Notes from History 1000

Sept, 3 class.

Primary Sources- Information from the time period being studied about said period.Secondary Sources- Information about a time period written at a later date.

Human history is divided into three time periods. The Ancient ending at the fall of the western roman empire in the 4th or 5th century CE (AD). The Medieval Period starting after the fall of Rome and ending with the Renaissance (14-16th century CE).

sept 5/08

Ancient GreeceGods are humanized in greek culturePolis means a fortified hill in the middle of a city but over time the definition changed to mean a city state Helots- 90% of the spartan population were Helots which means slave. The fear of a Helot uprising is what motivated the Spartans to build up the first professional army and become a warrior stateSpartan society was dominated by a powerful warrior elite Athenian society started out along the same lines as Sparta with powerful ruling aristocrats, but went on to become the first democracyThe Persian wars are the division b/w the Classical age of Greece and the golden Age. (490 and 479 BCE)The Persian wars lead to the end of persian conquest in Greece and also the unification of Greece

September, 8/08

Spartans didn’t incorporate helots into spartan society b/c it made them wealthy, there were too many helots and spartan society would have been swallowed up by the society and culture of the helots, there may have been some issues with the ethnicity of the helots that made the spartans consider the helots inferior.

Delian League- An Athenian led alliance to defend Greece from further persian attacks as well as to free Greek cities controlled by persia on asian minor. Gradually morphed into an Athenian Empire.

Peloponnesian League. Spartan led Alliance to defend against Persian aggression and later on to offset athenian power. As the Delian league became an Athenian empire the Peloponnesian league became a spartan empire.

431B.C.E. open war b/w Athens and Sparta The Great Peloponnesian War lasted for 27 years as Spartan land armies could not defeat the athenian navy. Eventually after a disastrous campaign by the Athenians against syracuse the Spartan Army was able to sac athens. This by no means led to peace as there were a further 65 years of civil war as states competed to control Greece.

Herodytus- Father of history both Greek and western. Wrote the history of the persian wars, his writings were vast and very detailed

Thucydides- Wrote the History of the Peloponnesian wars. Athenian commander who was relieved of his command after he lost control of his city. He wrote objectively or at least did his very best to. Also was critical and double checked all his sources.

Socrates- Father of Philosophy. Opposed relative idealism

Plato- Socrates student, believed that while matter could be destroyed ideas could not.

Aristotle- Student of Plato. Had disagreements with Plato. Didn’t have much tolerance for the world of ideas. He believed in the world of science and the physical world. He was an Empirical philosopher. Very important figure as he founded the bases for Biology, chemistry, physics as well as ethics. He is the founder of Western Science.

For Aristotle Democracy was a bad form of governance. He believed that a monarchy was best then an aristocracy and then democracy.Plato believed that democracy was letting fools blindly lead everyone (peasantry and women) believed that the best government was that of a Philosopher King.

While Greece itself was conquered if we look at history we see that greek culture conquered all other western cultures and lives on to this day.

Hellenistic Greece Macedonia was considered almost but not really Greek, mainly because of language and race but also because they still had a monarchyMuch of Macedonia’s expansion is attributed to Phillip II of Macedonia he reorganized his armies and to the Phalynx formation to its zenith.In 338BCE Phillip conquered all of Greece and brought an end to the Polis System. he was assassinated 2 years later and his son Alexander succeeded him.IN an 11 year campaign Alexander marched his army from Greece to India conquering everything in between. Alexander was intensely charismatic and he also inspired his troops by fighting in the front ranks. Alexander encouraged cultural tolerance and acceptance. He married a Persian women and had

persians in his armyAfter his sudden death Alexanders empire is politically and militarily divided into 3 separate empires but they remain culturally joined

The Hellenistic WorldPhilosophy

-skepticism- doubts whether we can really know any true knowledge for certain.-Cynics- we can’t know anything for certain so why bother conforming to any social/cultural norms/laws-Diogenes- father of cynicism called himself a kosmopolitan ( a citizen of the world)-Epicurucs- father of Epicuruism - doubt that humans could obtain certain knowledge. he encouraged philosophers to abandon the pursuit of knowledge and instead teach people how to cope with the worlds reality-Stoicism- Zeno was its father.- the universe is rational and understandable and has the spark of the divine (Logos) and we all have a little of that spark within us. The goal of a stoic is to live in Harmony with the laws of man and nature. Stoicism was easily accepted by the romans and also is similar to Christianity.

September, 12 /08

509 BCE Romans evict the Etruscans from rome and start to form the first Roman republicSenate hundreds of members made up of the richest and most powerful men in RomeConsuls - Military leaders, highest legislative authority elected for one year terms to limit power.Popular Assembly - All the soldiers in the Roman Army. elected the consulsRomans Ally themselves with some local cities and conquer others throughout the 4th and 3rd century BCE until they control most of mainland ItalyDuring the Second Punic War hannibal leader of the Carthaginian army runs rampant throughout italy. but is unable to destroy walled cities and also underestimates the loyalty of Rome’s Allies. the romans send a fleet to Carthage and threaten the City forcing the Hannibal to return to defend the city. Without loosing a battle Hannibal looses the war.Rome eventually completely destroys the city of Carthage and sells its citizens into slaveryRome portrays all of its wars of expansion as defensive wars to protect Rome or its interests.Greek Culture has a massive effect on Roman culture; education, language, drama, architecture, and religion.Zeus=Jupiter, Ares=Mars

Roman society was intensely patriarchal (male dominated). the father had imperium over the familyRomans like spartans had a fear of a slave rebellion and for good reason as a gladiator named Sparticus lead a slave uprising that destroyed several roman armies before being subdued. Marius - reforms the army. makes it into a professional army and does away with the land ownership policy that was previously required to get into the army.

