Prologue - Quia

Prologue

Section 1Legacy of Ancient Greece and Rome

• Main Idea

– The Greeks developed democracy, and the Romans added representative government.

• Why It Matters Now

– Representation and citizen participation are important features of democratic governments around the world.

Types of Government

• What is government?– institution through

which each state maintains social order, provides public services, and enforces decisions that are binding on all people living within the state

– System for exercising authority

Autocracy

• Rule by one person• Autocracies are the oldest and one of the

most common forms of government.

• Most autocrats have gained and maintained their power by inheritance or the ruthless use of military or police power.

• Several forms of autocracy exist, one of which is absolute or totalitarian dictatorship.

• monarchy, a king, queen, or emperor exercises the supreme powers of government

Oligarchy• Rule by few persons• Oligarchies derive their

power from wealth, military power, social position, religion, or some combination of these elements– Aristocracy

• Hereditary ruling class

• Both dictatorships and oligarchies sometimes claim they rule for the people, but they usually suppress all political opposition–sometimes ruthlessly

Democracy

• Rule by many persons• The key idea of a

democracy is that the people hold sovereign power

• Abraham Lincoln described democracy as “government of the people, by the people, and for the people”

• There are two forms of democracy–direct and indirect

Indirect Democracy

• In an indirect or representative democracy, the people elect representatives and give them the responsibility and power to make laws and conduct government.

Greece’s Contribution

• Socrates• Plato

- In an ideal society the government should be controlled by a class of “philosopher kings”

• Aristotle• Questioned world around them• Students of the prior• All used logic and reason to investigate the world, nature of

the universe, society, and morality– central to Western political thought today– Natural law

• Individual achievement, dignity, and worth are of great importance

• Considered to be the birthplace of democracy

The following excerpt is from a speech known as “The Funeral Oration”, delivered by the Athenian general and politician Pericles in 431 BCE. Pericles was widely seen as the leader of Athens. He gave this speech during a funeral for Athenian soldiers that died in the first year of the brutal Peloponnesian War against Sparta, Athens’s chief rival. The Athenian historian Thucydides included the speech in his book the History of the Peloponnesian War. Historians are not sure when Thucydides wrote down the speech or how close his version was to the original.

Find a partner and discuss:1. Based on what you know about Pericles and how this speech was

recorded, what are the strengths and weaknesses of this document as a source about Athens’s political system?

Share out.

“Our constitution favors the many instead of the few. This is why it is called a democracy. If we look to the laws, they give equal justice to all. Advancement in public life falls to one’s reputation for good work. Social class is not allowed to interfere with someone’s merit, and poverty does not block the way. If a man is able to serve the state, he is not stopped by the obscurity of his condition.

The freedom which we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life. There. Far from being jealous of each other, we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbor for doing what he likes. But all this ease in our private lives does not make us lawless as citizens. Fear is our chief protection against this, teaching us to obey the magistrates and the laws.”

Find a different partner and discuss.

2. According to Pericles, what were the characteristics of Athenian democracy?

Share out.

But how many people were really voting?

Rome’s Contribution• Four Principles of Roman Law

– 1) All citizens had the right to equal treatment under law.

2) A person was considered innocent until proven guilty.

3) The burden of proof rested with the accuser rather than the accused.

4) Any law that seemed unreasonable or grossly unfair could be set aside.

• Written legal code (12 Tables)– Applied equally and impartially to all

citizens

• Republican form of government– Used representatives in government

• You will work in the groups that will eventually be your Jeopardy groups.

• With your group, you will imagine that you are a city-state of your own.

• You must decide what kind of government you will have and how you will run it.

1. Monarchy, Oligarchy, or Democracy?

2. Once you have decided how your government will distribute power, decide who is in charge. This will depend on what kind of government you chose.

3. Why did you choose this person or people to be in charge?

4. How will you create and enforce laws?

5. How will the next leader or leaders be chosen?

6. Why have you chosen this type of government?

Answer on one sheet of paper for your group.

Answer in complete sentences on a half sheet of paper.

1. How does an aristocracy differ from an oligarchy?

2. Name one of the four basic principles of Roman law.

3. Which characteristic of the government under the Roman Republic had the greatest impact on the democratic tradition?

4. Why were the 12 Tables important?

5. Where can Rome’s influence on the government of the United States be found?

Section 2Judeo Christian Tradition

• Main Idea

– Judaism and Christianity taught individual worth, ethical values, and the need to fight injustice.

