Download Scientific Law or Natural Law?

Name: ________________________________________________
Absolutism vs. Democracy:
Age of Absolutism, Causes of Revolution, The English Civil War & The
Glorious Revolution, The Enlightenment & The Birth of the American Republic
Mrs. McKenna
World History
Standard: WHII.6 The student will demonstrate knowledge of scientific, political,
economic & religious changes during the sixteenth, seventeenth & eighteenth
centuries by:
a)
describing the Age of Absolutism, including the monarchies of Louis XIV &
Peter the Great;
b)
assessing the impacts of the English Civil War & the Glorious Revolution on
democracy;
c)
explaining the political & social ideas of the Enlightenment & the ways in
which they influenced the founders of the United States.
Essential Questions: Who were the absolute monarchs? What effect did the absolute
monarchs have on their countries? Who were some Enlightenment thinkers &
what were their ideas? How did the British Parliament assert its rights against
royal claims to absolute power in the 1600s? How did the English Civil War &
the Glorious Revolution promote the development of the rights of Englishmen?
How did philosophers of the Enlightenment influence thinking on political
issues? How did the Enlightenment promote revolution in the American colonies?
Essential Understanding:
a) The Age of Absolutism takes its name from a series of European monarchs
who increased the power of their central govts & ruled by divine right
b) Enlightenment thinkers believed that human progress was possible through the
application of scientific knowledge & reason to issues of law & govt;
Enlightenment ideas influenced the leaders of the American Revolution & the
writing of the Declaration of Independence
Age of Absolutism
Key Terms
Monarch: A _________________ or ___________________ who rules a territory,
usually for life & by hereditary right
Absolutism: A system in which the ruler, usually a ____________________,
holds _____________________ power (complete authority) over the govt &
the lives of the people. This type of government is the opposite of a
constitutional govt or __________________________, such as that found in
the United States.
Divine Right: The political idea that a monarch receives his power directly from
___________. This allowed monarchs to go unchallenged by their subjects.
Balance of Power: Each nation helps to keep peace and order by maintaining
power that is equal to rival nations.
**The Age of Absolutism takes its name from a series of European monarchs who
increased the power of their _______________________________________
& ruled by _________________________________
Power of a Monarch
• In the 17th Century, people looked to the monarch for political
stability
• Absolute monarchs had tremendous power:
Make laws
Levy taxes
Administer justice
Control the state’s officials
Determine foreign policy
Control aspects of daily life
*ALL OF THIS W/ NO CHECKS ON POWER
• No written ____________________________________ or
_____________ of ____________________: most people had
no __________________________ at all
Examples of Absolute Power
Louis XIV of France
Peter I the Great of Russia
**BOTH ___________________________ & RULED BY _________________________**
-Nicknamed himself the “ _____________” -Wanted to _______________________ Russia
b/c he was the center of France just
(adopted western ideas, technology &
as the sun was the center of the universe
culture)
-Built the _______________________ as a -Created a strong ____________________
symbol of his wealth and power
-Fought wars to __________________________
-Created a strong ___________________
(attempted to gain a warm-water port for trade)
-No meeting of the legislative assembly
-Forced men to shave their beards & all
for approximately 175 years (__________
people to adopt western-style clothing
__________________________________) -______________ who challenged his authority
-Perfected the __________ – an elaborate -Built a new capital city at _________________
ceremony that emphasized his importance to serve as a “__________________________”
& distracted nobles who were a threat to
royal power
Causes of Revolution
Causes of Revolution
Revolution: Great change over a short period of time; a forcible overthrow of a
govt. or social order for a new system
1. ______________________________________________: People don’t like the
leader and/or the type of government (ex. absolutism, dictatorship, govt that is too
oppressive and/or too weak)
2. ____________________________: Pride in your people or nation; wanting your
country to be the best (patriotism, superiority over other countries) (ex. Nazi
Germany, Communist Soviet Union)
3. _________________________________: A group of people are treated unfairly (ex.
peasants can’t own land, blacks & women can’t vote, Holocaust in Europe, slavery)
4. _____________________________________: Money problems (ex. depression,
recession, war debt, excessive spending)
5. __________________________________________: New & better ways of doing
things – better forms of govt. (ex. rights of individuals, right to rule comes from the
consent of the governed, democracy)
6. _____________________________: A religious group is outlawed or treated
unfairly (ex. Puritans in England, Jews in Palestine, Muslims in America after 9/11)
The English Civil War
&
The Glorious Revolution
The English Civil War & The Glorious Revolution
Main Ideas
Monarchy vs. Parliament (power struggle)
• _________________________= Absolute monarch; dismissed Parliament
• _________________________ = Charles I (Cavaliers) vs. Parliament
(Roundheads led by Oliver Cromwell)
• __________________________ = Charles I defeated, captured & executed
(first time a ruling monarch was tried & executed by his own people)
• ______________________________________________ = abolished
monarchy & ruled as a virtual military dictator support by military
• _________________________________________________ = Charles II
called home to be king b/c Parliament knew they could work w/ him
• ______________ = dismissed Parliament & returned to absolute monarchy
• _____________________________________ = Parliament invited
William & Mary to rule – but they had to sign the English Bill of Rights
• ____________________________________________ = Established a
Constitutional Monarchy, which limited the power of the monarchy &
ensured the superiority of Parliament over the monarch
The Enlightenment
Scientific Law vs. Natural Law
_______________________ Law = rules discoverable by
observation & experimentation
(___________________________________________ &
the functioning of the universe)
__________________ Law = rules discoverable by reason
(_______________________ & the need for government)
Scientific Law or Natural Law?