The roman republic was transformed into an empire by;the expansion of the empirethe rise of populists like Pompey and Caesarfailure of the republican system the cost of the decades of civil war.

September 15, 2008

- Augustus unifies the Roman empire and brought about the pax Romana but also the end of the Republic although he maintains a fiction of a republic by keeping all of its parts but in reality he controls the Senate and the consulship as well as the crushing majority of Rome’s legions.Augustus is wildly popular as he not only brought about an end to years and years of destructive civil war but he had enough power to block ambitious Generals and politicians from gaining power. He weeded out corrupt government officials and eased class tensions by forming fire and police departments and distributed grain to the poor. he also launched an ambitious family values campaign. and even exiled his own daughter to show that he was serious.Augustus reorganizes the Army into a fully professional army with 20 years of service and a pension. he also makes it a defensive army.Augustus wanted to Rejuvenate Roman culture and lifestyle.Cicero - conservative Roman who defended the republican system. He is the most famous Roman orator. He wrote about the natural laws which state that there are divine laws from the Gods that do not change.Cicero was a stoic through and through and he was also killed by mark anthony. Romans use the Roman Arch and Cement to become the greatest builders in all of Europe.End of the 2nd century things start to go down hill

The size of the roman empire was just to great inadequate rulers and the problem of succession inflation and other economic problemsbarbarians on the Borders of the Empire

The Roman State becomes more and more authoritative.

Sept, 17 2008Rise of Christianity

Christianity was originally an obscure jewish religion but during the 2nd C it was transformed into a Universal Religion and over then next 500 years would spread to cover all of the roman empire and survived the empire to become the main religion of all of europe.Christianity was originally popular only with the poor and lower classes as Christian missionaries taught that all people were equal. Baptism is used to mark entrance into the Christian religion. Midway through the 2nd C we begin to see the Church organize itself with elected and appointed officials into a quasi-government type body. this structuring helped sustain and spread the growth of the church.B/c Christians didn’t believe in polytheism Roman citizens began to dislike Christians and in fact began to label them as Atheistsb/c Christians wouldn’t recognize the Deity of the roman emperor and refused to serve in the army the roman state began to persecute and kill Christians.Diocletian launched the largest and last persecution of the Christians.Roman emperor Constantine converts to Christianity and one year late signs the edict of Milan legalizing Christianity throughout his empire. Eventually he would go on to make Christianity the only official religion of the Empire. Council of Nicea (325) - A meeting of Church leaders from the Christian world to resolve disputes and declare the beliefs and doctrine of the Christian Church world wide. this is commonly how disputes were solved early in on.Christianity only makes sense in the context of messianic Judaism.Christianity comes to dominate all of western civilization. it even helped preserve Greco-Roman Culture long after the fall of Rome and Byzantine.

Sept,19 2008

Germanic tribes move into the boarders of the Roman empire to escape other barbarians and to serve in the Roman Army. They eventually rise up against the Roman Army and defeat it causing the fall of Rome. in 476 CE the last Roman Emperor is deposed and the Empire of Western Rome is no more. however the eastern empire survives for another 1000 years and comes to be known as the Byzantine Empire.Under Justinian the Byzantine empire re-conquers most of the Western Roman Empire but this financially breaks them.The Second empire to rise from the ashes of Rome is the Islamic Civilization. under Muhammad and successive leaders Islam takes over the Arabian Peninsula, then Asia Minor, North Africa, Persia, and Spain.At this time Islamic civilization is far more advanced than that of Western Europe. They have their own language and it is spoken and written. The Islamic culture also preserves much of the ancient worlds knowledge in medicine and Math. also preserves Greco-Roman culture by preserving some of its literature.Western Europe was the slowest to develop its own culture and civilization.After converting to Catholicism in the 5th C the Franks become the Dominant tribe in Europe by the later half of the 8th C.Under Charlemagne the Franks conquer modern day Germany, Switzerland,

Northern Italy, and Parts of Spain. Monasteries become Great centers of Scholars and preserve Latin as well as much of the Greco-Roman culture.On Christmas day 800 CE Charlemagne revives the Roman Empire by traveling to Rome and having the Pope declare him the Emperor of Rome.The Frankish Kingdom was a loosely organized kingdom united by Loyalty and religion.

Sept, 22 2008

Vassal - Free person usually a soldier or knight who swears fealty to a lord.Excommunication - officially casting someone out of the Church. Good Christians cannot come in contact with someone who has been excommunicated. Popes often excommunicated kings who opposed them.Crusades left from France, Germany, England, Italy and other countries. They were very popular as they appealed to all classes and were seen as a pilgrimage to the most holy of places in the Christian world. After controlling the Holy Land for 2 Centuries the Crusaders were expelled by Saladin and the Muslims.The Crusades also brought about further contact b/w the west and the east and lead to an increase in trade and knowledge for both sides.Crusades are said to be the first signs of western imperialism. And that Western Culture is now a true rival of Byzantine and Muslim culture.During the crusades it becomes clear that the Pope is truly in control of the church and also has significant sway over the states in europe.

