Statehood It’s Important

What We’ve Done Already This is going to look like a bit of a random PowerPoint…and I guess it is but that’s because of how we’ve covered this Major concepts covered through the M.I.T.’s and Documents: Seven Years War, Catherine the Great, Worldwide Trade, Technology as it relates to Jobs, Expansion of Armies, Taxes, British Political Systems, and Natural Rights That’s a lot…but there’s a lot in this chapter So some of that will be repackaged and presented, but some won’t…it’s still all important

The Cliffhanger from Yesterday So I asked you at the end of class which one was not like the other… …what I was referring to was: statehood and empires Which of the following is not like the others? France, Britain, Prussia, the Ottomans, Austria Why is it Britain? Think back a few years—how did their political systems develop differently? Limited Monarchy vs. Absolute Much more Parliamentary influence This ties to the issue of “the state”; the strength of the state is increased when a ruler has more power Avoid confusing this with “better”; more does not necessarily mean better Many people would argue that Britain had the best consistent government throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, but they had the weakest state because they did not have an absolute monarch

The Odd Man Out…Britain The success of the Glorious Revolution in England prevented absolutism without clearly bringing in constitutional monarchy So let’s take a step back…what’s the Glorious Revolution and why does it matter? This led to a sharing of power in the 18th century between king and Parliament, with Parliament gradually gaining the upper hand In fact, the United Kingdom of Great Britain came to be in 1707 when the governments of England and Scotland united; at this point British means both English and Scottish people King had ministers responsible to him and guide Parliament Parliament made laws, levied taxes, pass the budget, and indirectly influence those ministers

The Odd Man Out…Britain House of Lords is the upper house of Parliament, peers of the aristocrats who had the position for life if they wanted it House of Commons is the lower house of Parliament, members of the nobility who served as judges in the counties These groups both owned land, frequently intermarried, and were at the top of the British social structure House of Commons members were voted in but everyone was not eligible to vote; this led to bribery and patronage to gain votes  corruption…if your property was worth at least 40 shillings a year you could vote

The Odd Man Out…Britain How did this oddity develop? Queen Anne was the last ruler of the Stuart dynasty She had no heir to the throne so the crown was offered to the Protestant rulers of Hanover (a German state) There was a problem though: neither George I (1714-1727) or George II (1727-1760) spoke English or had familiarity with the British system Yes, King George III is the guy the soon-to-be U.S. colonists went to war against This led to the chief ministers of the king having the right to handle Parliament Robert Walpole was Prime Minister from 1721-1742 Peaceful foreign policy No new land taxes Trade and industry  increasing middle class that wanted to expand their trade and empire William Pitt the Elder became Prime Minister in 1757-1761 He followed up the idea of wanting Britain to expand their empire He acquired Canada and India in the Seven Years’ War from France King George III ousted William Pitt the Elder for Lord Bute

The Odd Man Out…Britain King George had early struggles during his reign though Those plucky underdogs from the other side of the Atlantic thoroughly embarrassed his empire We always look at the Revolutionary War from our point of view…but let’s think about it from theirs: England was growing Their economy was thriving The only reason anyone is even living in North America is because the English (or French or Spanish in other regions) sponsored the original inhabitants’ journeys Now, these ungrateful heathens are trying to break away from the MOST TOLERANT MAJOR POWER IN THE WORLD That can’t be emphasized enough—this isn’t France or Austria’s system by absolute rule; this is England where the King and Parliament work side-by-side This was viewed in England as another opportunity to assert dominance, but they underestimated the quality of the colonists’ leadership, and the huge geographical disadvantage they were at The colonists knew the terrain They also knew Britain had an ocean’s worth of sailing time before reinforcements could arrive

The Odd Man Out…Britain The colonists’ defeat led to public criticism of the king and led Parliament to see that “the influence of the crown has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished” King George III saved himself by appointing William Pitt the Younger (son of William Pitt the Elder) as Prime Minister in 1783 I should start going by Coach Cicerchi the Younger on the ball diamond (it just sounds awesome) Coach Cicerchi the Elder was a really good coach too…shout out to Pops! (I don’t call my dad Pops.) (I should.) This Pitt was supported by the merchants, industrial classes and king so he was able to handle daily duties However, King George III was going insane (literally—not a joke) and once mistook a tree in Windsor Park for the King of Prussia (again, not a joke—but darn funny!) Due to Pitt’s successes the corrupt Parliamentary procedures stayed in place for another generation

It is now “ABSOLUTELY” Your Turn Pick a partner (the group of 3 gets 2 countries) Pick an absolute empire Be ready to talk about it We’re not even going to present them at the front of the room—just a quick couple minutes to talk about your empire together and then hit the highlights so we know what’s going on in the rest of the world at the time England is being different Remember, the focus should be on the strength of The State Empires: 1. France 2. Prussia 3. Austria 4. Russia (Peter the Great is important) 5. Poland 6. Spain and the Italian States (one category) (understand who ruled them) And if you’re wondering about Hobbes and Locke—we learned about them in previous years and we will catch back up with them during The Enlightenment