The Paths Separate: The Rise of Constitutionalism in England and the Netherlands, The Age of Absolutism, and the Era of Enlightened Despotism
ASSIGNMENT SHEET
Day # 1 Wednesday, November 6
The Rise of Constitutionalism in England and the Netherlands: Our Study Begins Today!
Read in your text, 160-169. We'll discuss the 'balance of power' and examine the rise of the Dutch Republic during the 17th century.
[To review your notes from the class discussion groups, click here.]
Days 2, 3 and 4 Thursday, November 7 - Thursday, November 14
Quick
Summary: In
England, two revolutions - - Puritan and Glorious - - resulted from clashes between king and
Parliament. Parliament was a
medieval English institution that sought to defend the ancient liberties that
noblemen and wrested earlier from kings.
Upon
the death of the childless Elizabeth I, her cousin James
I (1603-1625), a Stuart, inherited the throne.
He boldly asserted the theory of divine-right
monarchy, proclaiming himself to be God’s legal representative on earth.
Puritans in Parliament, who comprised many gentry members of the House of
Commons, opposed James. His
extravagant spending and his intolerance toward the Puritans were among the
reasons for their antagonism toward him. Each
body, Crown and Commons, asserted rights challenged by the other.
Parliament held the purse strings and refused to relinquish control, an
event forcing Charles I (1625-1649),
desperate for money, to accept the Petition
of Right with its writ of habeas
corpus.
The
issue came to a head in 1640, when revolution broke out between the aristocracy
and the Anglican Church hierarchy and the New
Model Army led by Oliver Cromwell,
a Puritan member of Parliament
belonging to the gentry. In the
ensuing civil war, the forces of Cromwell defeated the king, and Charles I was
beheaded. He had arbitrarily forced
loans to finance a Scottish war; he had tried to arrest members of Parliament
while in session; and he had ignored the principles of the 1628 Petition of
Rights, which he had earlier signed. A
Rump Parliament had convicted him of treason.
Cromwell
then ruled sternly during the Interregnum. The revolution had produced extremists, like the Diggers
and Levellers, who called for the abolition of private ownership of land
and the extension of the franchise. Cromwell’s
military dictatorship and his Puritanical rule collapsed with his death and was
quickly followed by the restoration
of the Stuart kings, who were Catholic sympathizers, in 1660.
As a result, Parliament passed the Test
Act in 1673, requiring all officeholders to be members of the Church of
England. Still, Charles II
(1660-1685) plotted with Louis XIV to convert England back to Catholicism.
James II (1685-1688) proved no
wiser and ignored Parliament while appointing Catholics to high government
positions and choosing for his second wife a Catholic. Such affront led prominent British citizens, both Whigs and
Tories, to join forces and drive James from the throne. William of Orange and
Mary, his Protestant wife and the daughter of James II, accepted the
invitation tendered by British leaders to ascend the throne upon signing the
English Bill of Rights. The
political theory of John Locke won
out over that of Thomas Hobbes.
The English Bill of Rights guaranteed individual rights of life, liberty, and property for the aristocratic oligarchy against the absolute power of kings. It undermined divine right theory and signaled a victory for Parliament. By the end of the seventeenth century, England was established as a Protestant state, controlled by gentry burghers and noble lords with power over the king.
Read
in your text, 169-174.
In addition to textual information, please skim the following documents.
The biographical sketches include general information about the time period;
they may help you clarify any not-understood points:
1. Short Biographical Sketch of James I.
2. James I: Speech on the Divine Rights of Kings.
4. Biographical Sketch of Charles I with photos.
For Tuesday, read 174-181 and then skim the biographical sketches below:
5. Biographical Sketch of Oliver Cromwell w/ photos.
6.
Charles
II and the Restoration
8. William III, Mary II and the English Bill of Rights
Day # 5 Friday, November 15
Read short summary of Queen Anne's reign. We'll complete our discussion of Charles II, James II, William and Mary and Anne today.
Then, begin thinking about this in-class essay question for next Tuesday, November 19:
Analyze the ways in which both the THEORY and the PRACTICE of monarchy evolved in England from 1603 [the death of Elizabeth I] to 1688-89 [the Glorious Revolution]. You may use your notes and text.
Day # 6 Tuesday, November 19
Prior to class on Thursday, read only the quick summary posted below. The remainder of the reading can be done prior to Monday's class since you need to use Thursday evening to write your essay.
Quick Summary:
Seventeenth-century France, in contrast to the England during the same period,
saw discontent among the nobility and religious pluralism smothered by the
absolute monarchy and the closed Catholic state of Louis XIV (1643-1715).
