The French Revolution and Napoleon's status with the Church

"What happened (involving the Third Estate) during the meeting of the Estates General that set the French Revolution in motion?"


What happened during the meeting of the Estates General set France into complete and utter chaotic revolution. It started innocently enough. The Third Estate wished to have their votes counted per head instead of per Estate. They likewise wanted to be granted more Estate members so that their vote would be able to actually count. If not, then their votes would simply be outweighed by the other two Estates due to their having more members than the Third Estate. But when their request wasn't granted sufficiently they decided to turn it up a notch. They asked the First and Second Estate to join them in establishing a new constitution for France and they did. They (The Third Estate) declared themselves the people. They would be the people's voice. They would be the people's representative. The Third Estate had declared itself a separate assembly. They were the National Assembly for the nation.

Now, I think that I should make it clear that the Third Estate really had no legal power to do this. Henceforth, a revolution sprung itself into French life and existence. People's heads were spinning
and they wanted more. They wanted change, and they were going to get it in the form of the French Revolution.



"What was the situation of the Church in France after Napoleon came to power?"




The situation of the church in France was on a sort of balance beam after Napoleon came to power. Napoleon saw how alienated the church had become through the course of the French revolution and he knew that this was nonsense. He knew that he would have to reconcile with the Catholic church in one form or another. He reconciled by using the pope and in granting the church different freedoms. Napoleon attempted to regain the church in his favor, but he still wanted them under his thumb. He made it so that bishops would have to be nominated by him and then approved by the pope. Bishops would likewise have to appoint priests from a government approved list. Church lands were not returned, and some of the clergy were angered with these events. But, some viewed it differently. Some viewed it like this. At least the "churches" were being reopened, and at least there wasn't a schism as there had been before.

Like I said, the church in France was on a sort of balance beam. They were still under government control in many ways, but at the same time they were more free than they had previously been.

Thanks for reading my essay, and please let me know if you have any thoughts, corrections, etc. My hope for my blog is to create a place where students, historians, teachers, and anyone else can come and learn. I'm hoping that I can learn from you too, and that you'll help me to make my blog as informational and fun as possible.

     

The Congress of Vienna, the Carlsbad Decrees, and the Purpose of Compulsory State Education

"What were the major principles guiding the diplomats at the Congress of Vienna?"

The Congress of Vienna was influenced by three major principles that revolved around keeping the peace after the Napoleonic wars.

The first principle is legitimacy focused on (of course) keeping or reinstating the power of the legitimate leader/king/royal family. This basically only works though, if you believe in the idea of the natural power of your leaders. And back then, that had been widely believed.

The second principle is the balance of power. This principle was kept to make sure that the powers were "balanced" as to avoid any one power becoming too great. If one power became too great, then there was too much of a chance for it (the one power) to create more war. And the whole point of the Congress of Vienna, after all, was providing and keeping the peace.

The third principle is compensation. The principle of compensation runs a great deal along the lines of the balance of power. Compensation dealt with the powers being compensated for their losses during the Napoleonic wars. If they lost land, then they would be compensated through the gain of more land. With this though comes the fact that in order to keep a balance of power, then you would have to likewise continue giving land to the other powers to balance things out.


These three guiding principles were used by the Congress of Vienna to keep the peace and reinstate stability for their world. War was undesirable, and where there is war, death quickly follows.


         "What were the Carlsbad Decrees?"

The Carlsbad Decrees were decrees which were put into effect by those whom were on the conservative side, in order to abolish the revolutionary uproar that was occurring at that time. The terribly unfortunate occurrence that truly brought this about was the killing of an individual who was more opposed to the revolutionary ideas by an unstable university fraternity member.

The Carlsbad Decrees put the universities on a leash, dissembled the fraternities, and the like. These decrees were used to demolish the revolutionary tendencies and protect the conservative way of thinking.


"According to Rothbard, did compulsory state education emerge because governments simply wanted their people to become more knowledgeable, or were there other motivations at work?"


Murray Rothbard's idea was not that governments simply wished for their people to be educated. It was that the governments wished for their people to be educated as to instill a nationalistic vigor in them. This technique would then lay the foundations for a people that would rely on their government and trust in its strength.

It's like a parent raising a child. If you raise a child to think a certain way and act a certain way, then that child is much more likely to stick to that way of thinking and choose a life path that runs along with it. Chances are that the child won't turn around, spit on the old principles, and run down the road in the opposite direction.

This technique was supported by both Martin Luther and John Calvin as a resourceful way to instill particular religious views in young people.

Murray Rothbard's view was that the government wished to instill certain ideals and principles in its people, so that the people would trust in the deeds and wishes of the government.


Thanks for reading!  

Rhetorical Context in Cicero's Orations

"How important was the rhetorical Context of Cicero's orations: his listener's fear of Catiline's conspiracy and army?"

Cicero

     In my opinion, the rhetorical context of Cicero's orations was undeniably important in making his listeners afraid of Catiline's conspiracy and army!

     Rhetorical context is what made his speeches so fantastic!  I don't think that he would have gotten very far in his orations had he not used such good rhetoric.  Using outstanding rhetorical context was an amazing gift that he held in his possession, and he used it to stir up the emotions of many.  He had an advantage that no other man in history possessed.

     Thanks so much for reading, and please let me know what you think!

"If you had been Catiline, what would you have said to undermine Cicero's case?"

