Revolutionary Tactics Focoism is a revolutionary strategy that was originally popularized by Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the Argentinian physician-turned-revolutionary who was instrumental in the success of the Cuban Revolution in the late 1950's. The strategy contends that revolutionaries need not spend great amounts of time trying to build a following or urging people to join their cause, and that a small, relatively unplanned band of dedicated revolutionaries can readily incite people to support its cause. If such a band attacks and makes its name known simply by taking action, focosim posits that such action will inevitably galvanize the masses of people to similarly follow suit. As such, there is little emphasis in this theory placed on preparing conditions for a revolution; focosim contends that no matter how unplanned or how disparate the seemingly random attacks of a revolutionary band is, the mere presence of such attacks will eventually be reflected in the masses of the people and soon enough incite them to revolt as well. The actions of the small band of roving revolutionaries, the so called revolutionary elite, are believed to serve as the focal point for the impending involvement of the other citizens. Chinese revolutionary Mao Tse-tung had a number of theories about how to successfully wage organized revolt or what is termed "revolutionary war" (Shy and Collier 1986, 815), certain facets of which were decidedly at variance with elements of focoism. One of the
The cultural revolution is a strange period in Chinese history laced with intense struggle and anguish. The cultural revolution mobilized the all of society to compete for all opposing factions that they belonged to (Ong, 2016). Mao mobilized the young people of society during a background of political turmoil, which helped Mao to mobilize the students in order to enforce his political legitimacy and ideas (Ong, 2016). Mao’s charismatic authority created his personality cult and most defiantly leant a helping hand in mobilizing the red guard movement (Ong, 2016) (Weber, 1946) (Andreas, 2007). No matter which faction of the red guard they belonged to, they all mobilized against their common enemy; the better off, upper class. (Ong, 2016). Multiple ideologies within the youth led red guard movement explain why the movement gained momentum and became incredibly powerful (Walder, 2009).
In regards to the American Revolution, the point that armed rebellion became inevitable arrived when after nearly five constant years of American colonist protesting. American 's had enough and needed to take a stand for the numerous inequalities they were forced to deal with. It was foreseeable that the American Revolution took place due to the unfair taxes that the British were giving Americans. Also, England was not allowing Americans their freedom, along with violence and the political dominance by the Parliament over the colonies by announcing the Stamp Act in 1765, which happened to nearly affect all Americans tremendously.
It was the first revolution to majorly succeed and change how people saw their countries, it was the American Revolution. The American Revolution was the first successful revolution against a European empire that provided a model for many other colonial peoples who realized that they too could break away and become self-governing nations (New world Encyclopedia, 1).The American Revolution was vital to history because ideas seen by other countries started a chain reaction. Many ideas were taken into account when the Americans revolted against Europe and all of these played important factors throughout history. Ideas about liberty, equality, representation, and natural rights were first seen as properly put into action to change old systems in the American Revolution. As the American Revolution was the first to succeed and earn freedom, it greatly affected countries all around the world on how they made freedom and equality a part of their government
A sneaky, stealthy war tactic called Guerilla Warfare won the American Revolutionary War for the Patriots. Guerrilla warfare is a tactic that was practiced a lot in the revolutionary war and was without a doubt one of the few reasons the Patriots defeated the British. Guerrilla warfare helped the colonists win the Revolutionary war. This tactic was used successfully used in the Battle of Trenton, the Battle of Lexington and Concord, and was widely practiced by Francis Marion in the south.
Between 1770 and 1776, resistance to imperial change turned into a full-on revolution. The American Revolution, also known as the Revolutionary War, was a time of revolting and political uprising, in which the 13 colonies separated from the British Empire, forming the independent nation known as the United States of America. Though the American Revolution began because the colonies wanted independence from Britain, many important historical events and revolts also lead to the tensions and resistance to what resulted in freedom and independence for the colonies from British rule. Events such as the Stamp and Sugar Acts, the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, Intolerable Acts, and the Continental Congress led to expanding tensions and soon to the outbreak of the American Revolution.