An aggressive ruler who sought glory (la gloire) in foreign wars, Louis
XIV subjected his citizens at home to “one king, one law, one faith.”
Historians once portrayed
Louis XIV’s reign as a time when the rising central monarchy exerted
far-reaching, direct control of the nation at all levels.
A somewhat different picture has now emerged.
Louis’s predecessors and their chief ministers in the half century
before his reign had already tried to impose direct rule, arousing discontent
and, at mid-century, a rebellion among the nobility.
Louis’s genius was to make the monarchy the most important and
powerful political institution in France while also assuring the nobles and
other wealthy groups of their social standing and political and social influence
on the local level. Rather than
destroying existing local social and political institutions, Louis largely
worked through them. Once nobles
understood the king would support their local authority, they supported his
central royal authority. In other
words, the king and the nobles came to recognize that they needed each other.
Nevertheless, Louis made it clear to all concerned that he was the senior
partner in the relationship.
Louis’s royal predecessors laid the institutional foundations for absolute monarchy and also taught him certain practices to avoid. Just as the emergence of a strong Parliament was not inevitable in England, neither was the emergence of an absolute monarchy in France.
During the next few days,
we'll examine those ruling principles that Louis XIV practiced while allowed his
reign to become the textbook example of ABSOLUTISM.
Read text,
182-190. Scan I'd
Like You to Meet Louis XIV.
Be prepared to discuss these
three questions:
1. What were the mercantilist policies of the French minister Colbert and how did these policies contribute to the centralization of Louis’s power?
2. How did Louis use religion and Versailles to strengthen his political position in the state (France)?
3. If you were asked to defend the concept of absolutist rule, what would you identify as the political advantages?
Day
# 7 Wednesday,
November 20
We're writing an in-class essay [topic was listed above]. You may research the topic prior to class, but you may NOT bring any notes with you.
Day # 8 Thursday, November 21
Then, we’ll discuss Louis’s War for Empire. Read text, 190-197, carefully. These wars are quite confusing, but they are important individually and as a group. It might help you distinguish between the wars, if as you read, you created your own outline. For each war, please note the dates, the opposing country (or countries), the reasons and the outcomes.
Day # 9 Friday, November 22
Absolutism of Peter the Great of Russia. I'll be in Phoenix at the National Council of Social Studies conference, but you'll come to class. I'll have an activity regarding Peter the Great waiting for you!
Prior to Friday, read text, 234-245 and then
SKIM a short biographical
sketch and four primary
documents regarding Peter the Great's leadership style.
Day # 10 Tuesday, November 26
AUTHOR PROJECTS DUE TODAY! Papers will be given to me; displays should be set up in the Trustees' Gallery outside the library before class begins. We'll take about 15 minutes of class time to just "visit" the displays.
Then we'll turn our attention toward the "sick old men" of Europe: the Holy Roman Empire, the Republic of Poland and the Ottoman Empire.
I'll provide a quick summaries of the developments in these nations; you have no homework over Thanksgiving break. Enjoy your families; eat well. Think of others and think about your blessings!
If later, you need to refresh your memories, information on these nations in in your text, 211-219.
Day # 11 Tuesday, December 3
The Rise of Austria and Prussia: 1648-1740
Skim text, 221b-234.
Keep these questions in mind:
How would you describe the Austrian Empire of the last 17th and early 18th
centuries? What was the PRAGMATIC SANCTION? The words Prussian and
military become synonymous during this era. Why?
Day # 12 Wednesday, December 4
Catch-Up Day!
Day # 14 Thursday, December 5
TEST [100% Multiple-Choice
Questions]
* Rise of Constitutionalism in The Netherlands
and England
* Absolutism in France during the Rule of
Louis XIV
* Absolutism in Russia during the Reign of Peter the Great
* Changes in the Minor European Powers
You may want to check the sample MC questions provided.
Day # 15 Friday, December 6
A Comparison of the Enlightened Despots: Franz Joseph II of Austria, Frederick the Great of Prussia and Catherine the Great of Russia - - How enlightened were they?
Skim text, 326-342a. Look for 'enlightened' actions of each ruler. For more information about these three rulers, visit this connection.
Day # 16 Tuesday, December 10
We'll finish the Enlightened Despots today!
Day # 15 Tuesday, December 17
SEMESTER EXAM! 100 MC questions, two Free Response essay questions and the intro paragraph for a DBQ.
HOLIDAY BREAK!