Absolute Monarchs

Philip II (Spain) Took between 20-25% of all gold and silver coming from the New World “It’s good to be king.” Spanish Armada Golden Age of Spanish Art

Maria Theresa (Holy Roman Empire/Austria) Ruled for 40 years Reorganized Austrian economy and military, turning Austria into a European power Won the War of Austrian Succession & lost the Seven Years War 16 children, including Marie Antoinette

Frederick the Great (Prussia) United Prussian territories Enlightened Absolutism – modernized bureaucracy, reformed judicial system, supported arts and philosophers (that he liked)

Ivan the Terrible (Russia) Became king at the age of 3 First czar (comes from Caesar… why?) Married into the Romanov family Before his wife died: code of laws, doubled size of Russia, good dude After his wife died: secret police (dressed in all black robes and rode black horses), killed most of the boyars (nobles), killed his own son, bad dude Caesar and czar because Byzantine Empire and Roman influence

Louis XIV (France) Weakened power of nobles by excluding them from his councils Highest privilege for a noble was helping him dress in the morning Built Palace of Versailles (equivalent of $2 Billion today) Built by *lots* of taxes Married Marie Antoinette

Enlightenment Philosophers! New ideas in government!

“Age of Reason” The Enlightenment philosophes agreed that new truths can be discovered by using logic and reason. This happened because…. Renaissance  rise of humanism and education Protestant Reformation  questioned Church and explored new ideas and teaching; literacy Exploration  new lands, new trade routes, “new things” Absolutism  kings were only concerned with themselves; lavish spending; neglect of nation’s people All of these factors contributed to the age of reason aka the enlightenment

Thomas Hobbes Leviathan Humans = terrible Absolute power to maintain order (influenced by blood and chaos from English Civil War) Social contract He said that humans are naturally corrupt and selfish, and that they should surrender their rights to a single ruler, who will be able to justly rule over everyone. Humans need to be protected from themselves – he definitely supported absolutism. Social contract = surrender your rights and power to a king who will provide law and order

John Locke Treatise on Government People = reasonable Natural rights (life, liberty, property) People can overthrow governments that don’t protect natural rights Limited or constitutional monarchy LOST! Ha. But true – he’s the voice of reason. He was great and kind and we were highly inspired by him to fight the American Revolution. If the government didn’t protect its citizens’ natural rights, it deserved to be overthrown.

Whom do you agree with? Hobbes Locke People are naturally selfish and act out of self-interest Without strong government control, society would be chaotic People are like children and need a strong “father” to keep them in line People are reasonable and make decisions Freedom and liberty are more important than order and safety People should be able to overthrow kings who abuse their power Have them discuss in groups for a while and then share as a class – I love playing devil’s advocate during this.

Voltaire Freedom of speech and religion “I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Criticized intolerance, prejudice, and oppression.

When, if ever, should freedom of speech be restricted? Consider: school TV/radio wartime etc. Again, this is an awesome discussion. Have them break up into smaller groups again (elbow partners or rows of three) and then have them discuss. Play devil’s advocate.

Baron de Montesquieu Separation of powers 3 branches of government Checks and balances Too much power leads to tyranny, so divide it out – and have each branch have checks on the others

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Individual freedom People = good (but power corrupts them) Social contract Based on common good for everyone Direct democracy

Which form of government is better? Separation of powers? Direct democracy? Take power from one king and divide it among 3 branches of government Let the people make decisions directly to ensure that the majority gets what they want

Impact of the Enlightenment Economics  capitalism Culture  classical music (Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven) Knowledge  encyclopedias Gender  women’s rights, improved status Government  limited monarchy, citizens’ rights But, most importantly… REVOLUTIONS

Political Cartoons!

A political cartoon (editorial cartoon) is an illustration containing a commentary that usually relates to current events or personalities. It typically combines artistic skill, hyperbole and satire in order to question authority and draw attention to corruption and other social ills. You can show them how this is a political cartoon. I always have the students make a political cartoon about me as an example… which is very fun for them. We do it on the board as a class. Last year someone drew a picture of me holding a diamond and saying “not good enough.”

POLITICAL CARTOONS Create a political cartoon based on one of the philosophes or absolute monarchs we just studied. Your cartoon must: Be colored Take up one full page Have no more than two panels Have no more than ten words, if you choose to have words