Because it's election year and because we are only days away from voting (at least those who are old enough are), you have probably heard the words Left and Right quite often. If you don't know by now, Left refers to the Republican Party and Right refers to the Democratic party. Many of us, including me, don't know why the parties are sometimes referred to as Left or Right. As it turns out, the reason dates back to the French Revolution and the terms actually originated in France.
In the 1790s, King Louis XVI was having a fight with France's Legislative Assembly. In the French Assembly, like in the House of Representatives, delegates were seated according to political association. In France, the king sat in the front, ready to be seen and heard by all. The conservative Feuillants, those who supported the King and believed in a Constitutional Monarchy, sat to the King's right-hand side. The liberal Girondists and the Jacobins, those who were not quite as fond of the King and wished to assert a democratic government, sat to his left.
However, in the U.S. House of Representatives, the conservative Republicans now occupy the left side of the House Speaker and the liberal Democrats seat themselves on the right side. Even so, it was not until the 1900s that the terms Left and Right denoted a political affiliation in the U.S. Furthermore, the political terms "Leftwing" and "Rightwing" weren't used until the 1990s. The reason as to why the two political parties switched sides while being applied to the U.S. government is uncertain but most likely, it was just a coincidence.
-Jalees N.
Sources:
http://hotword.dictionary.com/leftright/
In the 1790s, King Louis XVI was having a fight with France's Legislative Assembly. In the French Assembly, like in the House of Representatives, delegates were seated according to political association. In France, the king sat in the front, ready to be seen and heard by all. The conservative Feuillants, those who supported the King and believed in a Constitutional Monarchy, sat to the King's right-hand side. The liberal Girondists and the Jacobins, those who were not quite as fond of the King and wished to assert a democratic government, sat to his left.
However, in the U.S. House of Representatives, the conservative Republicans now occupy the left side of the House Speaker and the liberal Democrats seat themselves on the right side. Even so, it was not until the 1900s that the terms Left and Right denoted a political affiliation in the U.S. Furthermore, the political terms "Leftwing" and "Rightwing" weren't used until the 1990s. The reason as to why the two political parties switched sides while being applied to the U.S. government is uncertain but most likely, it was just a coincidence.
-Jalees N.
Sources:
http://hotword.dictionary.com/leftright/
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