Manifesto of October 17, 1905 Standards Alignment Background Informational Text Manifesto of October 17, 1905 Text Lesson: The following primary source can be used in the classroom for writing, reading, and speaking in a variety of ways. It is suggested that the documents be paired with images and speeches from early revolutionaries or a brief history of czars in Russia. A comparison of other monarchies that existed worldwide may help students assess the future of the royal family and the significance of the Manifesto. Additionally, its is suggested to use the documents as part of a text timeline of other documents and events that led to the full overthrow of the royal family and exit from WWI. Students are encouraged to write an analytical summary piece of the implications based on the documents provided and evaluate the accompanying history. With research, students may also assess the similarities and differences of other historical monarchies.
Standards Alignment California State Standards for Grade 10 10.1 Students relate the moral and ethical principles in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, in Judaism, and in Christianity to the development of Western political thought. 2. Trace the development of the Western political ideas of the rule of law and illegitimacy of tyranny, using selections from Plato s Republic and Aristotle s Politics. 3. Consider the influence of the U.S. Constitution on political systems in the contemporary world. 10.2 Students compare and contrast the Glorious Revolution of England, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution and their enduring effects worldwide on the political expectations for self-government and individual liberty. 3. Understand the unique character of the American Revolution, its spread to other parts of the world, and its continuing significance to other nations. 4. Explain how the ideology of the French Revolution led France to develop from constitutional monarchy to democratic despotism to the Napoleonic empire. 10.5 Students analyze the causes and course of the First World War. 1. Analyze the arguments for entering into war presented by leaders from all sides of the Great War and the role of political and economic rivalries, ethnic and ideological conflicts, domestic discontent and disorder, and propaganda and nationalism in mobilizing the civilian population in support of total war. 3. Explain how the Russian Revolution and the entry of the United States affected the course and outcome of the war. 4. Understand the nature of the war and its human costs (military and civilian) on all sides of the conflict, including how colonial peoples contributed to the war effort. 10.6 Students analyze the effects of the First World War. 3. Understand the widespread disillusionment with prewar institutions, authorities, and values that resulted in a void that was later filled by totalitarians. 10.7 Students analyze the rise of totalitarian governments after World War I. 1. Understand the causes and consequences of the Russian Revolution, including Lenin s use of totalitarian means to seize and maintain control (e.g., the Gulag). Common Core Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Science for Grades 9 & 10 Students: RH 1 - Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information. RH 2 - Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text. RH 3 - Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them. RH 4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social studies. RH 5 - Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis. RH 6 - Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts. RH 7 - Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text. RH 8 - Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author s claims. RH 9 - Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
Common Core Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Science for Grades 9 & 10 Students: WHST 1 - Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content. a. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audience s knowledge level and concerns. c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims. d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from or supports the argument presented. WHST 2 - Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes. a. Introduce a topic and organize ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience s knowledge of the topic. c. Use varied transitions and sentence structures to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic and convey a style appropriate to the discipline and context as well as to the expertise of likely readers. e. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic). WHST 4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. WHST 5 - Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. WHST 6 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically. WHST 7 - Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a selfgenerated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. WHST 8 - Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. WHST 9 - Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
The October Manifesto Background Information Bloody Sunday in 1905 had severely weakened any hope Nicholas II had of calling himself the father of his people. By the end of the year, St Petersburg had been affected by many strikes and political agitation in the factories was rife. On the first Sunday in March, an estimated 300,000 people had taken to the streets of the capital shouting out a variety of slogans. The most worrying for the authorities must have been All power to the Soviets while God save the tsar and open his eyes to our wants would have given the glimmer of hope that some of the people still demonstrated loyalty to Nicholas II. Even more worrying for the government was the fact that the demonstrations were spontaneous and not pre-planned and involved a curious mix of political aspirants. They called for a general change in how Russia should be governed but were not specific with details of what they actually wanted. A year of arbitrary arrests, strikes and political agitation did not bode well for the government. By the end of 1905, Nicholas could not even depend on the loyalty of his military. In June 1905, the crew of the battleship Potemkin' mutinied and the disaster that was the Russo-Japanese War compounded all the problems that the military was suffering. There is evidence that men in the army refused to move out to the east to fight the Japanese, fearing that any such move would result in their death. The fact that men in the army had not been paid for three months hardly helped matters. