Intervention
If there is one thing that both fundamentalists and reformers will agree on, it’s that the Iranian people’s long march to freedom began during the Constitutional Revolution or Mashruteh of 1906-1909. Today, both sides insist, that they’re the true defenders of the mashruteh legacy.
Iran’s constitutionalist uprising was the first significant revolution of the 20th century. It was an expression of rage against a corrupt and bankrupt monarchy. Much like today’s movement, it didn’t demand an overthrow of the prevailing system, but it unified the country’s merchants, intellectuals, and clerics in demanding nothing more than an elected parliament and a constitution. It resulted in the principles of equality, personal rights, universal public education, and freedom of the press. It was the first document of its kind in the Middle East, and it has formed the basis of Iran’s political debates ever since.
Initially, Iran’s shah Mohammed Ali tolerated the constitutional movement, but after an assassination attempt in February 1908, he began cracking down, by arresting constitutionalists, declaring martial law, and calling in the fearsome Russian Cossacks to intimidate protesters in the streets of Tehran. In 1908, the Cossacks unleashed a civil war, when they stormed the new parliament building, precipitated a gun battle, and killed several constitutionalists.
Despite demands for tough action from our government, by politicians with close ties to the evangelical Christian movement, Theodore Roosevelt’s State Department refused to take sides.
Thousands were starved or beaten into submission, and Iran’s brave little experiment with democracy appeared dead. However, eventually, our country found itself in an excellent position to reap the rewards of its neutrality. Iranian constitutionalists recognized the contrast between America’s hands-off attitude and the heavy-handed interference by Russia and Britain. They were impressed by this apparently unselfish new power on the world stage, and interpreted its silence as a form of support. When the constitutional upheaval was over, its leaders turned to America to help them build a new Iran.
Power may come from the barrel of a gun but freedom does not. The struggle continues in Iran and in America.
Iran’s constitutionalist uprising was the first significant revolution of the 20th century. It was an expression of rage against a corrupt and bankrupt monarchy. Much like today’s movement, it didn’t demand an overthrow of the prevailing system, but it unified the country’s merchants, intellectuals, and clerics in demanding nothing more than an elected parliament and a constitution. It resulted in the principles of equality, personal rights, universal public education, and freedom of the press. It was the first document of its kind in the Middle East, and it has formed the basis of Iran’s political debates ever since.
Initially, Iran’s shah Mohammed Ali tolerated the constitutional movement, but after an assassination attempt in February 1908, he began cracking down, by arresting constitutionalists, declaring martial law, and calling in the fearsome Russian Cossacks to intimidate protesters in the streets of Tehran. In 1908, the Cossacks unleashed a civil war, when they stormed the new parliament building, precipitated a gun battle, and killed several constitutionalists.
Despite demands for tough action from our government, by politicians with close ties to the evangelical Christian movement, Theodore Roosevelt’s State Department refused to take sides.
Thousands were starved or beaten into submission, and Iran’s brave little experiment with democracy appeared dead. However, eventually, our country found itself in an excellent position to reap the rewards of its neutrality. Iranian constitutionalists recognized the contrast between America’s hands-off attitude and the heavy-handed interference by Russia and Britain. They were impressed by this apparently unselfish new power on the world stage, and interpreted its silence as a form of support. When the constitutional upheaval was over, its leaders turned to America to help them build a new Iran.
Power may come from the barrel of a gun but freedom does not. The struggle continues in Iran and in America.
posted by Jim O'Leary | 1:20 AM
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