“The revolution was effected before the war commenced. The revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people.” - John Adams, 1818
When the American Revolution first broke out, many countries did not give the colonies more than a passing thought; most assumed that this rebellion would quickly be quelled by the world renowned British army and the colonies would once again be under their control. However, under the leadership of military officers and the guidance of laws and proclamations set forth by the Founding Fathers, America succeeded in their revolution against the control of Britain. Textbooks and teachers have praised America for years, stating that the revolution was a major turning point in world history, setting precedence for future revolutions, such as the French Revolution just a decade after the American Revolution ended. However, in later years, historians have begun to argue that the American Revolution was not the first of its kind, or unique in the way researchers previously stated. The Declaration of Independence, though groundbreaking in its own right, was influenced by documents and declarations in the English Civil War, such as the Petition of Rights and the English Bill of Rights. The Declaration of Independence, in turn, was a base for the authors and contributors of France’s Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen. Furthermore, for all the connections in the chain of antecedents for these documents and the documents themselves, such as philosophical and religious writings, they did not build off of each other in terms of giving rights to more and more people; women and other
There are many different views on how the American Revolution came to be and how it actually was. One way is that the colonists that had money and were known as the elite were trying to preserve their power from the British and this is what caused the revolutionary war. Then on the other hand before the revolutionary war occurred when the colonists were being over controlled by the British, then in result of the American Revolution the colonists were able to win against the British and become stronger, more united, and have the type government they wanted. As described in Gordon S. Wood’s essay Radical Possibilities of the American Revolution, the colonists only wanted to be free from the control of the British and the only way they could accomplish that was to have a war with Britain to show that they could hold their own.
The American Revolution is typically looked at as a conservative movement, but it seems most of the actions taken were very radical. They were fighting to defend their rights, governed and natural. The American Revolution was as radical as any other revolution, in a special 18th century way, and this seems to hold true while looking at the new waves of thinking. It involves the Whigs and Tories, and while they are at opposite sides of the spectrum, they consecutively agreed to not address and higher-law principles so they would not have to rework their entire system.. The Revolution worked against this, and the parties chose to pretend it was not a serious movement and act, as they believed it would not take any effect. More people got involved and all aspects of life began to be questioned and revolutionized. The Revolution seems to be radical in a more definitive way as it caused segregation of beliefs, the Declaration of independence, and
war, it is a sign of radical action. Britains' army was four times as big
Leading up to the American Revolution, were a chain of events that created a spark in the colonists to obtain independence from Great Britain. The American Revolution could not be tied to one single event but instead by the feelings and determination brought on by this chain of disgraceful actions. Gordon S. Wood explains what he believes caused the rebellion of the American colonists from Great Britain and how those causes help explain the outcomes of the revolution in his essay, “Radical Possibilities of the American Revolution.” Wood argues that the colonists were motivated to rebel against the British monarchy due to their need to preserve their liberties and through this revolution a radical change in government and American life occurred.
The reason I chose the American Revolution as my topic was mainly because to me I thought it was very relevant subject to speak upon and not many of us have knowledge of how we even became the United States of America. Basically the American Revolution was one of many steps taken to develop our democracy type of government that we do have today. Also it tells about how the original thirteen broke away from the British harsh government taxes. To be honest I chose this topic simply because it was and I’ve done a report on this back in grade school. These are the causes that led up to the war (not the signing because its already prior knowledge)
Mao Zedong leader of the (CDC) advocated guerrilla fighting which he said is “a powerful special weapon with which we resist the Japanese and without which we cannot defeat them. And it can only succeed if employed by revolutionaries because it is a political and military style. guerrilla warfare is a way for the Chinese to expel an intruder that has more arms, equipment, and troops. Where the industrial nations stressed such tangible military factors such as arms, logistics and manpower; Mao focused on the intangibles which are time, space and will. Not being able to fight a well- equipped army in the field, Mao avoided battles by giving territory to the
“The story of post-revolutionary America,” writes Rosemarie Zagarri, “is the story of how American women and men sought to define – and ultimately to limit and restrict – the expansive ideals they had so successfully deployed against Britain.” In this excerpt from Revolutionary Backlash, Zagarri depicts the extreme radicalism of the American Revolution, while also suggesting that there were some constraints to its extremism. Unlike the normal way of life in European government and society, Americans desired a nation in which the inherent rights and freedoms of individuals were recognized and respected. While these rights and freedoms were ultimately achieved, many groups of people were still left out. Women of all kinds, people of color,
reform naturally removed some of the assumptions for revolution and impeded its progress. This helped to sharpen the already intense conflicts that occurred between the reformists and the revolutionaries. In efforts to check this unfavorable tide, the Chinese student revolutionaries in Tokyo extended their war of words to physical combat. Unfortunately the revolutionaries victory over the reformists in Tokyo was not equal to (5=Zhaoxing, Li, “Seeking Common Ground,”