• Why It Matters Now

– These ideals continue to be important to democracy today.

• Monotheism

– Belief in one god

– Christianity, Judaism, Islam

• Polytheism

– Belief in many gods

• Hinduism

Judaism

• Religion of the Hebrews

• Founded by Moses around 2000 B.C.E.

• Moses delivered the 10 Commandments

– Focused on morality and ethics

Buddhism

• Started 6th century B.C. in India

• Based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha or Enlightened One)

• Four Noble Truths with the Eightfold Path

• Escape suffering worldly desires

• Ashoka helped spread the religion with his rock pillars during his reign as ruler of the Mauryan Empire

Christianity• Stressed importance of

people’s love for God, their neighbors, their enemies and themselves

• Used the Old Testament and teaching of Jesus and his disciples which became the New Testament

• Spread through the Roman Empire even though it was banned– Became official religion of

Roman Empire becoming Holy Roman Empire in 380

Islam

• Based on Muhammad’s teachings of the bond of community, unity of all people and charity

• Holy book is the Qu’ran (Koran)

• Fastest growing religion in the world today

Catholic Church

• Most powerful institution in Europe by the Middle Ages

Renaissance

• Starts in Italy

• Renewed interest in classical culture and rejected medieval view that life was only a preparation for the afterlife

• Technology helps make possible

Medieval Art (before the Renaissance)

• Middle Ages last from the 3rd to 13th century

• Learning is centered around the church and religion

• Artistic subjects are religious

What do you notice?

• What do you notice?

• Most art has religious subjects.

• Figures always wear clothes.

• Saints have halos.

• Size of figures represents importance.

• Background is often gold, representing heaven.

• Figures are represented ideally, not as individuals. (They all look the same!)

Renaissance Art

• The Renaissance begins in the 14th century.

• People begin to read the literature of Classical Greece and Rome.

• People begin to learn about the government, philosophy, and art from these writings.

• They begin to study the natural world, astronomy, math, and engineering.

• Artists created works outside the church, and begin to sign their own works.

• What do you notice that is different from the Medieval paintings?

What do you notice that is different from the Medieval paintings?

• What do you notice that was different from the Medieval paintings?

• Saints are depicted as more human.

• Saints are the same size as humans.

• Halos fade and eventually disappear.

• Natural landscape is the background.

• Perspective is used so the art looks more realistic.

Humanism in Renaissance Art

• Changes in art reflect changes in the Renaissance view of people and their place in the world.

With a partner, draw a Venn diagram on a half sheet of paper and compare and contrast Medieval Art and Renaissance Art.

Medieval RenaissanceBoth

Protestants

• People who wanted to reform the Catholic Church during the Reformation

• Started by Martin Luther in the 16th

century

• Questions authority

Individuals

• Both the Renaissance and the Reformation stressed the importance of individual

• Turn to a partner and talk: How did they do this?

• People question authority and learn for themselves

• Helps lead to democracy and becomes rooted in Western culture

Answer in complete sentences in your notes.

1. How are the 10 Commandments different from the laws of other groups?

2. Which of the Christian teachings supports the central idea of democracy?

3. How did the Reformation indirectly contribute to the growth of democracy?

4. What ideas crucial to the shaping of democracy did Judaism and Christianity share?

5. How did the Reformation promote the idea of individualism?

6. How did the printing press help promote the ideas of democracy?

Religion Sourcing

What are the similarities among Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam?

• Go to quia.com/web

• Login

• Go to the class page

• Find Religion Sourcing

What are the similarities among Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam?

• Read “Buddhist Beliefs”

• Discuss the questions below.

• Agree upon a response for each question.

• Write down the response to each question on one the back of the graphic organizer.

What are the similarities among Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam?

• Read the “10 Commandments”

• Discuss the questions below.

What are the similarities among Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam?

• Read “5 Pillars”

• Discuss the questions.

• Agree upon responses.

• Write down a response for each question for the two of you.

• Complete the Matrix/Chart.

• In at least one paragraph answer the main questions above.

What are the similarities among Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam?

• Complete the Matrix/Chart– Measurable? Can you actually see this happening?– Can you see someone going to Church? Can you

observe someone praying?

• In at least one paragraph answer the main question above.

• There are many similarities between Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. One similarity is that all three religions _______________. Also, the religions all believe __________________. Lastly, each religion states that_________________________.