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Nicholas II was adamant that the autocracy would not surrender any of its authority. Therefore, as far as Nicholas was concerned any form of constituent assembly to represent the views of the people was considered to be a non-starter. However, such was the weakness of his position that he, characteristically, caved in. In March 1905, Nicholas promised that he would authorize the convening of a duma. This was exactly what Nicholas had promised would not happen. The first duma was weighted in favor of the landed class and had no share in legislative administration. But many saw it as an ominous sign that all was not well in the government. What of the workers of St Petersburg? At the end of 1905, the Union of Unions met. Paul Milykov was its president. In the early months of 1905, the factories of St Petersburg had witnessed a great deal of union activity. Some 46 out of a total of 87 unions in the city had joined the Union of Unions. Most of the people in it could be classed as left-wing liberals. The Union of Unions had two main beliefs. It wanted to use its power to demand reform in the working conditions in the factories and it also wanted to extend its activity beyond St Petersburg and to try and mobilize peasant support in the vast rural areas of Russia. However, the Union of Unions found that they had little support in the countryside. Many of the leaders in the Union of Unions were middle class liberals. They could not begin to empathize with the lives experienced by those in the countryside and by the spring of 1906, the Union of Unions had stopped most activity/agitation in the countryside. Russia appeared to be polarizing. The duma was a major issue of debate. Some saw it as a climb down by Nicholas II; others realized that its powers were remarkably limited. However, what the first duma did was to split those who wanted change. Right wing liberals saw the duma as a major victory while moderate socialists saw it as an intermediary success but one to be built on. They announced that they would boycott the elections for the first duma. Such a split played into the hands of the government. Those who opposed the tsar and failed to unite and organize themselves, played into the hands of the government. United, they would have been an awesome opponent. But while the many strands of opposition remained divided, the tsar remained apparently strong. However, in October 1905, a strike developed in St Petersburg that was spontaneous. The government in St Petersburg was up against a rival government within the city a government of the workers. It was during this strike that Leon Trotsky came to the fore.
Nicholas was faced with two choices more repression or some form of constitutional reform. He turned to Count Witte for advice. Witte believed that the military could not be fully trusted and advised Nicholas to go for reform. Witte drew up these reforms and Nicholas signed them on October 17th 1905. They promised the people of Russia: Civil liberties, Freedom of speech, Freedom of assembly, No laws to be introduced without the agreement of the Duma. However, the October Manifesto did not include any reference to the point that the Duma could not initiate legislation. Source Chris Trueman, The October Manifest, History Learning Site. April 2, 2014, 11:15am. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/october_manifesto.htm
Manifesto of October 17, 1905 Written by Emperor Nicholas II, under the influence of Count Sergei Witte, in October of 1905 as a response to the Russian Revolution of 1905 On the improvement of order in the state: The disturbances and unrest in St Petersburg, Moscow and in many other parts of our Empire have filled Our heart with great and profound sorrow. The welfare of the Russian Sovereign and His people is inseparable and national sorrow is His too. The present disturbances could give rise to national instability and present a threat to the unity of Our State. The oath which We took as Tsar compels Us to use all Our strength, intelligence and power to put a speedy end to this unrest which is so dangerous for the State. The relevant authorities have been ordered to take measures to deal with direct outbreaks of disorder and violence and to protect people who only want to go about their daily business in peace. However, in view of the need to speedily implement earlier measures to pacify the country, we have decided that the work of the government must be unified. We have therefore ordered the government to take the following measures in fulfilment of our unbending will: Fundamental civil freedoms will be granted to the population, including real personal inviolability, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and association. Participation in the Duma will be granted to those classes of the population which are at present deprived of voting powers, insofar as is possible in the short period before the convocation of the Duma, and this will lead to the development of a universal franchise. There will be no delay to the Duma elect already been organized. It is established as an unshakeable rule that no law can come into force without its approval by the State Duma and representatives of the people will be given the opportunity to take real part in the supervision of the legality of government bodies. We call on all true sons of Russia to remember the homeland, to help put a stop to this unprecedented unrest and, together with this, to devote all their strength to the restoration of peace to their native land. Source Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiiskoi Imperii, 3rd series, vol. XXV/I, no. 26803.