Sept, 24 2008

St. Francis - came from a prosperous Italian merchant family. Became a Monk and gave away all his possessions. Gathered a group of followers called the Franciscans.Troubadours- wandering signers who described love as something that made a man a better man. this was called Courtly Love.England had a Strong Monarchy from William until King JOhn. JOhn was a poor Military leader and looses control of English land on the French mainland. He even swears fealty to the Pope and Ceremonially gives all of England to the Pope.B/c he is so weak his barons revolt and force him to sign the Magna Carta.

Sept, 26 2008

Three orders of medieval society

The Clergy - very important and very powerful even though it was only about 2% of the pop. The Church owned massive amounts of land. Anyone could join the clergy. The crushing majority of the members of the clergy could read so they

had a control of the educations system. The Clergy is governed by there own laws called Canon Laws.Nobility/Knights - see list of termsLaboratorers/workers - vast majority of pop. 80-90% most are farmers. the lowest class is slaves then serf, free peasants, Artisans, and finally merchants, Bankers and professionals.Artisans, Bankers, merchants, and professionals live and work in towns Most towns are only 5000-10000 people and make up only about 5-10% of the pop. but they become increasingly wealthy and powerful.To get a BA in the first universities you studied (latin) Grammar, rhetoric, and logicto get a masters you studied Astronomy, Arithmetic, geography, and musicCorpis juris Civilis is rediscovered in Western Europe in a University.University is only for male clergy. although any man could apply to become a clergy to go university.

Sept, 29 2008

By the late middle ages europes population has expanded so much that it is having difficulties feeding itself, which leads to famines that weaken the population making them more susceptible to the coming Black Plague.The Black plague kills 1/4 to 1/3 of europes population in the first wave. it keeps coming around every ten years or so but by the 16th century most of europe is immune to it.europeans can find no cause for the disease or how it spreads or how to cure it leading to great amounts of superstition.initially the plague causes chaos as it wipes out many of the artisans in towns this leads to a labour shortage in towns and that along with the reduced demand for food b/c of the reduced pop. size leads to many serfs leaving their land to work in towns.the plague prevents europe from constantly being on the edge of a famine. in the first stages of the 100 years war England wins virtually all of the battles. At the battle of Poitiers the English capture the King of France. this leads to rebellions and chaos throughout franceHenry V conquers even more of france and it seems that was on the verge of forcing the french to capitulate to english will and monarchy.Joan of Arch leads the French army to an important victory in Breaking the Siege of Orleans. at the cathedral a new French King is crowned and France rallies behind him and Joan.the 100 years war leads to the rise of nationalism in both England and France.By 1300 the Holy Roman Empire is breaking upBy 1300 people stop seeing the Pope as their spiritual leader and start seeing him as a papal monarch.in the late middle ages we see a decline in the powers of the high middle ages.W/ the loss of Papal authority we see the loss of the largest unifying factor in Europe.

Oct 1, 2008

Renaissance starts in Florence then moves to the other Italian city states and then europe from about 1350 to 1375.it was a rebirth of the study of classical knowledge (greek and roman) in the original languages.the printing press resulted in a flood of books in europe and more and more people learned to read.the renaissance was the spirit of Humanism - the study of humansFundamental elements of Humanism

Study of classical greek and roman texts in their original languageAntipathy towards the medieval age and culture.Educational reforms including the promotion of physical training and the

extension of education to the lower classes.humanism is more secular than religious.The most enduring and easily recognized symbols of the renaissance are its art.renaissance art shifts from the very un-natural art of the medieval age to the extremely realistic art and sculpting of the renaissance.Democracy takes a step back during the renaissance as most city states are ruled by the wealthy elite or a dictator, and parliaments are subdued.Slavery returns. the plague had wiped out most of europes cheap labour but with the discovery of the Americas and the exploration of Africa and cheap steady supply of slaves could be purchased.Native Americans didn’t have immunities to european diseases like the Plague and thus they suffered greatly from death and disease.The discovery of the Americas lead to a flood of gold, silver, spices, and slaves into europe giving the european economy a much needed boost.

Oct. 3 2008

Luther was the start of the reformation but not the first dissenter against the church. he is however, the first successful dissenter.A weak Papacy, the printing press and the flood of ideas, literacy, and literature combined with a more well travelled and educated lower class lead to the success of the reformation.German Princes sometimes converted to protestantism for non-religious reasons. After conversion they could seize the Churches lands and holdings as well as tax the clergy. it also gave the Prince the control over his peoples religion and eliminated a political rival.Luther starts reformation by nailing his 95 thesis to the Church door at Wittenburg CastleLuther felt that the Church had become to corrupt and he especially hated the indulgences and their saleLuther’s thesis under-mound the whole doctrine of the Catholic Church from the Petrine Doctrine to the sale of indulgences and the authority of the Pope.

Luther believed that Christians are justified by faith alone.gradually through the 1520’s protestantism grows. and as it grows it splinters into different groupsCalvinism is a growing movement of the 2nd half of the 16th century and even eclipses Lutheranism as the dominant form of protestantism.by 1560 Christianity was fragmented into many different -isms Most people in europe were not happy with the status quo of the peace of augsburg.

