This week marks the anniversary of the crushing defeat of the 1871 Paris Commune, where the working class briefly seized power for the first time in history. Continuing our series on the revolutionary press, Joe Russell outlines how the written word was the lifeblood of the Communards’ struggle.
In 1848, Europe was plunged into revolutionary struggle. It was in context that the young Marx and Engels laid the foundations of scientific socialism. Alongside the famous Communist Manifesto, they used the revolutionary press to analyse the unfolding struggle.
In the latest instalment of our series on the revolutionary press, we turn to the Chartist movement. Their paper, the Northern Star, played a key role in transforming the movement into a genuine revolutionary force, and paved the way for Lenin’s conception of the revolutionary press.
In the latest instalment of our series on the revolutionary press, we turn to pioneers of revolutionary journalism like Marat and Hébert, who represented the most radical elements of the Great French Revolution, and paved the way for future revolutionaries.
In this latest installment in our revolutionary press series we turn to examine the American Revolution. Known as a revolution of ideas, it saw the press transformed into an essential weapon of popular anger – and a disseminator of revolutionary ideas.
In the 17th Century, the decaying feudal system clashed with the emerging bourgeois class, leading to revolutionary upheaval. Illegal revolutionary pamphlets fueled this dissent – not only commenting on events, but agitating amongst radicals to organise against the rotten feudal order.
Kicking off our series on the history of the revolutionary press, we look at the origins of the printing press, Martin Luther’s sensational denunciations of the Catholic Church, and the role of the printed word in the revolt against feudalism in Germany.