What goes up must come down
Scientific Law or Natural Law?
People are by nature greedy and selfish
and need to be controlled
Scientific Law or Natural Law?
The best governments are ones that
listen to the people
Scientific Law or Natural Law?
The Earth revolves around the sun
Scientific Law or Natural Law?
Blood circulates throughout the body
Scientific Law or Natural Law?
People are happiest when they are free
What was the Enlightenment?
• The Enlightenment was an 18th Century
_________________________________________
movement: a revolution/change in thinking
• The Enlightenment philosophers hoped to
_____________________________ by applying
______________________ to social, political, and
economic problems
Roots of the Enlightenment
• The _____________________________________
– Scientific successes created great confidence in the power
of reason – if people could use reason to find laws that
governed the physical world (physical sciences), why not
use reason to discover laws that govern human nature?
• The _____________________ and ____________________
– The humanists of the Renaissance questioned accepted
beliefs and celebrated the worth of the individual
– During the Reformation, Protestants rebelled against the
Catholic Church
• __________________________ Influences
– Many Enlightenment thinkers were inspired by classical
culture, going all the way back to the ancient Greeks (some
pointed to the democracies of ancient Athens and Rome)
Philosophers
• Thinkers called __________________
championed Enlightenment ideas
• Philosophers often gathered in
informal meetings called __________,
held in the elegant homes of the
wealthy
• During the salons, they exchanged
and ______________ ideas,
which helped to shape and spread
the ideas of the Enlightenment
New Ideas vs. Old Beliefs
• Enlightenment thinkers questioned accepted beliefs:
– Reason was more important than authority
(challenged the Catholic Church)
• Examples of things that were questioned:
– _______________________________, which was
based largely on trust in the Bible as God’s word
– ____________________________ of kings to rule
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)
• People are by nature _________________ &
___________________________
• To __________________________, people must
enter into a _________________________: giving up
their freedom to a government that will ensure order
(represents what is best for society as a whole)
• Believed _________________________ was needed
to preserve order in society; absolute monarch must
be strong and able to suppress rebellion
Leviathan – 1651:
“People are naturally cruel, greedy, and selfish. Life
in a state of nature would be solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short”
The Social Contract
• _________________________:
Human beings have made an
_________________________
with their government, whereby
the government and the people
have distinct roles and
responsibilities
• The theory is based on the idea
that humans abandoned a natural
(______________ and
________________________)
condition in favor of a society
that provides them with order,
structure, and most importantly,
protection
John Locke (1632–1704)
• People are by nature __________________ & _____________
• ___________________________ (rights that belonged to all
humans from birth): _________ – ___________ – _________
• Wrote Two Treatises of Government
– People formed governments to _________________ their
natural rights
– Government existed to protect rights, and if it didn’t, it
should be __________________ (Social Contract)
• Supported ___________________ (limited power
and accepted by all citizens); opposed absolute monarchy
“Men being…by nature all free, equal &
independent, no one can be put out of this
estate & subjected to the political power of
another w/out his own consent.”
What are Natural Rights?
Freedom of: religion, speech, press,
assembly, property, the pursuit of
happiness
These rights are referred to in the American Declaration of Independence
Question: How did these ideas
challenge Europe’s traditional order
of divine-right monarchies?
God gave certain rights solely to monarchs, not to the general population
Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755)
• The best way to protect liberty was to divide power between
____________________________: the legislative, executive,
and judicial (_____________________ of _______________)
• Each branch has the power to check the other two
(____________________________________) in order to
______________________ any one person or group from
__________________________________________________
Spirit of the Laws – 1748:
“In order to have…
liberty, it is necessary that
government be set up so that
one man need not be afraid
of another.”
Voltaire (1694 – 1778)
• Strong supporter of ____________________________________,
Thought, & Religion
• Battled corruption, injustice, and inequality
• Believed in the separation of church and state
• Used wit as a weapon to expose the abuses of his day (the French
Monarchy, the nobility, and the Catholic Church)
• Wrote: Candide as a way to bypass __________________________
• Imprisoned and forced into exile
“I do not agree with what you
have to say, but I'll defend to
the death your right to say it.”
