Political emancipation
Encyclopedia
Emancipation is a broad term used to describe various efforts to obtain political rights or equality
, often for a specifically disenfranchised group, or more generally in discussion of such matters. Emancipation stems from "ex manus capere": Take out the hand.
Among others, Karl Marx
discussed political emancipation in his 1844 essay "On the Jewish Question
", although often in addition to (or in contrast with) the term human emancipation. Marx's views of political emancipation in this work were summarized by one writer as entailing "equal status of individual citizens in relation to the state, equality before the law, regardless of religion, property, or other “private” characteristics of individual people."
"Political emancipation" as a phrase is less common in modern usage, especially outside academic, foreign or activist contexts. However, similar concepts may be referred to by other terms. For instance, in the United States the civil rights movement culminating in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, can be seen as further realization of events such as the Emancipation Proclamation
and abolition of slavery a century earlier. In the current and former British West Indies
islands the holiday Emancipation Day
is celebrated to mark the end of the Atlantic slave trade
.
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
, often for a specifically disenfranchised group, or more generally in discussion of such matters. Emancipation stems from "ex manus capere": Take out the hand.
Among others, Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
discussed political emancipation in his 1844 essay "On the Jewish Question
On the Jewish Question
On the Jewish Question is a work by Karl Marx, written in 1843, and first published in Paris in 1844 under the German title Zur Judenfrage in the Deutsch–Französische Jahrbücher. It was one of Marx's first attempts to deal with categories that would later be called the materialist conception of...
", although often in addition to (or in contrast with) the term human emancipation. Marx's views of political emancipation in this work were summarized by one writer as entailing "equal status of individual citizens in relation to the state, equality before the law, regardless of religion, property, or other “private” characteristics of individual people."
"Political emancipation" as a phrase is less common in modern usage, especially outside academic, foreign or activist contexts. However, similar concepts may be referred to by other terms. For instance, in the United States the civil rights movement culminating in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, can be seen as further realization of events such as the Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...
and abolition of slavery a century earlier. In the current and former British West Indies
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
islands the holiday Emancipation Day
Emancipation Day
Emancipation Day is celebrated in many former British colonies in the Caribbean and areas of the United States on various dates in observance of the emancipation of slaves of African origin. It is also observed in other areas in regard to the abolition of serfdom or other forms of...
is celebrated to mark the end of the Atlantic slave trade
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...
.
See also
- Freedom (political)Freedom (political)Political freedom is a central philosophy in Western history and political thought, and one of the most important features of democratic societies...
- Emancipation of women, including the women's suffrage movement
- Catholic emancipationCatholic EmancipationCatholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
- Jewish emancipationJewish EmancipationJewish emancipation was the external and internal process of freeing the Jewish people of Europe, including recognition of their rights as equal citizens, and the formal granting of citizenship as individuals; it occurred gradually between the late 18th century and the early 20th century...
- Emancipation of minorsEmancipation of minorsAn emancipated minor is a minor who is allowed to conduct a business or any other occupation on their own behalf or for their own account outside the influence of a parent or guardian. The minor will then have full contractual capacity to conclude contract with regard to the business. Whether...
, where a minor becomes an adult in practice, usually by receiving a declaration of liberation from a court expressly for this purpose - Youth rightsYouth rightsYouth rights refers to a set of philosophies intended to enhance civil rights for young people. They are a response to the oppression of young people, with advocates challenging ephebiphobia, adultism and ageism through youth participation, youth/adult partnerships, and promoting, ultimately,...
- Dunmore's ProclamationDunmore's ProclamationDunmore's Proclamation is a historical document issued on November 7, 1775, by John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, royal governor of the British Colony of Virginia...
, a BritishGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
promise during the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
to free slaves who joined the British forces - AbolitionismAbolitionismAbolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
(abolition of slavery), a political movement that sought to end the practice of slavery and the worldwide slave trade - Emancipation ProclamationEmancipation ProclamationThe Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...
, a declaration by United States President Abraham Lincoln announcing that all slaves in Confederate territory still in rebellion were freed - ManumissionManumissionManumission is the act of a slave owner freeing his or her slaves. In the United States before the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished most slavery, this often happened upon the death of the owner, under conditions in his will.-Motivations:The...
, the freedom of a slave by the owner voluntarily - Emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia, the liquidation of serf dependence of Russian peasants by Alexander II of Russia
- EmancipistEmancipistAn emancipist was any of the convicts sentenced and transported under the convict system to Australia, who had been given conditional or absolute pardons...
was a term used for former transported convicts in the Australian penal colonies given conditional or absolute pardon - Self-determinationSelf-determinationSelf-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
- Revolution (disambiguation)Revolution (disambiguation)A revolution is a drastic political or social change that usually occurs relatively quickly. Revolution may also refer to:-Computing:*Revolution , a dynamically-typed programming language also known as Transcript...
- LiberationLiberation-Publications:* Libération, French newspaper* Libération , a Moroccan newspaper* Liberation , monthly pacifist magazine founded, published, and edited by A.J...
(disambiguation)
Further reading
- Wolfdietrich Schmied-Kowarzik Karl Marx as a Philosopher of Human Emancipation, translated by Dylan C. Stewart