Liberty, Equality, Fraternity are the three golden words that sparked and crafted the history of the world for the past four hundred years. It is highly unjust if the three golden words are viewed just as any other word printed in a book which brings inconsequential results. Lets see the bloodshed and Holocaust crafted by these ideas by looking back at historical facts.
Ideas of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity most commonly attributed to a liberal ideals by a vast majority of the common public and media, but the ideas have a deep rooted birth in the imperialism, nepotism. The argument though hard to digest a few historical facts quoted can help.
American revolution which lasted for almost two decades is mostly studied as a series of events from imposing of stamp taxes which imposed a special stamp for every news paper, postal cards circulated in America, passing of numerous intolerable acts by the British parliament which restricted town meetings and allowed royal governors to host British soldiers in common citizen home , Boston tea party to declaration of independence and signing Treaty of Paris. The American revolution though resulted as a revolution majorly aimed at the ending of colonial rule for their oppressive regime, the ideals of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity was not actually established after crafting the Declaration of Independence(DOI). The Civil war which rose after a century, majority of the slaves supporting the British empire in the American revolution and the famous line DOI which says "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." Declaration of Independence by itself a clear example that gender, race discrimination and Slavery remained undefeated by American revolution and Liberty, Equality, Fraternity was not the end result of revolution. Wealthy nobles and Clergy who owned huge property ended up paying no taxes for their wealth and a powerful position in newly formed federal government and bicameral Congress that represented the senate became the ultimate beneficiary of American revolution.
Ironically, throughout the revolution France was under Monarch rule and a major ally of American forces against colonial British empire which itself was a monarch in the first place. Funding the American revolution to counter global hegemony of British colonial empire by Louis XVI lead to his own assassination.
The consequence of French revolution lies only in the aftermath of it, after the failed attempt of Louis XVI family to Netherlands and his assassination. Tennis court oath for the formation of new constitution by the third estate, formation of new national assembly to over throw the regime, Storming of Baseline in search of weapon lead to fear and tension among peasants on one side and an angry mob using gherao technique to take revenge on their land lords and fulfilling their personal desires.
Decade long revolution resulted in creating the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen propagated by its famous line "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.", but the very same line even allowed that social discrimination can be founded for general good. Revolution also resulted in creating political vacuum which only resulted in much bigger blood shed and dictatorship.
Rise of Maximilien Robespierre to the committee of public safety started a reign of terror, any enemy to the revolution was guillotined off their head leading to the rough estimated victim count of forty thousand of which more than eighty percent of them belonging to Third Estate . Noble classes joined National assembly which sold its land and announced church officials as state officials, this further offended poor peasants who were supposed to be reason for revolution in the first place.
Condition further worsened when ruling convention feared against Robesphierre uprising and executed him, this further lead to another political vacuum filled by Napoleon Bonaparte who was originally an army general and whose main goal was to conquer and win Britain and Russia leading to more dictatorial rule. Napoleon is known for nepotism and favoritism by crowning his own family members in his conquered lands.
Ideals of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity has a long history drenched in blood shed and a bad holocaust. Though the patriarchal, dynastic and dictatorial condition still existed in both the places even after the revolution, it kept its mark on many posterity which paved way and fueled momentum in the society for evolving into a global consortium cherishing the true ideals of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.
Akshayaram Viswanathan
