5 things that I found interesting in my research

Before 1991, when Somalia was ruled over by a dictator, there was extreme media censorship. For example, only one newspaper was allowed to be published. Dissent or disagreeing with the government was a violation of the law, punishable by death.

In 2001, the UNDP published the following statement: "the 21-year regime of Siyad Barre had one of the worst human rights records in Africa."

In 1980, as the government began to collapse in Somalia, massive inflation occurred. In some years the annual depreciation of the Somali Schilling was over 300% compared to the US Dollar. What occurred was similar to what happened in Germany before Hitler came to power. The citizens were robbed from their savings because their money no longer had any value.

By the 1980s Somalia was essentially funded by other nations. By the mid 1980s 100% of their development budget and 50% of their recurrent budged was funded by foreign aid. By 1987 more than 70% of Somalia's total operating budget was financed through foreign aid.

Those are some of the facts about what Somalia was like before its period of statelessness. My research paper will investigate the before/and after of this event.

Causes of WWII

I think that one key reason why World War II occurred was because the United States wasn't willing to get involved until 1941. Hitler was able to sweep across Europe with relative ease because nobody was willing to touch him. Most major nations in the world were still recovering from the massive bloodshed of World War I, and they weren't interested in becoming entangled in another fight. The United States was unaffected by Hitler's genocide and invasions of neighboring countries, and American citizens were strongly against another war that would once again significantly damage their already fragile economic structure. They only got involved once Pearl Harbor was bombed, as their nation's security was threatened.

The Soviet Union was the only military power who was willing to initially fight against Hitler, in part because they were geographically and historically involved with the situation. It is questionable whether they would have been able to defeat the Germans without additional assistance from the United States.

Had the US gotten involved sooner, they could have stopped Hitler before Germany grew into a global superpower, thus preventing a World War from breaking out.

How Our State Should Change: Problems with the Current State of Our Union: Taxation and Education

Where We Stand Today

Statism, Taxation and Education

A theme that seems to be taken for granted in America today is that we supposedly all want the same things. The essential idea that many people hold here is that the majority of the United States population has common interests; therefore, taxation is effective because it expresses the will of the majority. This is a Utopian (or perhaps fascistic) aspiration for society that has not yet been achieved. First, we must take into account how the poor, middle, and elite classes are extended the opportunity to get educated. Second, we must address what the different WE's want to do with tax dollars in our local communities, states and countries.

The opportunity to become a taxpaying citizen is not equally distributed in any society. Yes, Horatio Alger’s stories are moving, but there are Mexican day laborers who work harder than most Americans and make less than minimum wage. This makes the opportunity to pay for one's own healthcare very difficult. It appears once we make some coin, WE don't want to share revenue with others in the form of taxes for Education and Healthcare....well, fine. Create a fool proof system that guarantees everyone is contributing to the economic pie, and then pay for these essential needs. I am certain this will involve taking away some freedom of choice and liberty; all you have to do is look towards practical, real life examples of communism or fascism in the 20th century to understand this fact.

Often there exists a class of people (generally the ones with the power and wealth) that don't want to allow others to become well educated. This class often ends up keeping all the wealth and opportunities to themselves.

You will have a fight on your hands.

What will you do with that group, their political influence, and the power behind their wealth?

Education in many forms is necessary in order to compete for wealth creation opportunities. Unfortunately, when one becomes wealthy it is natural to become headstrong, conservative, protective, and over confident about how they created personal wealth.

Men kept women from education and wealth creation opportunities, Whites did this to Minorities and Jews, and the Upper class has done it to the lower classes since the beginning of time, and everyone has exercised their supposed inherent authority over youth in some manner or another.

Can we uncover this practice today? You have to dig deep into the legal framework of most societies to uncover institutionalized systemic practices that deny opportunities to others. Overt discrimination is no longer acceptable. Most developed societies can cover up systems that deny opportunity to groups with propaganda and anger over issues like illegal immigration. It is common to scapegoat a group and cover up the real truth. The wealthy can use their wealth to steer contracts and business opportunities in their direction and better educate their offspring to perpetuate a closed system. Often these people know exactly what they are doing, but the offspring have no clue until it is too late. Well...knowledge is power, and it is never too late to share.

