By reintroducing the republic as the form of state, the French Revolution of 1848 also revived memories both joyful and terrifying of the First Republic (1792-1799). Despite its troublesome...Show moreBy reintroducing the republic as the form of state, the French Revolution of 1848 also revived memories both joyful and terrifying of the First Republic (1792-1799). Despite its troublesome connotations, radical republicans enthusiastically seized upon the heritage of the Jacobin regime. Through a case study of the newspaper Le Père Duchêne. Gazette de la Révolution, this thesis studies the relationship of these radicals with the revolutionary past. Its findings suggest that the latter had three functions in radical republican discourse. First, given that Le Père Duchêne extensively invoked Jacobin ideology, rhetoric and symbolism, the past constituted a source of inspiration. Secondly, by proclaiming itself as heir to Robespierre and the likes, Le Père Duchêne deployed the past as a means of legitimacy. Since the traumatic memory of the Jacobin Reign of Terror seriously undermined the latter, the journal rewrote the narrative of the guillotine, presenting it as the necessary outcome of circumstances created by the adversaries of the Jacobins: the Gironde. Finally, it used this altered image of the past as an analogical frame projected onto the present. By equating the acts of contemporary moderates with the Girondists’ purported treason in the past, Le Père Duchêne understood 1848 as the continuation and eventually culmination of the very same strife between malevolent bourgeois reaction and virtuous popular republicanism.Show less
After the death of Franco in 1975, Spain undertook a process of democratization (The Transition). In many aspects, this process constituted a great example for many other democratic transitions....Show moreAfter the death of Franco in 1975, Spain undertook a process of democratization (The Transition). In many aspects, this process constituted a great example for many other democratic transitions. However, some shadows still overflies the political system emanated from that process. During the decade of the 2000's, many associations started a process for the recuperation of those forgotten through the 'Pact of Silence': a tacit agreement by the main political actors of The Transition, which left aside the memory of the victims of the dictatorship, in order to consolidate a weak emerging democracy. This social demands finally generated a Law of Historical Memory (2007). However, many political and social sectors in Spain considered it as insufficient. With the change of government, in 2012, this law was 'de facto' derogated. The spanish recent memory, then, constitutes an active weapon in the spanish political battlefield; still nowadays, and despite the law. This thesis, through oral interviews to testimonies of different generations, seeks for the differences in the discourse about the historical memory between those who lived The Transition, and those who did not. Does it exist a generational gap? And, in case of being affirmative this question, could it entail some political consequences?Show less