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Birth of a Rebel
Friedrich Engels was born to Friedrich Sr. and Elise in the year 1820 into Prussia. He was the oldest of seven siblings. His father was the owner of a large textile factory in England leaving him very well fed and cared for. This did not stop our young co-founder of communism from finding ways to strain his relationship with his parents. He dropped out of high school at age 17 and would later be sent away to be an unpaid clerk at a commercial house.
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Likeminded Individuals
Sent away, Friedrich joined the Prussian Army and met a group called the Young Hegelians. As followers of the recently deceased Hegel, they had collected many banned books, some of witch would greatly effect Friedrich, like "The Phenomenology of Spirit". Friedrich soon adopted atheism further distancing him from his parents whom were devout Lutherans. Friedrich would also adopt the pseudonym Oswald so that he could write about his new controversial beliefs without ostracizing his parents. -
Unremarkable Frist Encounter
After returning from his duties as an artilleryman in the Prussian army his parents sent him away again this time to England to work in a mill. On his way to England he visited the office of Rheinische Zeitung, a newspaper containing philosophical questions to the people, edited famously by Karl Marx. Upon meeting each other neither were impressed due to the fact that Marx believed Fredrich was still associated with the Young Hegelians, a group that Marx had just severed ties with. -
The Working Man Needs Leaders
It was in England that Friedrich met the love of his life Mary Burns. Mary was able to show Friedrich the horrible conditions of the average working class. This inspired Friedrich's work "Outline of a Critique of Political Economy." Friedrich chose to send this work to Karl Marx and it was published in 1844 alongside other works by Marx in protest of the censorship of his previous works. Marx and Friedrich would meet again as condemned men by the Prussian government. They became instant friends. -
Challenge To Capitolism
Sealing their fate and friendship, Friedrich and Marx were implored to define communism to the layman by the Communist League. This work is widely considered to be their greatest as it is still read and referenced around the globe. This fiery, impassioned, work urged the working man to rise up against the ruling classes and has been the point of convergence for revolutions all over the world, even hundreds of years after its publication. It is criticized for stating that communism is inevitable. -
Golden Years and Death
This man challenged the evil and tyranny that he saw before him and suggested how to change the world. People have died fighting for what this man stated as fact. I think what we can learn from this man is that we should never stop pointing out oppression and evil in this world but when it comes to theorizing a solution to a problem, more study needs to be done before things are stated as fact. Friedrich died of throat cancer at 74, his ashes were spread across Beachy Head in England.