Are we sharing with lazy people who are not contributing to the economic pie? This seems to be the dilemma we have with ourselves over issues like Healthcare. To calm the poorly informed citizenry, academics should get out of their Ivory Towers perhaps they can uncover who is contributing and who is undeserving of Healthcare from tax dollars.

The practice of financial aid is a perfect example of a way to reverse the continuation of a systemic practice that allows the wealthy to keep more of the wealth in the hands of a few families, as is affirmative action. While affirmative action may irritate some minority geniuses and conservative thinkers, it will produce people who can be voices for the problems in the system, i.e. a voice for the lack of opportunity in the system from education to job creation and in the work force. Financial aid gives opportunities to the less fortunate in education and brings fresh eyes into a system that has previously excluded them. It is not just about tax dollars, healthcare and education, but it is a fresh perspective on various unresolved issues.

Taxation originated as a process whereby the government would step in and redistribute money from the rich to the poor, as well as collecting a communal pot that could be used towards fulfilling societal desires. However, this money can get tied up or redirected by clever politicians and business leaders, and never fulfill its intended purpose: to create more opportunity for all citizens.

At some point back in history someone created the foundation that allows a family’s wealth to be created; this foundation may have been legal or illegal (whether it is via the free market and trade, slavery, or warfare). Once established their process of building wealth can be considered legitimate by the government for many years and generations. With this historical framework in mind, to take a snapshot today of and create policy that will affect future generations is irresponsible. It is not impossible to find many people from lower incomes with 4.0 GPA's, who have worked harder in school but will only make half as much at their job as you or I will someday.

Please feel free to comment below, but remember to be thoughtful and respectful.

(Because getting two points on a 10th grade extra credit blog assignment simply isn’t worth anyone’s time if you aren’t willing to sit down for a while, and think.)

Extra Credit Post: Secondary Source About Project

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/origins_01.shtml

One point this source makes about the Causes of WWI, is that there are many theories about the German's initial involvement the war. Many people believe that the Germans had been planning for an all out attack on the allied forces long before the war had even broke out. Historians believe this because the leaders of Germany had met roughly 18 months before the war, and it was clear that Wilhelm and many of his advisers were, to say the least, feeling particularly aggressive, and inclined to potentially spark a war.

Background and Analysis of TF Littler's First Diary Entry

Background:
Thomas Fredrick Littler's diary takes place in 1916, right in the middle of World War I. When Littler turned 17, he joined the Cheshire Regiment right when the war had just begun. He was stationed in four different locations for training before being sent off to war: Aberystwyth, Cambridge, Northampton and Norwich. In March of 1916, Littler was sent off to fight in WWI for the Foreign Service. After being shot in the leg in April 1916, Littler had no choice but to go back home. He got married in England and began a career in engineering, which would eventually lead him back to France where he had been fighting in a war years earlier. Many of his posts describe his struggle in battle, as he watched many of his comrades around him die of disease and war.

Analysis:
Littler's description of war conditions sounds extremely harsh. He talks about how many man were knee deep in mud, indicating that weather conditions were poor. Additionally, in this specific entry he described fighting in an abandoned town. All of the people had evacuated because the area was subject to heavy fire constantly. Littler describes how everything in the town had been destroyed except for one crucifix that remained untouched. This indicates that many of the soldiers may have been devout Christians who intentionally avoided shooting down the crucifix, or perhaps it was a mere coincidence that the cross still stood, since many Ottomans were not Christian.

Source (TF Littler's Diary, published by his descendants): http://www.first-world-war.co.uk/thediary.htm#06061916

Image to Supplement Document

This is a picture of TF Littler that was taken during the war, with his dog, during his training in Aberystwyth.

Extra Credit: Investigate one factor in one country that helped start World War I

The key event that sparked World War I was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. However, most historians only consider this to be the 'immediate' cause. There are many other long term explanations to the cause of WWI, such as imperialism. Many European nations were already fighting each other in Africa and the Americas over various territories. As empires and nations began to grow, they had to import massive amounts of resources to support their people and army. Most of these resources didn't come from Europe, as it is a fairly resource dry area, so the nations had to go abroad to find cheap/free labor and resources. Because of this competition for resources, tension began to build amongst European nations, eventually leading up to World War 1.