(Freedom of Speech!)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778)
• People are naturally good, but society corrupts them;
b/c of this, some controls are necessary, but should
only be imposed by govts that had been freely elected
• Champion of ______________________
for his idea that political authority lies with
the people
• Opposed strong government (oppression)
Social Contract – 1762:
“Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains”
“Only the general will can direct the energies of the state in a manner
appropriate to the end for which it was founded --i.e., the common good.”
Cesare Beccaria (1738–1794)
• For centuries, punishments for crimes had often been quite cruel –
one reason was that extreme punishment was necessary to deter
crime in a time when the police force was too weak to ensure that
criminals would be captured
• In 1764, Cesare Beccaria, argued in his essay On Crimes and
Punishments that punishments should not be exercises in
brutality (____________________________________________)
• He also argued against _________________________________,
finding it absurd that the government commits
murder to punish a murderer
Censorship
Censorship = _____________
________________________
Govt & church officials
banned & burned books &
imprisoned writers
However, ideas spread
regardless
Question: How do you think
philosophers and writers avoided
censorship?
Enlightenment: Main Ideas
• Applied reason to the human world (human nature, govt)
• Stimulated religious tolerance
• Fueled democratic revolutions around the world
• Influenced the framers of the United States Constitution
Results of the Enlightenment
• Ideas about freedom and representative government inspired
leaders in the American colonies to revolt and establish an
independent republic (United States of America), which in turn
influenced the French Revolution and the Latin American
Revolutions
• The United States Declaration of Independence, Constitution,
and Bill of Rights incorporated Enlightenment ideas
– Can you identify some of the ideas?
Birth of the
American Republic
Influencing Revolution
Locke’s idea that the
people could
overthrow a
government that isn’t
protecting their
natural rights
influenced leaders of
the American
Revolution, the
French Revolution,
and the Latin
American Revolutions
Causes of Revolution
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Enlightenment Ideas: Why would this make people want
change?
Unpopular Method of Rule: If people listened to Locke,
what form of government would become popular?
Economic Distress: What are some kinds of money
problems that would make people want change?
Social Injustice: Can you think of some real-life examples
of this?
Religious Intolerance: What group left England because
they wanted religious freedom?
Nationalism: How could nationalism influence revolution?
Birth of the American Republic
Quick Overview:
• People left England in search of 1) religious freedom and 2) new sources of wealth
• England controlled the American colonies even though the colonists didn’t have people
representing their interests in Parliament: “No taxation without representation!”
• After the Seven Years’ War, the British government needed money to pay off their debts, so
they began taxing the colonists (e.g., Stamp Act, Sugar Act)
• Merchants didn’t want the British government to run their affairs
• The American colonies and Great Britain had numerous crises throughout the 1770s (e.g., the
Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre)
• The First Continental Congress convened in 1774 to decide what action to take (e.g., create a
list of grievances, demand independence, etc.)
• Fighting between Britain and the colonists erupted at Lexington and Concord in 1775
• Declaration of Independence written and signed in 1776 (formally declared the colonies’
intent to be independent)
• American Revolution was fought from 1775-1781
• The U.S. Constitution was written in 1787
– Social Contract (agreement between the government and the people)
– Elected executive and legislature (instead of a hereditary monarchy)
– Federal republic (power divided between the federal government and the states)
– Separation of Powers (three branches)
– Checks and Balances (to prevent any one branch from having too much power)
– Rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution)
The Constitution of the United States of America
Article 1
Section 1
All legislative Powers herein granted
shall be vested in (given to) a Congress
of the United States, which shall consist
of a Senate and House of
Representatives.
Article II
Section 1
The executive Power shall be vested in a
President of the United States of
America.
Article III
Section 1
The judicial Power of the United States
shall be vested in one supreme Court,
and in such inferior (lower) Courts as
the Congress may from time to time
ordain and establish.
The Bill of Rights
Amendment 1: Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging (limiting) the freedom
of speech or of the press.
Amendment 5: No person shall…be subject for the
same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb;
nor shall be compelled (forced) in any criminal case to
be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law.
Amendment 8: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishments inflicted.
• Declaration of Independence
– The government has an obligation to protect the people’s
natural rights to ‘life, liberty, and property’ (Locke)
– The people have a right to ‘alter or abolish’ unjust
governments (a right to revolt/overthrow the govt) (Locke)
– The principle of popular sovereignty, which states that all
power comes from the people, is another important point in
the Declaration
• Constitution
– A social contract into which the people would enter
(Hobbes, Rousseau)
– Elected legislature and an elected president, instead of a
hereditary monarch (Locke, Montesquieu)
– Separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and
judicial branches (Montesquieu)
– Checks and balances (Montesquieu)
• Bill of Rights (important to the passage of the Constitution)
– People had basic rights that the government must protect,
such as freedom of religion, speech, and the press (Voltaire)