How Strategies Used by Revolutionary Groups Could be Applied for Change in America

Tyler Pierce, Verrazzano Class of 2022, completed major in Economics and minor in History

My capstone was centered around analyzing the historical context and strategies used by successful revolutionary groups, and how learning about these revolutionary groups could provide lessons and knowledge that is applicable to movements for change in America.
Before I began my research, my hypothesis was that the revolutions would all provide different lessons to take away and apply to today. Instead, what I found were fundamental similarities and patterns that almost provided a blueprint for a successful movement for radical change. I read hundreds of pages of Russian, Chinese, and American history that I had not been exposed to before.
Politically, I am left leaning, and in the past had prided myself on understanding many of the different movements in America fighting for change like the green movement, the Black Lives Matter movement, or the Feminist movement. I believed that all of these groups were hitting different parts of legislation at the same time and had great potential. I thought that the only reasons they were not successful was solely due to external factors or disorganization within the party. One of my major conclusions from my research was that if all of these groups do not combine into a single umbrella/coalition party, they will never gain enough political power to inspire the real long-lasting change that they seek. Also, the average person can not keep up with all of these movements and groups at the same time, and normally choose to represent only one or two of the movements.
Essentially, I see all the movements as a house divided. What unification does, aside from gaining political power, is accelerate social influence so it becomes much easier to rally supporters of different groups around one cause at a time. Lastly, unification leads to smooth mobilization of resources. This is not a new idea, but one that is not normally supported with historical facts and analysis.
In addition to what the revolutionary movements did correctly in the past, I discussed what they did wrong to lose power, or lose focus on their own goals. I concluded that what a majority of the movements were missing was a strong emphasis on democracy. It is incredibly difficult to prove loyalty to the general public when they do not have any say in their parties’ actions. Also, without one of the main focuses being democracy, then it becomes much easier for corruption to bleed into the party.
In tandem with the historical context of the countries the revolutions took place in, I briefly analyzed today’s conditions in America and the similarities and differences between contemporary America, the USSR, the PROC, and America during the American Revolution.
Overall, I learned a ton during the research phase of the project and had a lot of fun during the writing phase. I chose a very broad and rich topic because it is something I have been passionate about since high school, and I feel very rewarded and proud of myself for the paper I produced. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to write a paper that could help people to understand why movements have barely gotten off the ground in the past 70 or so years in America, from a unique perspective of what the movements are doing wrong rather than external factors that may have contributed to their inconsistent levels of influence, like smear campaigns against the leaders of the movements or powerful lobbying in congress. Also, I am grateful to have had the pleasure of working with Professor Collins from the History department who was an enormous help in the direction and organization of the paper.