My Primary Document from WWI Diaries and Letters

June 6th 1916
We had to pack our kits, and proceed up the line, we passed through Bayencourt, and then in artillery formation to Sailly-au-bois, and from here we marched in single file along a very muddy road, where in places men sank knee deep in mud, at last we reached the ruined town of Hebuterne, 400yds from our front line, there are no civilians here as the place is subject to heavy fire every day, we were billeted in the cellars of an old farm house which was minus a wall and the roof.
I took a stroll round the place after tea and found it absolutely ruined a church at one end had been badly battered and the walls all smashed and the roof gone, one side of the tower standing only, but a noticeable fact was that a crufic [crucifix?] in a most conspicuous place remained untouched.

Source:

Littler, Chris. "First world war diaries, by TF Littler." First world war diaries: TF Littler. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2010. http://www.first-world-war.co.uk/thediary.htm#06061916.

This entry was the first entry (Dated: June 6th 1916).

Ishmabahu

Description of Our Nation's Flag:

Our flag consists of four quadrants. Each quadrant represents one aspect of our empire that is important to us.

Wheat and Grapes: The top left quadrant is golden-brown, representing wheat. The bottom left quadrant is colored purple, representing grapes. These two sources of food represent key parts of our diet. We use the wheat to feed our livestock. Addictionally, we can turn the wheat into flour through a process known as milling. This flour can be used for a number of staple foods such as bread, cookies, cake, and pasta. We often ferment the wheat as well as grapes (another one of our staple foods) in order to make alcoholic beverages. We also use olive trees, coral, and grapes in order to make a product that can be used to expand our island. Lastly, fish is another key part of our diet, and represents the final quadrant of our flag. Food is very important to us, and this is apparent in the way we designed our flag quadrants.

National Anthem

volo canere
nolo videre
nolo vicere
tu amabant nostro
omnes sunt sub nostro
(i want to eat, i dont want to see, i dont want to conquer, you will love us, everyone is below us)

Alliances and Connections

Ishmabahu does not have many alliances with other nations.  This is one, due to our inhospitable nature, and two, the fact that we have plenty of resources and power as a single nation.  Our small alliances lie with Italy, Egypt, and Greece.  This is mainly because they are out surrounding countries. Also, like us, they are rich in resources.  When we do trade, it is mostly with Egypt.  Our main imports from them are cotton and silk.  These products are very valuable and desirable around the world.  We can buy these cheap because of how close Egypt is, and sell them very high to foreigners and far away nations such as the U.S. and Mexico.

We often have trouble with negotiations because most nations consider us "hostile" or "savage."  However, this is only because we are very protective of our land, resources and people.  The people of Ishmabahu believe that involvement with other countries only creates more opportunities for conflicts and wars.  This is why we choose to isolate ourselves and trade very rarely.

National History
The province of Ishmabahu is located in the central Mediterranean. It is south of Sicily and is a small island. In the ancient word it played a major part in the connection between the Phonecians, Greeks, and Romans. After the destruction of Carthage at the end of the 3^rd Punic War, Ishmabahu officially became part of the Roman Empire. For the next 700 years, the Ishmabahu’s were under the rule of the Romans. They were given some rights, such as being able to go to Rome to vote as a recognized tribe and helped elect the Tribunes. Once the switch was made to Christianity by Constantine, tension began rising between Ishmabahu’s polytheistic ways and the new found Roman religion. After many bloody rebellions, they finally regained their independence and continued their polytheistic ways. An interesting aspect of their history is that after about 300 BC, the Ishmabahu’s remained isolated and participated in no trading. It was almost as if the Ishmabahu’s had been covered by a volcano, no one tried to take over the rebellious polytheistic island. Until 1575, all of the ports on this island were closed. They rellied heavily on wheat and fish, a main aspect of their diet even today. ON this day, curious French explorers went to the island.
The island by that point had hacked away at the edges of the island, creating sharp cliffs. This remains to be an amazing feat since the cliffs literally go straight into the ocean. There is one beach where the islanders perform sacred ceremonies to their gods on the night of a new moon. The French men attempted to make contact with the people, but the islanders savagely attacked the explorers torchering them for months before finally throwing them off the jagged cliffs. The French were so outraged that they arrived with guns and broke into the island. They saw absolute order.
ON the island the people dutifully farmed, switching their crops every season, maintaining the volcanic soil’s minerals. The island has an island a radius of about 20 miles so it is very important to save land. To quote from a solider’s journal
      “The houses are each no more than 3 rooms. Every family has only 4 children. ON the harvest moon, each family will send the oldest child to vote for the family on who will be the new leader. This is usually based of off the crop yield that that family has produced. While one family produces wheat, another will produce grapes and a tally is kept on which family has produced the most food. The eldest child in this family usually becomes the next ruler. The people speak in Latin. They have no idea of the outside world, it is like walking into an ancient village.”
Over the next 400 years, Ishmabahu caught up with the rest of the world. The 1700s was its golden age. While the rest of Europe was caught up with civil war, revolutions, and imperialism, Ishmabahu  created ingenious technology. They expanded their island using a product made from the bark of olive trees, coral, and the skin of grapes. Today Ishmabahu has increased its radius by 3 times since they were first visited by the French. They continue to grow every year. Although they have adopted many modern ways, their religion stays the same as well as their language and government. Who knows where Ishmabahu will go?

