Notebook Assignment 1 Political Revolutions Unit Intro For

Notebook Assignment #1: Political Revolutions Unit Intro For Notes: What are some reasons people might want a totally new system of government?

Last unit, we learned that Enlightenment “philosophes” were busy thinking about these questions relating to government and people’s rights. Voltaire was thinking about how free speech and separation of church and state made for a more fair government Montesquieu was thinking about how “separation of powers” made for a more fair government Rousseu was thinking about the most fair “social contract” between people & their government

But what was the political reality were the philosophes living in? All three of these philosophes was French and France at the time was ruled by the Bourbon Family who were monarchs (kings) with absolute power! Regardless of what the philosophes thought about people’s rights or what the best type of government was, they lived under a system where the people had no rights called an “Absolute Monarchy”

For Notes: Define Absolute Monarchy in own words: A government system where the monarch holds all military, religious, legal, economic and social power. Absolute monarchs believed their power came from their being the representatives of God on Earth. (aka “DIVINE RIGHT”)

Some supported Absolute Monarchs People need an ABSOLUTE RULER who is as “STRONG AS A SEA MONSTER” (from book “The Leviathan”) to keep order. Otherwise people would be at war with each other all the time and life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. ” Discuss in Notes: What are there benefits to absolute monarchy? Thomas Hobbes, English political philosopher supported Absolute Monarchy in his book Leviathan written during the English Civil War in the 1680’s

Others strongly opposed Absolutism Some (like John Locke, English political philosopher) believe that all people have natural rights (Life, Liberty, Property) and that the government must protect those rights. If the government doesn’t protect our rights, it is the right of the people to have a revolution and set up a new government that will protect their natural rights. Discuss in Notes: What are the arguments against an absolute monarchy?

Predict in your notes: Why might Enlightenment thinkers have posed a threat to Absolute Monarchs?

(0 - 3: 30) The Most Absolute of Absolute Monarchs Louis XIV (aka the “Sun King”) ruled France from 1643 until 1715 mainly from the extravagant Palace of Versailles he had built. The cost of the palace along with many expensive wars abroad left huge debts for his heirs and contributed to the end of absolute monarchy in France

Living like a King: What was it like to live in the Sun King’s palace? Let’s find out! As you tour Versailles, think about… ➔ How the Palace of Versailles symbolizes the ideas, power and extravagance of absolute monarchy. ➔ Why might the palace still be a significant historical site that many tourists visit today? ➔ ULTIMATELY, WHY MIGHT THIS PALACE BECOME A SYMBOL FOR ALL THAT WAS WRONG WITH ABSOLUTE MONARCHY?

French Absolutism: 6 ½ minute Tour of Versailles Palace http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=852 ero. Bw. Dr. A For Notes, Explain: ➔ How the Palace of Versailles symbolizes the ideas, power and extravagance of absolute monarchy. ➔ Why did the French people choose to restore the palace even after they eliminated the monarchy and why do so many tourists still visit the palace today?

France…our main case study this unit For Notes: How does this portrait of King Louis XIV of France reflect the idea that he is an “Absolute Monarch”? Louis XIV: “L’état, c’est moi” I am the State

By the late 1700’s, there were two places that had gotten rid of their absolute monarchs and instituted governments based on the ideals of the Enlightenment: England & America. These revolutions inspired many in France and later the rest of the world

Suddenly the people of France stopped just thinking about the ideas of the philosophes and began to take action Many in France began to think, “why did Americans get to copy our ideas while we were stuck with an oppressive absolute monarch? ” Why can’t we be More like England? While we are here with no rights, the Americans are busy using our ideas! It’s time for action!

For Notes: Explain what this quote means: “The Revolution had been accomplished in the minds of men long before it was translated into fact. ” Albert Mathiez, French historian