Alfred Dreyfus

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the false accusations of treason against the French army captain, Alfred Dreyfus, and what later became known as the Dreyfus Affair. The paper describes the accusations made against Dreyfus in 1894 and discusses the "evidence" that was presented against him. The paper then goes on to describe the efforts of those who worked to secure his freedom and how the case was finally resolved in 1905.

From the Paper:

"Emile Zola, the prolific French writer, who had been working for justice wrote a letter in Clemenceau's newspaper L'Aurore, accusing the senior army officials of wrongly convicting an innocent person. This letter and several other such attempts to prove army's guilt led to violent divisions in French social and political circles. There were those who opposed Dreyfus' release and saw the whole thing "as a German-backed Jewish and Socialist conspiracy to humiliate France" while his supporters "maintained that the Republic was threatened by conservative military aristocrats." (Cavendish, 1999)
Emile Zola and Oscar Wilde had both been instrumental in this fight for justice along with some other prominent figures. "Within two years of Oscar Wilde's death in November 1900, he was hailed in the English periodical To-Day as "one of the direct instruments in freeing Alfred Dreyfus." Readers were reminded that "now that poor Wilde is dead, one may easily forget the little side of his character, and rejoice that such a brilliant star, even after its fall, lighted the way towards a great act of justice"" (Maguire)"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Richard Cavendish, Dreyfus Pardoned. History Today. Volume: 49. Issue: 9. September 1999. Page Number: 52.
• J. ROBERT MAGUIRE, OSCAR WILDE AND THE DREYFUS AFFAIR, Victorian Studies Volume 41, Number 1
• John Morse, The Dreyfus And Zola Trials. The Atlantic, May 1898

More papers on Alfred Dreyfus:

• Essay # 54922 : "The Dreyfus Affair"
• Research Paper # 10514 : "Dreyfus Affair"
• Analytical Essay # 23896 : "Emile Zola"

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