The Star-Spangled Banner

I chose the United States National Anthem because I had never read it in its entirety, despite the fact that the first stanza is often sung at major events in our country. The anthem's lyrics come from a poem written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key entitled, "Defence of Fort McHenry."
I don't believe that our anthem defines our nation. I can't speak for all 300,000,000+ Americans, but I can say that it does not inspire me or encourage me to do anything. For some, it may make them feel independent or free, as the anthem was written about the United States fighting against Great Britain in 1812.

Japanese Portrayal in Film

Hi,

I think that a lot of people liked my last presentation on Native Americans in film, so this time I'm going to do one on the Japanese (and how they were portrayed by the US). I haven't finished it yet, but it will be ready by tomorrow. I'm just posting this blog so that Ms. Xia knows what I'm planning on doing, and I will post the actual presentation as soon as I'm done making it.

Shackleton and Discovery

This is a picture of Ernest Shackleton's ship crashing in Antarctica. Shackleton was an explorer of the late 1800s and early 1900s. His goal was to become the first explorer, along with his crew, to cross Antarctica through it's central pole. During the expedition, their ship got stuck in the Antarctic ice. Two rescue ships were sent, but neither could get close enough to Discovery (the original ship) to free it from the ice. However, in february of 1904, some of the Antarctic ice began to break around Discovery, and Shackleton's ship was freed.

Marx + Smith Handout

I think that the outcomes of the Industrial Revolution, at first, only helped improve the lives of the wealthy. The rich people took advantage of the poor, and left them to live on unlivable wages. The rich were the only people who could afford luxuries, and other inventions that came out of the revolution.

However, over time, inventions and other luxuries began to decrease in price. Workers gained more rights, as they formed unions and America moved towards social equality for all.
I agree with Marx that people were unequal during this era, however, I also agree with Smith that capitalism can be successful, as long as we keep those with capital in check.

The Industrial Revolution was a horrible part of America's history: it was full of oppression, discrimination, manipulation, and greed. However, it did give birth to economic success, revolutionary inventions, and global development in the long run.

Extra Credit blog: Reflection on the Game

Extra Credit blog: Reflect on the game we played:

What happened to your family?

At first, I was living alone in Manchester. I was making enough money to survive on basic necessities, but I was by no means living in luxury. However, later on I decided to bring my six family members over from Africa. I chose to do this because the amount of money they had the potential to earn, was much greater than the costs of extra food, housing, clothing, and other necessities. By the end of round 2, my family was able to afford extremely luxurious things, such as tailored clothes and expensive foods. However, we chose to continue to live modestly. The only luxuries we purchased were regular visits to the beach.

What did you feel about the Industrialists?

The industrialists were pretty greedy: they paid us as little as they could get away with, and worked us like dogs in the coal mines and factories. At one point there were rumors floating around that people wanted to create unions, but no one was ever organized enough to actually start one.

How were you able to get jobs?

I was able to get a job by speaking with the industrialists. I ended up finding a job at the coal mine, while my wife and kids became tailors.

What made life better the second round?

In the second round, the costs of everything decreased. Because I was spending less money on things like food, and a home, I was able to afford some of the pricier items. Also, in the second round I brought my family over from Africa. Because I spent no money on them and forced them to work for the industrialists, I was able to make a lot of money off of them.

Would you have followed Marx?

I would have supported Marx because he wanted to give workers more power in society. He believed in the formation of unions, and was against the exploitation of the lower class. Also, Marx wanted the proletariat to be in control of the government, rather than the King or the upper class. Marx would have significantly improved my livelihood during this era.

