They argue the significance of the affair lies in Dreyfus representation as a “symbol” that highlighted the many fundamental issues with the French republic, such as the rights of an individual and in the polarisations it provoked between those who believed the rights of an individual should be the utmost concern (the left) even if it meant a reprehended state system such as Zola who announced “There is no Dreyfus Affair any longer. There is only one issue: is France still the France of the Revolution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man? The France that gave the world liberty…” (M) (Source 5) and those who believed that the state should be protected at all costs, believing that “the peculiarity of the Jews is to cause disintegration” (N).
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The sources also lead to the conclusion that the affair was internationally significant as exemplified by the Austrian origin of source 1and American origin of sources 2 and 4 .The majority of sources focus on either the characteristics of Jews or French militarism thus referring to either the ‘French Republic’ or to ‘Jewish virtues’, indicating a dichotomisation of opinion towards the Dreyfus affair and it’s denotation, therefore supporting the view that the short-term significance of the affair was not just the political changes it incited but also the questions it raised about the rights of an individual. However, it is useful to consider the evidence in source 2 in a little more detail, as although not the only source that evaluates French militarism, it can be suggested that it is in-fact hinting at Dreyfus not the military being responsible for the “forgery” which led to Dreyfus imprisonment and therefore opens up the possibility that the source supports an anti-Semitic agenda, however evidence for this is not strong enough to be a challenge as the source originated from ‘Puck’ magazine, known for its political …show more content…
The effect the Dreyfus affair had on the media is of valid significance but without the underlying issues revealed by the Dreyfus affair, the media would have held no impact. Therefore the greatest short-term significance of the Dreyfus affair is it’s metamorphosis of French superstructure: 1901 saw the birth of the first modern political party ‘The republican radical socialist party’ filled with Dreyfusards who demanded and achieved secularisation from the Church (V), ending state religion and enforcing the privacy, tolerance and freedom of thought for all religions and philosophies, something which the Declaration (W) had tried but failed to establish. These changes marked “the birth of republican France” (X) as opposed to a militaristic, bureaucratic and nationalistic coalition which anchored in Right-wing politics had encompassed xenophobic origins into the Justice system. The uniting of Left-wing parties in France can also be attributed to the Dreyfus affair such as the merging of the French Socialist Party (1902), and the Socialist Party of France (1902) in 1905 to form the French Section of the Workers' International which demanded a plebiscite in order to change the constitution and pioneer an
The sources also lead to the conclusion that the affair was internationally significant as exemplified by the Austrian origin of source 1and American origin of sources 2 and 4 .The majority of sources focus on either the characteristics of Jews or French militarism thus referring to either the ‘French Republic’ or to ‘Jewish virtues’, indicating a dichotomisation of opinion towards the Dreyfus affair and it’s denotation, therefore supporting the view that the short-term significance of the affair was not just the political changes it incited but also the questions it raised about the rights of an individual. However, it is useful to consider the evidence in source 2 in a little more detail, as although not the only source that evaluates French militarism, it can be suggested that it is in-fact hinting at Dreyfus not the military being responsible for the “forgery” which led to Dreyfus imprisonment and therefore opens up the possibility that the source supports an anti-Semitic agenda, however evidence for this is not strong enough to be a challenge as the source originated from ‘Puck’ magazine, known for its political …show more content…
The effect the Dreyfus affair had on the media is of valid significance but without the underlying issues revealed by the Dreyfus affair, the media would have held no impact. Therefore the greatest short-term significance of the Dreyfus affair is it’s metamorphosis of French superstructure: 1901 saw the birth of the first modern political party ‘The republican radical socialist party’ filled with Dreyfusards who demanded and achieved secularisation from the Church (V), ending state religion and enforcing the privacy, tolerance and freedom of thought for all religions and philosophies, something which the Declaration (W) had tried but failed to establish. These changes marked “the birth of republican France” (X) as opposed to a militaristic, bureaucratic and nationalistic coalition which anchored in Right-wing politics had encompassed xenophobic origins into the Justice system. The uniting of Left-wing parties in France can also be attributed to the Dreyfus affair such as the merging of the French Socialist Party (1902), and the Socialist Party of France (1902) in 1905 to form the French Section of the Workers' International which demanded a plebiscite in order to change the constitution and pioneer an