Oct, 6 2008

The Huguenots were viciously persecuted in France but sometimes they provoked it. (affaire des placards)St. Bartholomew's Day massacre a systematic killing of huguenots that lead to the unification of France’s protestants and also international reaction.there were 8 different national scale wars as well as many small regional or intra city conflicts that lasted for decades.in 1598 Henry IV becomes King of France. Raised as a protestant he converts to Catholicism to end the war and protect people on both sides.Edict of Nantes - 1598 - Henry IV grants amnesty, the freedom to practice religion, gather in public, some civil rights, and the right to maintain a militia for protection to the Huguenots. Brings an end to the French religious warsThe Habsburg Empire is the most powerful in Europe in the 16th century. It is Spain, Austria, The Low Countries, parts of Germany and Sicily.Philip II of Spain is King of Spain and leader of the Habsburg Empire. Spain is Europes most powerful country as it has huge colonial wealth and is the greatest colonial power.The Netherlands are mainly Calvinist Protestants but are ruled by the Catholic Spanish. This leads to a revolt that is both religious and nationalisticthe Netherlands win there independence when it unifies and drives out the Spanish.Henry VIII had officially renounced Catholicism but his daughter, Mary Tudor, is a catholic and tries to reinstate Catholicism and stamp out Protestantism during her 5 year reign.Elizabeth I becomes queen and creates the Anglican Church as a compromise b/w the two groups. By doing this she helps England avoid the terrible bloodshed that France and Germany had to go through.The English destruction of the Spanish Armada marks the end of Spain as Europes main power, and also the end of the threat of religious war in England.Germany suffers the most of any nation in religious warThe 30 years war is the most destructive religious war and kills as much as 1/3 of Germany’s population. 1618-1648the Defenestration of Prague was the start of the 30 year war.The heir to the Holy roman Empire indicated his intention to wipe out Protestantism and retake the the land that they had confiscated from the church. The Attitude of complete destruction of the enemy is what would help drag the 30

year war on and on.the First 1/2 of the 30 years war saw the catholics win the vast majority of the battles and almost the destruction of protestantism in Germany.the 2nd half marks the entrance of other nations into the war for the protestant side. Some (Sweden) did it for religion and others (France) did it to ensure that the Germany remained weak.The treaty of Westphalia was signed when it became clear that neither side could destroy the other and that tolerance was the only way to coexist.

Oct, 15 2008

the Stuarts of England tried to become absolute monarchs by avoiding the parliament. This makes the nobility very upset and leads to the demise of the monarchy within England.James I doesn’t call parliament which he needs to do to raise new taxes, because of this he soon begins to run out of money. James is a strong believer in the divine right of kings.James’s son Charles also avoids the parliament instead he tries to reinvent old taxes as well as forcing people to loan him money. he also forces people to take his soldiers into their homes.When he is finally forced to convene parliament in 1628 they immediately demand he stop doing these things so he immediately dissolves parliament.He recalls parliament in 1640 and they now have over 200 demands. His response is to try and arrest the leaders of the opposition against him, but they escape and raise an army to combat Charles.The English Civil war lasts for 6 years from 1642-1646, and surprisingly the Parliamentarians, lead by Oliver Cromwell, defeat the Kings forces.Oliver Cromwell and his forces abolish the monarchy and even behead Charles. For 12 years Cromwell rules as a Lord Protector of England.during that time parliament passes many laws.

new taxes cannot be raised without the consent of parliament.it is a regular part of English governance and must meet at least every three

years.

in 1660 The Stuart dynasty is invited to return to England and reform the monarchy.The Stuart dynasty ends in the Glorious revolution as William and Mary of Holland are named King and Queen of England.by the end of the 17th C we see a parliamentary monarchy similar to what England has today.

In France Louis XIV consolidates power and becomes the most powerful ruler in europe. he revokes the edict of Nantes and trys to reunite the country under catholicism. Through efficient administrators like Cardinal Richelieu the Royal Government was centralized to in and around paris.

Richelieu used government propaganda very effectively (using protestants as scapegoats)the 17th C is the great age of ascendancy for France it takes all the other powers in europe allied to contain them.

Oct, 17 2008

Copernicus had no evidence to back up his theory of heliocenticism so it stayed just a theory until Galileo proved it.Kepler came up with the idea that planets moved in an elliptical orbit which supported Copernicus’s theory.Galileo was criticized by the religious authorities for “contradicting” the Bible. In reality he was not doing this and defended himself by saying that the Bible is a book of religion not of science and that we can honor God by studying his creation. “The Bible tells us how to go to heaven, not how heaven works”Galileo convinces the scientific community that the heliocentric theory is in fact reality and that the universe is like a giant clock and can be examined and explained mathematically and empirically Galileo is put on trial by the Catholic Church and is forced to recant his views and spends the last 8 years of his life under house arrest.Newton adds to Galileo’s metaphor of the universe as a clock and says that it runs on its own w/o divine intervention. He points out that the universe is help in place by gravity.

from 1400-1700, 70000 to 100000 people are killed in the witch hunts. Most are women and others who cannot defend themselves well and have no groups looking out for their interests.The reformation is happening at this time and both sides are accusing the other of using magic . this could be one of the reasons for the witch hunts.some have seen the witch hunts as the reaction of a patriarchal society against women who challenge their authority or challenge their views of what a women could be and should do.Migeul de Cervantes - greatest Spanish writer of all time. worked in Rome for a time and was decorated for bravery in the Battle of Lepanto. Was captured and spent 5 years as a slave in north africa. returned home and became a tax collector sent to jail for taking to much and that is where he got the vision for Don Quixote, his greatest work.