Creative Story About My Character's Move to Manchester, My 'Roots'.

My name is !Xobile. I am a 6'6, 250 pound, 18 year old man from Africa. I have a devoted wife named Amara, and five beautiful children.

A few weeks ago, I was minding my own business, searching through the forest for some watermelons to eat...when suddenly I saw some white men in the distance. Never having seen a white man before, I, being the brave tribesman that I am, decided to investigate.

Bad idea.

Next thing I knew, I had woken up here, in chains, on this pitch black ship cellar. Weeks later, and I still have no idea why I was kidnapped, or what the white men want from me. Every once in a while the white man brings me some nasty food, which I always spit back in his face. I do not eat the food of the enemy. I miss the succulent chicken of Africa, and the sweet purple juices of the grapevine...but I would rather starve to death, than show any kind of gratitude towards my kidnappers.

Yesterday, the white men took me up to the top of the ship, and brought out a long, thick whip. I think they were trying to ask me a question, but I could not understand them at first. Then they began gesturing at me, pointing at my chest and calling me, 'Seymour.' I shook my head in disapproval, and shouted my true name, !Xobile! They don't understand that my name is sacred to me; it has been passed down generation to generation, all the way from our first ancestors. I refused to answer to the white man's call, 'Seymour Cox'. I did not sleep at all that night, as the constant pains of the whip kept me writhing in my chains for many hours.

I have begun to learn a little bit of the white man's tongue over the past few weeks. Whenever I am allowed to visit top the top level of the ship, I always hear white men talking about Manchester. Whenever they do, their eyes get all wide, and excited looking. I'm not sure what Manchester is, but if its as truly wonderful as they say it is, then maybe things are finally looking up for me.
----------------------------------------------------------
This story is vaguely based off of the TV/book series, 'Roots'.

The Story of Samuel Slater

After reading about the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th century, I was curious as to how it began.

Samuel Slater is known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution" because he brought much of the early 19th century technology to the United States, and created some of the first American factories and mills.

During the 1800s, England had many emigration laws that prevented scientists and engineers from sharing their technological secrets with other parts of the world. Every attempt that had been made towards smuggling English technology to the United States had failed. However, instead of trying to bring actual inventions, documents, or manuals to the united states, Samuel Slater memorized how mills were built, and essentially sold this knowledge to the Americans once he reached New York. He created the first cotton mill in America, and although at first it struggled to turn a profit at first, after incorporating other revolutionary technologies the mill became a huge success.

Extra Credit Blog: The Trials of Robespierre and Napoleon

What interesting facts did you learn through the trial preparation process?

The trial process was a great way for me to prepare for the quest we had yesterday. In the quest, we basically had to answer a few general multiple choice questions about the revolutions, and then write about six significant figures from the revolution: Robespierre, Napoleon, and four people of our choosing. Having said that, the trial was a really good way to prepare us for this. We had to learn as much information as we could about the witness we were representing, the person we were crossing, and/or the person we were directing. Also, we learned about Napoleon and Robespierre by simply listening to our peers during the trial.

Why do you think it is interesting?

As anyone from our history class would tell you, I love debating. Put simply, this project allowed me to argue and discuss controversial issues with my peers. Its not that I derive pleasure out of defeating other people's arguments, but rather that I get a genuinely good feeling out of getting someone to just think about a difficult issue, and perhaps, even changing their mind.

Did you learn anything beyond historical knowledge? (skills, research strategies, etc)

Our history mock trial helped me prepare for the mock trial tryouts that I had last week. Before the history trial, I knew very little about how our judicial system worked; however, by the time we had completed it, I had a full understanding of key judicial concepts, such as examinations, opening and closing statements, and objections. I utilized these kinds of skills not only in history class, but also in mock trial.
Also, I realized how important it is to know about what you are presenting. Its not enough to simply memorize a few important points; in order to be a skilled presenter, one has to talk about the topic as if they are truly an expert on it.
Lastly, I realized that time management and organization must be mastered in order to succeed in just about any debate, presentation, project, assignment, etc. Our group didn't use class time as effectively as we could have, and we ended up having to do most of the work for the trial over the weekend and on monday. Although everyone got their own part done, we didn't get a chance to collaborate or practice before the trial, which significantly hurt us in the end.

