1. Absolute Monarchs

2. 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

3. 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

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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Enlightenment Philosophers!
New ideas in government!

8. “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

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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

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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Political Cartoons!

19. 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.”

20. 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