Oct, 20 2008

the dialectician method only rearranges old ideas while the new empirical method was about finding truth out for oneself through testing and controlled observations.Induction - individual sense experience leads to axioms (basic principles) Bacon attacked medieval scholasticism. He helped create a climate that was inductive to change. This lead to a new optimism that humans could understand

the universe and their place in it.Deduction was still used after Bacon but mainly only for Philosophy, theology and ethics studies.Hobbes believes in a very strong central government to keep the people safe and in line.for Hobbes anarchy was worse that tyranny.For Locke people are basically good and using their own basic reasoning would arrive at the same truths we see in the Bible and science all on their own. Locke encouraged revolution if a ruler violated the social contract he had entered into with the people.Locke believed that if you change a persons society than you can change the person.

Oct, 22 2008

The old regime wasn’t static. population was increasing, farming was commercialized and a wealthy middle class was emerging.in the old regime there were three classes

The Aristocracy - people of noble birth. in the 18th C some very wealthy middle class were able to purchase titles of nobility. they were the most wealthy and powerful group within europe. they set the trend for all groups in europe.

Middle Class - focused in the cities and urban centers they were the merchants, professionals, and trades people. they were a small but growing part of the population in the 18th C. They were becoming more wealthy and powerful.

Peasantry - the majority of the population 80%+ of europe 75% of europe are peasant farmers. there are still serfs as well as free peasants paid the bulk of the taxes.

In the old regime the family was the basic unit of production. Homes and small businesses are the dominant force in economic production.The Ag revolution makes possible the rapid and steady population europe sees. 120 million in 1700 to 260 million in 1850.This population growth is the base for the industrial revolution and also one of the main causes of the political revolutions that followed.

James Watt perfects the Steam engine. It revolutionized production as it provided a new seemingly endless supply of power.the cottage system was a limiting factor of production of thread and textiles factories are built to increase efficiency and centralize production. With the formation of factories there is a dramatic increase in production.1780-1800 britain sees a 800% increase in cotton production.the factory system eventually replaces the home as the basic unit of production.

There is a split b/w home and work life. the Factory system marginalizes women and their role in production. The factory system leads to the urbanization of europe.By the start of the 19th C we see an increasingly consumer oriented society (middle class). People begin to identify themselves by what they own. the Ag and Ind revolution lay the basis for european domination of the Globe. they could out produce the rest of the world in any category be it food, clothing, weapons etc. the ind revolution leads to rapid urbanization that is faster than the cities can cope with the growth. this leads to sanitation, environmental problems as well as high crimes levels and so on.The Middle class becomes much more powerful during the Ind revolution.Europeans begin to see themselves as individual competitors instead of organized classes and groups.

Oct, 24 2008

In the 18th C European wars are spread around the world through each nations colonies.England and Prussia are the big winners of the 18th C

Viceroys ruled spanish colonies. They were spaniards who the king sent to govern the colonies in Spain’s interests Spanish colonies were part of Spain’s mercantile system. they could only trade with Spain and other Spanish colonies. This didn’t benefit the colonies it limited them.

Europeans used their colonies to grow cash crops like sugar, coffee, and cotton, which were making massive amounts of money but are also labour intensive. They didn’t want to do the labour themselves so there was a large labour shortage. this shortage was made up with slaves.most slaves came from west africa.Europeans started to see themselves as superior and that it was the africans natural position to be slaves. They were treated as chattel slaves. It was cheaper to import new slaves than keep the ones you had healthy so they could reproduce.

William Pitt - one of the first Prime Ministers of Britain. Under Pitt the British waged and won the 7 years war against France and her colonies around the world.The British captured french colonies in Canada, the Caribbean, and India. Because of her loses in the 7 years war France losses 80% of her economic income to the British.The 7 years wars sees the British Navy rise to world supremacy.The costs of the 7 years war were so great that the British had to raise taxes all over its empire and her colonies resented this as they had no representation in

the government. these tax raises would eventually lead to the American war of Independence.the first continental congress met in 1774 and in 1776 they declared their independence from Britain.in 1783 the treaty of Paris recognizes the independence of the USA

Oct, 27 2008

18th C enlightenment is all about becoming more open to ideas, it is about rationality and reasoning and explaining the universe and mans position within it by science and math.the enlightenment was driven by the philosophes.the philosophes published the encyclopedia which was about helping your fellow man and listening to science and reasoning not religion. it was a collective plea for enlightened reform.most philosophes were deists which are people who believe that God created the Universe and after that stepped back to let it work according to science and rationality. Because God is a God of Rationality if people use their minds and their reason they would arrive at the truths of the bibles all on their own.the idea of social science are formed in the enlightenment.most of the philosophes had a very traditional view of women and their position in society.Fredrick the Great of Prussia, Joseph II of Austria, and Catherine the Great of Russia are all considered Enlightened Absolutists. in the 1790’s the French revolution broke out. This caused the enlightened rulers of europe to tighten their grip in power as they didn’t want a revolution happening in their country.The french revolutionaries believed in the ideas of the enlightenment but used violence to carry them out.

