Chapter 17,18 and 20

Chapters 17 18 and 20 are some of the only chapters I have read so far that are covering material I remember covering in the past.

Chapter 17 is about the all the different atlantic revloutions. The chapter compares the North American Revolution, The French revolution, The Haitian revolution and the Spanish revolution. At the end of these revolutions three movements were taking place. The abolitionists sought the end of slavery; Nationalists hoped to do away with disunity and foreign rule; and feminists tried to end or at least mitigate, male dominance. What I found most intriguing to read about in this chapter was the feminist movement. This was the third "echo" from the Atlantic revolutions. We have come along way in terms of women being equal to men, but it is still a thriving issue in some parts of the world. It was interesting to read about the start of the feminist movement, and how the French purposed new ways to possibly re-create human societies on new foundations, thus striking women's attention and becoming active in these events insisting that the revolutionary ideals must include women. To this day we are still fighting to have some rights as equal to men. Some examples we still fight are companies that hire based on gender and salary. Now we know technically there are laws that are supposed to prevent this but it doesn't matter more often times then not if the company is old fashioned they will hire the male over the female. On the flip side we have come along way, we now have men who stay at home with our youth while the woman is the one working providing for the family. I think this is awesome that our society has come this far in to make this acceptable.

Also what I found interesting to read about in chapter 17 was the argument John Locke proposed " a social contract between ruler and ruled should last only as long as it served the people well." To me, this statement can create endless conversation and debate.  I personally would have to agree with this statement because why should anyone rule if they are no longer serving people well. The book also talks about "popular sovereignty" which means the authority to govern derived from the people and not from god. It seems that most of the revolutionists ideas derived from the European Enlightenment by being shared across the world in newspapers, books, and pamphlets. Because of this people took it into their own hands that political and social arrangements could be improved by human action. This is where the ideas where expressed through revolution.