Example research essay topic: American And Iranian Revolution - 1,236 words

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The American and Iranian Revolutions where led by the people of that nation in search of their rights. They were discontent with their dictatorship. During the American Revolution the British were taking advantage of the Americans. The British government needed more money to pay its army so they passed a tax on the colonies called the Stamp Act.

This angered many of the Americans and they devoted themselves in a full out war. On the other hand, the Iranian revolution began because the Iranian population wanted to change its monarchy government to a constitutional government. During the elections, promises were made but never kept; which angered the people. The Iranian and the American Revolutions compared have many similarities and differences. A bureaucracy is a system in which authority derives from legally defined offices rather than from hereditary position or privileges-thrives when governments abolish such privileges. Revolution, therefore, had permanent bureaucracy as a likely outcome (Weber 32).

In both the American and Iranian Revolutions, the people were fighting for a type of bureaucracy called democracy. Individuals wanted equal rights. Unfortunately, the cheapest way of satisfying the need for administration was to leave almost the entire local administration and lower judicature to the landlords (Goldstone 32), this was the case in the Iranian and American Revolutions. The rulers were beginning to take away the rights and privileges of the citizens. The wealthiest people were the highest officials.

During the times of the revolution, the nations were being led by a single power. In Iran, the Shah was the individual with the most power. During the boiling points of the revolution, Pahlavi was shah. He was the dictator and led a Monarchy. In the American Revolution, the leader was the King George III of the Parliament. Being the king made him the most powerful individual in rule.

These high authoritative positions allowed them to make their own rules. In the Iranian Revolution, the people were tired of their Monarchial government and wanted a constitutional government. The candidates who would run for Shah would promise the people a constitutional government and once they were elected into office, they would not change the system because it benefited them. In 1974 - 1975 alone, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy was found guilty of pocketing $ 3. 7 million, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force (the Shahs brother-in-law) was implicated in a $ 5 million kick-back scheme. By 1977 the sheer scale of corruption had reached a boiling point. The Pahlavi Foundation had become a blatant method of grabbing wealth for the royal family.

Senior officers obtained vast wealth from commissions. Senior officers who ran companies such as Iran Air and the National Oil Company hardly bother to conceal their extortions. Even conservative estimates indicate that such corruption involved at least a billion dollars between 1973 and 1976 (Goldstone 132). During the Iranian Revolution, the general middle and lower class income had increased, therefore, their taxes increased as well. The people were making more and paying more to the government but they were not seeing their money put to work. It was true that for many families the standard-of-living improves as they gained access to modern apartments and consumer goods, especially refrigerators, televisions, motorcycles, air conditioners, and private cars.

But it was also true that for many urban families the quality-of-life deteriorates as the shanty towns proliferates, the air became more polluted, and the streets turned into traffic nightmares (Goldstone 131). In contrast to the American Revolution, the Americans were generally making the same income but this time they were spending some of their income on taxes. The Iranian government dealt with power, because it controlled the population, and self-interests, because the Shah didnt want to change from a monarchy to a constitutional government since it benefited him. In comparison to the Iranian Revolution, during the American Revolution, the people were trying to get away from the rule of the British Parliament. The immigrants who had come to American originally came to get away form British rule, and yet the British still ruled overseas.

The British taxed the colonies on all British goods, and moved in troops to insure peace and collect taxes. Through the [Stamp Act of 1765 ], the British were taxing the colonial population to pay for the French war, in which colonists had suffered to expand the British Empire (Zinn 61). They fought for the prestige of Britain. Even though it was not in the self-interest of American to fight in the French war they still did so to help out their allies, the British; and on top of that they were being taxed. The Americans were not only upset by this invasion but also felt that King George III was going to take away their personal freedom and privileges.

The people felt that it was unfair that they were being taxed for the British army since it wouldnt benefit them. Because of this controversy, several patriotic heroes arose to help the people. One of these heroes goes by the name of Samuel Adams. Samuel Adams and a host of other Bostonian's, linked to the artisans and laborers through a network of neighborhood taverns, fire companies, and Caucus, espoused a vision of politics that gave credence to laboring-class views and regarded as entirely legitimate the participation of artisans and even laborers in the political process (Zinn 61).

This showed that the laboring-class has credibility and should have the right to speak out. What the laboring and lower class thought normally would not could towards the words of the rich and elite. They organized various types of boycotts where the Americans would not buy any types of British goods. The people also started destroying British goods, for example, the Boston Tea Party; where the Americans dressed up as Indians and threw all the British Tea, that came into the harbor of Boston, into the ocean (January 14).

In comparison to the Iranian Revolution, during the times of the revolution Ayatollah Khomeini arose as a religious leader. He led strikes of the Tehran's bazaars where all the bazaars closed down. He organized the Iranian population so that they can successfully overthrow the government. Within the boarders of America inhabited the rich five percent. This five percent were the richest families in the American, and what they said was basically rule because they owned Private Property. Gray Nash's study of city tax list shows that by the early 1700 s, the top 5 percent of Bostons taxpayers controlled 49 % of the citys taxable assets (Zinn 60).

During the times of the American Revolution the top five percent would hold private meeting discussing issues. Others were generally not allowed to join these meetings because they werent elite. So they would create their own. Their constant Attendance there generally are the majority and outvote the Gentlemen, Merchants, Substantial Traders and all the better part of the Inhabitants (Zinn 60). More people joined these meetings than the meetings of the top five percent. There was a large division between the rich and the poor.

The poor colonists were more upset with the top five percent then the British. The colonists were mainly upset with the fact that things were being hidden from them just because they were not apart of the top five percent. Mechanics were demanding political democracy in the colonial cities: open meetings of representative assemblies, public galleries in the legislate...

Research essay sample on American And Iranian Revolution