Oct, 31 2008

the French Revolution was the central political event of the 18th Century.France was broke and the king tried to raise a new tax on the nobility to help pay for her wars. They refused and forced him to reconvene the estates general which had not met in 150 years.Louis the 16th calls the estates general and the three estates bring him a list of grievances. The estates general spirals out of control and the 3rd estate splits off to for the national assembly.The storming of the Bastille represented loss of control of the nation by the Crown.smart nobles and clergy side with the peasants and 3rd estate.The revolutions transformed France as a nation. new provinces were formed that were all the same size and had the same power. the judicial system was completely overhauled and the metric system was adopted.

foreign monarchies afraid of a spread in the revolution to their country pledged to fight to defend the french monarchy. after louise was beheaded they declared was on france. France declared war on nations who didn’t declare war on them to spread the idea of revolution. At one point it was France against all of europe.The church was against france as well as the french government seized church lands and made the church a arm of the state. There was even opposition to the revolution within france from the nobility to the peasantry.THis opposition combined with foreign aggression forces the revolution to become more radical and violent.in 1793 Louis the 16th is executed.in 1794 the power of the radical revolutionaries weakens and there is a general return to a more traditional french society.

nov, 5 2008

Napoleons armies carry the ideals of the French revolution to all of europe.in 1795 the national convention was attacked by royalists. Napoleon and his troops repel the attack this leads to the leaders of the national convention trusting and eventually relying on him to support them. this is how he got in the position to seize power.Napoleon maintains the fiction of a republic when he takes control. he centralizes the government and was non-partisan in his promotion of men of all political views.Napoleon gives the people of france internal peace and spread the borders of France which made him immensely popular.the Napoleonic code was still very traditional in its views of women and the organization of family and unions.Napoleon could raise larger armies that the rest of europe b/c of levee en masse and the idea of total war.Napoleon could commit 100,000 men to a battle lose it and come back the next day to keep fighting.Napoleon’s Navy was destroyed by the British navy in two separate battle (Abukir Bay and Trafalgar) This lead to a stalemate in europe as Britain couldn’t defeat Napoleon on land and he couldn’t defeat them on the seas.This military stalemate leads napoleon to make the war an economical war and enforce the continental system.in 1810 Russia withdraws from the continental system. this forces Napoleon to invade.He takes his Grand army (600,000 men) and expects to quickly defeat the russians. However, the russians will not give battle and use the scorched earth tactic so Napoleons troops cannot forage for food and have no shelter.The russians burn Moscow and Napoleon realizes that they will retreat to the Pacific. He turns his army around but winter sets in and his army without food or proper clothing along with russian attacks begin to die in massive numbers. By the time they make it back to france there are only 100,000 men.

This loss encourages the other nations of Europe and in 1813 they defeat him at the Battle of Leipzig. He is exiled but escapes in the middle of the congress of Vienna to give battle again. He is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.France is returned to a constitutional monarchy and not punished for the wars at the Congress of Vienna.the ideas of mutual prosperity and a balance of power in europe worked very well as there are no major international wars for the next 100 years.the Napoleonic wars fostered the romantic movement.Romantics idealized artists, authors, and poets. they believe that there is room in life for faith, religion and the unexplainable.As a result of the Napoleonic wars and the rise of romanticism leads to people seeing themselves as members of a nation not tabula rassa. Nationalism explodes.

Nov, 7 2008

The goal of nationalists was to unify people groups and gain their independenceNationalists recognized a set of criteria for independence

distinct languagehistorical territorya large enough populationdistinct history and culture.

Most liberals actually didn’t fight for a full democracy, they were more concerned that power follow wealth not birth. Liberals fought for free trade.Conservatives fought both nationalists and liberals. they pointed to the French revolution and the napoleonic wars as examples that reorganization of society results in war and bloodshed.

the industrial revolution makes it from Britain to the continent as Germany, France, and Belgium industrialize. As in Britain this leads to a sustained population growth on the continent.the population growth along with industrialization leads to urbanization so that for the first time in human history more people live in the cities than in the country in industrialized nations.Cities grow too quickly and have problems with housing, crime, and sanitation amongst other things.

early socialists like Robert Owen were dubbed as utopian socialists and seen as unrealistic romanticsin marxism there must be a violent revolt as slow small changes won’t bring about a change in the basic class struggle.Marx believed that in a perfect classless society there would be no religion as it was an opiate used to keep the people oppressed.The Communist manifesto was published in 1848 a year of revolutions.

All the revolutions of 1848 failed and were repressed by violence.

Nov, 10 2008

The most significant political events of the 19th C are the reunification of Germany which hadn’t been seen in 500 years and the reunification of Italy which hadn’t been seen in a thousand years.Italians waged a guerilla war against foreign powers for years. These campaigns were unsuccessfulCount Camillo di Cavour - Prime Minister of Piedmont a small Italian provence in the north west of Italy. he was the unifier of Italy. Did it through skilled diplomacy and by using foreign powers against each other to drive them out of Italy.By 1860 most of Italy is unified under Piedmont and in 1861 the Kingdom of Italy is declared. In 1870 after the papal states and Venicia join the Kingdom of italy is virtually the same as we see today.Italy is governed by a conservative constitutional monarchy

Bismarck and the Prussians wage a series of small wars that are to small or end before the larger european community can become involved. By 1871 Germany is larger than it is today with all of modern Germany as well as parts of Poland and the Czech republicThrough political and military actions a massive military and political colossus is formed in the middle of europe that upsets the balance of power.w/ the reunification of Germany and Italy nationalism wins out over liberalism.

the Hapsburg empire was formed of many different ethnic groups and struggled the most with nationalism.At first the they attempted to rule as absolutist emperors but that failed. They tried sharing power with the Hungarians, the second largest group in Austria. the idea was that if we gave them a stake in the empire they would help put down the other groups. this also failed as the other groups clamored for power. The austrians reverted back to absolutism. this created the powder keg that ignited WWI

Under Tsar Alexander II Russia tried to make concessions to liberalism. He freed all serfs, overhauled the judiciary system and reformed the military.Populists wanted to create a peasant utopia and the became increasingly radical as they made more and more demands on the Tsar.in 1881 Alexander II is assassinated. this forces the government to become more authoritarian.