Section 3Democracy Develops in England

• Main Idea

– England began to develop democratic institutions that limited the power of the monarchy.

• Why It Matters Now

– Democratic traditions developed in England have influenced many countries, including the U.S.

Common Law

• English legal system that reflected the customs and principles established over time rather than the will of a ruler

• Look at precedence, past rulings

• Laws common to the country used throughout the country

Magna Carta

• Charter in 1215 that limited the power of the monarch

• Shows that rulers cannot rule any way they please

• No freeman could be punished without using the law of the land

Due Process

• Legal requirement in which the state must respect all of the legal rights owed to a person

• People have basic legal rights, such as trial by jury

• Does not allow monarchs to punish people without going through certain steps

Divine Right

• Chosen by god to rule

• Used by monarchs and emperors which are autocracies

• Hard to argue against

Parliament

• England’s legislature that established the principle of representation and limited the power of the monarch by creating the House of Commons and House of Lords

Petition of Right

• Landmark in constitutional history, 1628

• End of taxing without Parliament’s consent, illegal imprisoning, housing troops, and military government during peacetime

Restoration

• 1660

• Restoring of England’s monarchy after a failed attempt of a military government by Oliver Cromwell

Glorious Revolution

• In order to take throne William and Mary had to agree to give up power

• Known as the Glorious Revolution

• Parliament could restrict power of the monarch and control succession to the throne

Constitutional Monarchy

• Prior events Magna Carta, Common Law, etc lead up to a limited monarchy

• Constitutional Monarchy– Powers of a

ruler/monarch are restricted by a written legal document known as a Constitution

English Bill of Rights

• 1689

• Formal summary of English rights and liberties that include freedom of speech, suspension of laws, taxation without Parliament consent

Answer in complete sentences in your notes.

1. What was the Magna Carta’s influence on history?2. How are Mandate of Heaven and Divine Right the similar?3. Why did Parliament invite William and Mary to rule

England in 1689?4. What impact did the English common law have on the

United States?5. Why was Oliver Cromwell’s rule like that of an absolute

monarch?6. What were the main achievements of the Glorious

Revolution?7. Which country was the main influence on United States’

Constitution?

Section 4Enlightenment and Democratic

Revolutions

• Main Idea

– Enlightenment ideas helped bring about the American and French revolutions.

• Why It Matters Now

– These revolutions and the documents they produced have inspired other democratic movements.

Renaissance

• Although known as an artistic movement its individual nature helps inspire democracy with its independent thinking

Enlightenment

• Intellectual movement during the 17th and 18th centuries

• Apply reason and methods of science to all aspects of society

• Start to question reasoning for governments

Social Contract

• Thomas Hobbes in England was one of the first to theorize that people had a social contract with their leaders.

• Hobbes believed that people surrendered to the state the power needed to maintain order, in exchange for protection provided by the state.

Natural Rights

• John Locke took the social contract a step further when he wrote that the people could justly break the social contract when government failed to preserve the natural rights of the people to life, liberty, and property

• When the American colonies revolted against King George III, they declared their independence supported by the political philosophy of natural rights that Locke had written.

American Revolution

• Inspired by Enlightenment thinkers and the oppression of a ruler across the ocean

• British policies that go against British law but is permissible in the American colonies

United States

• Inspirations– Locke

– Hobbes

– Rousseau• Like Hobbes preached for a social contract but government

comes from free individuals

– Voltaire• Religious freedom and freedom of speech

– Montesquieu• Separation of Power

– More than one branch government that has the ability to check the other to ensure one is not more powerful than another

United States of America

• First the Articles of Confederation– fails

• Constitution– Supreme law of the land

– Inspiration to other democracies

• Representative government– Elect representatives to speak for the people

• Federal system– Power of government divided between federal or

central and states, or local governments

French Revolution

• Lots of underlying issues

• Inspired by Enlightenment ideals and success of American Revolution as well as American Democracy

• Much more bloody and radical

United Nations

• Democracy viewed as preferred form of government

• United Nations

– International peace keeping organization

– Although not all democracies basic liberties or freedoms are agreed upon by countries

Answer in complete sentences on a half-sheet of paper.

1. What were the natural rights?

2. What was Rousseau’s idea of government?

3. What political rights are set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

4. How did the writers of the U.S. Constitution adapt the political theories of the Enlightenment?

5. In what ways was the French Revolution similar to and different from the American Revolution?

6. Why has the idea of democracy survived wars and oppression?