more content†¦Backing down or slowing up was never an option because the kids needed clothes, the refrigerator needed a new belt, the old Chevrolet needed a new carburetor, or the life insurance was due. Drive and ambition was never lacking in the heart of Willy Loman. Whether it was driving 4oo miles a day to pitch a sale in a place where no one knew him, or put new plaster on the ceiling of his worn and dilapidated home, Mr. Loman could support his family and keep them off the bottom. Well, until he aged. Pride can build a man into a great hero or it can tear a man apart; as was the case for old Willy Loman. He compares his sons to the Greek God’s, Adonis in particular, when he talks about their physical appearance. He also calls his eldest son, Biff, Hercules, as he is walking onto the football field (Rosinger, Web). Biff was the promise child, the goose that laid the golden eggs. He had good looks that aroused the girls in high school and football skills that attracted three different college scouts. What Biff lacked was brains and dedication, and Willy knew it. Through a family friend Bernard, Willy found out that Biff was on the verge of flunking his final math class and losing all schola rship offers and any chance of a successful future. Here comes the pride though that let it go. The end of the year came and Biff failed his senior year, and that is when a lot more things ended between Biff and Willy. After failing, Biff races to Boston to beg his dad,Show MoreRelatedEssay about The Death Of Robert F. Kennedy1304 Words   |  6 Pages The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and its effects on the modern world. Robert Francis Kennedy was born on November 20, 1925 in Brookline Massachusetts. 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Ray Charles free essay sample

I decided to do my paper on Ray Charles because he Is a staple In music history. He was always a very influential person in music and revolutionized music by mixing the sound of gospel with blues. Personally, my favorite song to listen to preformed by Ray Charles is Hit the Road Jack, which is a part of the blues genre written by Percy Mayflies.The reason I enjoy this song is because it explains a story of a woman who is fed up with a good-for-nothing man who tries to get her back but she does not fall for his deception. I enjoy songs that explain a situation that is going on or a song that is telling a story. You can really get into it with the song when you listen because you get wrapped up in what Is happening. Ray Charles Robinson was born September 23, 1930 In Albany, Georgia. We will write a custom essay sample on Ray Charles or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He was born to the parents of Earth (Williams) Robinson, a sharecropper, and Bailey Robinson who was a railroad repairman, a handyman and mechanic.When he was still a baby, his family moved to a poor black community on the west side of Greenville, Florida. He became interested in music at young age when he was at Mr.. Wiley Pits Red Wing Cafe. He would watch Pit play the piano while he was the cafe. Mr.. Pit would often watch Ray and Rays little brother, George. Ray started to lose his sight at the age of five and became completely blind by the age of seven from glaucoma. From then he began attending Florida School for the Deaf and Blind from 1937 to 1945.Here at school, he began to develop his musical talent. He left school in 1946 when his mother died and moved to Jacksonville, Florida to live with two of his mothers friends. There he began his music career where he played the Plano for bands at the Ritz Theatre In Lava for over a year for $4 a night. In 1951, he Joined Swing Time records where he took the name of Ray Charles. The following year, Swing Time collapsed and he signed to Atlantic Records. Ray Charles married six times with twelve children by nine different women.On November 14, 1961, Charles was arrested for narcotics in an Indiana hotel room. The detectives found heroin, marijuana and other items. The charges were dropped because of the way the evidence was obtained. Ray stated that he had been a drug addict since the age of 16. By 1 964, he was caught again and arrested for possession of marijuana and heroin. After this he released a line of songs using drug references n the title and lyrics such as, Lets Go Get Stoned. On June 10, 2004, he died due to liver failure in his home In Beverly Hills, California.Blues Is a musical form and a music genre that came from African-American communities mostly from the Deep South of the united States around the end of the 19th century that came from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants. World War II Is when blues changed from acoustic to electric blues and the opening of blues music to a variety of people, especially white listeners. In the sass because many of songs had to do with lost love and hard times as do many blues ones do contain these characteristics.The popular Ray Charles song, Hit the Road Jack was composed by Percy Mayflies in 1960 when it was recorded by singer, song-writer, and pianist, Ray Charles. It is in the Allegro tempo. The instrumentals of this song include a piano, trumpet, drums, and background singers. The vocals included a duo with him and another female throughout the song. The form was ABA with a verse chorus form. The stage presence involved Ray Charles sitting at the piano performing with a band behind him and his duet singer next to him as if they are in an argument.