Nov, 12 2008

in the latter part of the 19th C the middle class has become more powerful both economically and politically than the nobility. b/c of their rapid expansion many european cities undergo massive

transformations. The downtown areas is transformed into a commerce and recreation district as more and more people move to suburbs that segregate people along class lines. Large cities build Subways and tramways along with underground services and wider boulevards.Electricity becomes widely available and used by both industry and homes.Over 50 million europeans emigrate to north america, australia and other european colonies.

Women no matter their class were economically dependent on and legally subordinate to men.cult of domesticity - the idea that a women’s natural place was in the home in the 2nd half of the 19th C feminism makes it to the middle and lower classes.The problem for suffragettes is that in many countries there wasn’t even universal male suffrage and that had to be achieved before men would allow women to vote..By the beginning of the 20th C most european nations have universal adult suffrage.

SDP and Eduard Bernstein in Germany argue that incremental socialism was working and that there was no need for a violent revolution. Because of their work germany becomes the first developed nation to develop a social safety net.

Nov, 14 2008

literacy spreads as nations start to offer public primary education starting with Hungary in 1868. by 1900 over 85% of western europeans were literate. the idea was that a better educated person was a better person as a whole and this would lead to a better society.Scientific knowledge is becoming more important and the most desired form of knowledge.Comte felt that the physical sciences had reached the positive stage but the social sciences as they were more complex had not yet reached it.Comte didn’t believe that physical sciences could be used to explain Theological and metaphysical questions.Atheism - goes further than agnosticism by denying the very existence of a God.

Nov, 17 2008

length and time are relative thus there are no absolute truths and this is a direct contradiction of Newtonian Physics and why the Theory of relativity was initially not accepted.Einstein himself had problems with some of the theories that came out of his. Such as the theory that there are some inherent uncertainties in the world.

Art as with science underwent a radical transformation. It moved from a hyper-realistic state to the abstract.

Picasso and others were leader’s of a movement to create are just for the sake of art.

Nietzche stated that all truths were in fact just the biases of their authors. He believed that we make our own choices to believe or not to based on others beliefs or we created our own.For Nietzche morality is a personal choice and must be self constructed.

in the late 19th century we see racism and race being used to explain inequalities.

Sigmund Freud - founder of psychoanalysis. he identified that the human mind is in fact three parts. the Ego which is the section of higher functions and rational thoughts. The Id which is the area of basic desires and impulses. and the Superego the area of moral values for the individual.Freud theorized that most peoples mental problems are based on the conflict b/w the 3 parts of the mind.Freud believed that dreams are a movie about us played by our subconscious and tells us our unconscious desires and wishes.Freud believed in infant sexuality- the theory that humans are sexual beings from birth and our experiences both sexual and non in infancy affect who we will become.

Einstein, Nietzche, and Freud attacked the more traditional western thought and radically changed western thought and society.

Nov, 19 2008

no where is 20th C imperialism felt more than in Africa. on the eve of WWI European nations had carved up the entire continent for themselves.They believed it was the White mans burden to control and bring civilization to Africa. Also they wanted to control as much of Africa as they could so that their rival nations couldn’t.European imperialism also spread to Asia and the far east.imperialism leads to rivalry and intense competition b/w european nations and this leads to the breakdown of the concert of europe.A shifting set of alliances eventually lead to there only being two sides in a cold war like state.

The assassination of Francis Ferdinand leads to the outbreak of WWI as many europeans, mainly Austrians, fell it necessitates war.Austrian mobilization leads to a domino effect of mobilization across europe.Europeans were excited for the prospect of a good war. they were thinking it would be like the wars of the late 19th C. Short, relatively non-destructive wars that lead to great changes.The Schlieffen plan is the reason the germans had to invade France so quickly

as they had to have it over before the Russians had mobilized.When the war bogged down into trench warfare no one really knew what to do as it had never happened before.technology had advanced many times more than leadership and tactics. This meant that man was better at killing other men than taking ground.Technologies like machine guns, cartridge rifles, poison gasses, and others were extremely effective at killing massive amount of people.WWI turned into a giant meat grinder known as no mans land.The germans tried to starve britain by using u-boats to sink merchant and naval shipping. but by sinking the Lusitania they angered the americans and provided a catalyst to American entrance to the war.Germans, after a few initial losses crush the russians in the east controlling ukraine poland and part of russia itself.Lenin and the Soviets seize control of Russia in the March revolutions and end the war with germany. With Russia out of the war german troops are transported to the western front but are unable to over run allied troops.