Thoughts on Napoleon Trial

Here are my thoughts on last weeks trial.

The biggest problem was the fact that people simply did not know their witnesses well enough. But how can we blame them, when they were only given a two weeks to prepare?

Earlier this year I joined Mock Trial. Mock Trial was, in many respects, very similar to the 'mock trial' that we had in class last week. Still, I think a lot can be learned from the actual Mock Trial program, considering that the organization that designed this program has worked out a really good way to run it effectively. For one thing, they have put a lot more thought and effort into it (over the course of many years) than Ms. Xia could ever have done in just a few weeks. I'm not saying this to take a stab at Ms. Xia and her teaching methods; Rather, I'm merely pointing out that we can learn a lot from an organization that has been doing this kind of activity for much longer than we have.

In Mock Trial, each team is given a set of witness statements. They assign one person to each witness, and that person has to basically memorize their statement in order to fully understand who they are, how they want to portray themselves, and how they were involved to the case.

The prosecution and the defense attorneys can essentially do two things when examining the witnesses:
They can ask the witness about facts that were on the witness statement
OR
They can ask the witness to draw reasonable inferences based on the evidence.
BUT
They cannot ask the witness to make up things that were not on the witness statements. Also, the witnesses cannot (for the most part) give their opinion unless they are an expert witness, or they are drawing a reasonable inference from the facts.

Because of the fact that in our 'mock trial', the examiners were allowed to ask about ANYTHING that the real historical figure would know, we basically ended up with witnesses that were unable to answer the questions asked of them (simply due to a lack of historical knowledge). This is completely understandable; I would never expect a witness to spend hours and hours every night, memorizing every single fact and details about their lives. It's simply not a realistic, fair, or even necessary goal to set for these kinds of mock trials.

I think it would have worked better if the witness had to write statements, and the statements would be given to both the prosecution and the defense. Each side could then inform the witness of key things/important facts that they might have left out, and perhaps Ms. Xia could approve a final copy of these statements. This would require much less excessive historical research on the part of the witnesses. It would also give us more time to prepare for other aspects of the trial.

Lastly,
I've only been in Mock Trial for a few weeks now, so I may have totally misrepresented a lot of facts about the program. If I did, (Marjory) feel free to leave a comment below, and I'll edit my post accordingly.

Jeopardy

For my presentation I'm designing a game of Jeopardy, with all of the questions relating to the revolutions that we have studied. As the Revolutions unit comes to a close, I think this would be a good way to help people review for the test. Also, I think it would be nice for the class to learn and enjoy themselves at the same time.

On Moodle, it says that the rest of the unit will be spent in the library, or preparing for the trial. I think it would work well if we played the game on 10/21 (right before our exam, on the review day). I know this is a couple weeks away, but I imagine that the game will potentially take up a large chunk of class time (that is, depending on how I end up designing it). I just wanted to let Ms. Xia know now, so that she could plan class time accordingly.

Or, if you guys don't really think Jeopardy would be a fun/interesting/productive use of class time, just let me know in the comments. I just thought it might be a fun way to end the unit, but I'm always open to changing things up.

(also, credits to Elle and Dylan for originally coming up with the idea)

Ill be using a PowerPoint presentation for the game.

-Cy

Post-Revolution Estate System

After reading Augustine's post, I decided to do a little bit more research about the estate system and the taxing of different social classes: What sparked the revolution, and did the estate system help it, or hold it back? What happened to the estate system after the revolution ended?

I discovered that one of the problems in France (that eventually lead to the Revolution) was that the peasants were over-taxed, and the 1st estate and 2nd was (for the most part) immune from having to pay taxes. This was one of the reasons why France fell into bankruptcy. All of their income was being sucked out of the lower class, until the peasants barely had enough money to even survive. Throughout the 1700s, there were various propositions attempting to fix France's tax system, but none were successful. The attempts by various ministers, including Chrétien de Malesherbes, and Jacques Necker to tax the nobles, were constantly fought against by the courts. The lower class (despite representing 97-98% of the population) simply did not have enough political power to pass these kind of reforms. Attempts to tax the upper two estates continually failed, up until the 1780s when the revolution began.

After the revolution, it seemed like the estate system essentially ceased to exist (at the very least, it lost most of its relevance/significance). in 1789, the feudal system was abolished, and class distinctions (between the three estates) began to fade away.