Nov, 21 2008

b/c of political chaos and economic stagnation in europe there is a rise in extremism both communist and fascist.There are bitter political divisions in france even though it has the strongest post war economy mainly funded by german reparation payments.In britain the economy remained depressed and unemployment high through out the 20’s. Many of Britain’s colonies wanted independence.The USA enters the “Roaring 20’s” and enjoys a period of economic boom as much of europe is indebted to them.The soviet union was having problems moving to true communism with no ownership as the peasants, who’s support the Party needed didn’t want to give up their lands.the Communist party under Lenin makes compromises and allows farmers to sell excess grain for profit.Eventually the communist become a “dictatorship of the proletariat” the death of Lenin leads to a power struggle b/w Trotsky and Stalin. Stalin wins.Stalin advocates the NEP calling for slower nationalization of industry and agriculture pacifying the peasants and allowing him to consolidate power.the Comintern splits socialists from communists as many socialists didn’t want to have to take orders from Moscow and believed that changes could come about through slow steady work not a revolution.Fascism rejects liberalism, socialism, and most of all marxism, it even goes so far as to reject the idea of democracy.Fascism employed the use of terrorism and secret police. the basic idea of fascism is that of personal sacrifice for the State. i.e. the nation is more important than personal rights and freedoms.People were willing to support Mussolini b/c they were afraid of communism.

Mussolini forced people to support him or ran off or killed his opponents by using his paramilitary and terrorist organizations.Mussolini is a very good public speaker and uses his skills of persuasion to sway the people in his favour.As with Communism fascism spreads out over europe to Germany and the new nations formed by the break up of Austria-Hungary.After a failed putsch Hitler is jailed. He uses his time in prison to write Mein Kampf and to outline the german fascist movement.

Nov, 24 2008

the great depression was the most sever economic slump in western history.a massive crash in the US stock market started the depression as american stocks lost 90% of their value.this happened because banks were allowing people to buy stocks on credit. Basically people were buying stocks with money they thought they would get by selling stocks they owned.The American collapse meant that America was no longer lending money to europe but in fact demanding payments of existing loans. Also the flow of american capital into european industry stopped. This spread an american depression into a global depression.Some industries like the automobile, radio, and plastic industries actually saw growth during the depression but most suffered greatly.Unemployment was rampant the US had up to 25% unemployment and in europe millions upon millions had no work.Classical economists called for the government to cut spending, raise taxes and then wait the depression out. however, when the depression kept on going governments were forced to reevaluate the very foundation of classical economics and make shifts away from them.

Mussolini promoted self sufficiency in Italy and organized massive public works projects to stimulate the Italian economy.the Italian philosophy was to join production forces and government together into organizations of production.Mussolini brought organization to Italy but not prosperity.

Many people in france, germany and Italy see the Jews as the cause for their hardships.The rise of the Nazi party was mostly due to the economic problems of Germany and the german governments inability to fix them.Rampant unemployment, grid-locked government and massive inflation levels also lead to the Nazi party becoming more popular with mainstream germans.The SA were used as intimidators and terrorists against Nazi opponents.After Hitler is voted emergency powers he goes about securing power. he outlaws all other political parties. He merges the SA and SS with the Army and police force in some cases they have more power than them.

Hitler restored order and prosperity by implementing Keynsian economics this lead to even broader support for Hitler.The Nazi party advocates that the woman's place is in the home raising children.

Nov, 26 2008

During the 20’s and 30’s the Soviet Union saw a massive increase in heavy industrial production about 400%The Soviets produced mainly heavy machinery and was better at it in the 30’s than any other nation in the world.Collectivization of agriculture lead to resistance and riots as peasants didn’t want to give up their property. Agricultural output fell as farmers lost the incentive to maximize productivity.

The spanish civil war was a preview of WWII. Franco and the Fascist supported by Germany and Italy fought against the republicans supported by the French and Russian. The germans used it as a training ground for WWII

Poland was conquered in only a few weeks in 1939. It was then carved up b/t Germany and the Soviet Union in accordance with their secret non-aggression pact.in the Spring of 1940 Hitler unleashes his blitzkrieg on France. it goes better than even he expected and in a couple of months France is Conquered and germany controls Europe.The Battle of Britain was the first attempt ever to conquer a nation by using only air power. It failed because the Germans stopped their systematic bombing of British airstrips and airports which would have won them the war and switched to bombing British Cities.Hitler didn’t want to destroy Britain as he saw the British as cousins to the German people and a race that could be “saved” he only wanted to force them to the negotiation table.In the first few months of the German invasion of Russia, Germany has massive success. of its 4.5 million troops Russia looses 2.5 million of them and of its 15000 tanks 14300 are destroyed.

Nov, 28 2008

American industrial capacity is so huge that they can out produce all of the Axis powers.The Soviet victory at Stalingrad marked the start of the long march to Berlin. Even in if the allies had not landed on the beaches of Normandy the Soviets probably would have been able to defeat the Germans and they had so many more troops and resources to throw at the war effort. As it was they took massive casualties and without allied entrance millions of more would have died..the soviets defeated the Germans at Stalingrad by sucking them into the destroyed city and then encircling them in a massive counter offensive that cut

the entire german 6th army off.The Germans surrendered in May 1945the Japanese surrender in September 1945Americans thought that they would have to invade the Japanese home islands to force their surrender and that that would cost up to a million American casualties. this was part of the thinking that rationalized the dropping of the atomic bombs on the cities.Divisions emerged b/w the allies even before the war was over.The soviets pushed hard for Berlin so they could control a large buffer area b/w the Germans and themselves.

Main Themes

Western culture is antagonized by tensions b/w democracy and totalitarianism and b/w the church and state.the historical method is the criticism of sources and the analysis of many different sources.History in general gives us the answer to the question of who we are.