     If I had been Catiline, I would have confronted Cicero on many of his accusations.  Cicero seems to have accused Catiline of many devious/evil things, and yet he presents no real proof to him or to the senate.  I would have asked Cicero to provide the proof that he wasn't sharing.  If there was real proof of the deeds then of course I would be condemned, but if there was no real proof I would have a tremendous advantage. I would therefore be able to represent myself to not only the senate, but also to Cicero, as an innocent individual.

Biotechnology and DNA

                                                Biotechnology

     In this section of my essay I will be talking about my thoughts and questions pertaining to biotechnology.  

     Biotechnology has always been a part of our lives in one way or another.  Cheese making, beer brewing, and antibiotics are all examples of things where biotechnology is used.   

     To make you a little more familiar with this extremely useful tool in life, I will give you the definition of biotechnology.

"1. the exploitation of biological processes for industrial and other purposes, esp. the genetic manipulation of microorganisms for the production of antibiotics, hormones, etc."

     For the moment I will talk a bit about it's role in food making.  

  

    In about 6000 BCE the Sumerians and Babylonians would use yeast in order to make beer, in 1300 CE the Aztecs discovered that the algae in lakes could be a potential food source, in 1852 cross-fertilization is discovered in corn, and in 2000 Australia created its first cloned cows.  

     Of course there were other discoveries but I am only going to list these ones right now.  

     If we have been using biotechnology for this long and it took so many years to discover cross-fertilization in corn of all things; how long will it take to make some of the far more advanced discoveries?  That is one question that I ask myself when learning about biotechnology.

                                 DNA

     Am I the only one who has wondered if perhaps one day we will be able to bring the dinosaurs into existence again or create a real superhero?  I guess that this is something that I have always been fascinated with.  It probably sprouts from my love of science fiction.  Star Trek, Spider Man, The Avengers, etc., are most likely the culprits.  

     Since Friedrich Miescher discovered DNA in 1869, and Watson and Cricks' discovery of the double-helix stucture in 1953, we have made many advances in the way that we use DNA.  From using it to find criminals, the making of insulin, and finding a specific person in mass-war graves, DNA is becoming more and more useful!   

   
     It really does make you think about the possibility that science, using DNA, could actually turn some science fiction tales into a reality.  

     I wonder how far away these discoveries in DNA are?  If they are ever made, I wonder how they will be used?  

     Perhaps they would be used purely for scientific purposes, but most likely they wouldn't be.  Seriously, let's just think about this for a minute.  If these discoveries were made, how would governments try to use them?  They have created atomic bombs, machine guns, fighter jets, etc., using the discoveries that have been made in science.  What would happen if real super heroes were created using DNA?  What would happen if human cloning was made successful and legal?  Would the government perhaps try and use these things to their advantage?  Of course they would!  They would be stupid not to.  

     The idea of these things happening is quite frightening to me, but then again, I don't think that we will have to worry about this for quite a long time.  I mean, we cloned Dolly, (the first cloned sheep from an adult somatic cell) in only 1996. 

I hope that you have enjoyed this essay, and please let me know what you think!       

The Peloponnesian War and Pericles' Funeral Oration

"What points is Pericles trying to make about Athens in his Funeral Oration?"


     Pericles was trying to get across how wonderful Athens was, praise the people, and honor the dead at the same time. 
     
     He talked about all the advantages that Athenian citizens had, he tried to motivate the living during a time of war, and as stated earlier, honor the dead.  
     
     He wanted to help the people to keep going by telling them about what they had to live up to (The dead soldiers).  He also tried to give them a reason(s)to keep fighting by telling them about all that they had to lose.  He told them about all of the amazing advantages that Athens had to offer like its freedom in government and ordinary life.  

     These were the points that Pericles was trying to make in his Funeral Oration.


"Why was the Peloponnesian War fought?  What was its long-term significance?"


     The Peloponnesian War was fought for these reasons.

1.  Athens appeared to be using the Delian League's ship-building funds to help beautify itself instead of to build ships for the protection of those in the Delian League.
2.  Sparta was afraid that Athens was becoming too powerful.

     Here is the war's long-term significance.

1.  Athens would lose its dominance of the other members of the Delian League.
2.  Sparta would take control of things.
3.  In the end, this war between the Greeks would ultimately weaken them and spell out some serious consequences.

     Well, That's all for this week. I hope that you have enjoyed this essay on "The Peloponnesian War and Pericles' Funeral Oration". See you next Friday, and please let me know what you think! 

     

Ethics and the Development of History

"What is the view of the biblical materials on the role of ethics in the development of history?"


     In the development of history, biblical materials have influenced ethics by a very large degree.  We see this when we give money to the poor and needy, help build homes for those who don't have any, etc.  
     
     There are lots of people out there who don't believe in God and yet, they do their best to help those in need.  Why? The answer is simple.  In every society, people have believed in some form of morality that was handed down from one generation to the next.  For many, what was handed down to them was biblical ethics.  For instance, it is illegal to commit murder.  Where else do we find this law?  We find it in Exodus chapter 20, verse 13.  "Thou shalt not kill."  What is another law that we have in the world today?  Let's look at Exodus chapter 20, verse 15.   "Thou shalt not steale."   These are two very well known laws in today's world, as well as the world of the past.     
     
     Although some might not agree with everything in the Bible, you have to admit that biblical materials did play a huge part in ethics, and the history of the world in general.

     Thank you very much for reading, and please let me know what you think! 
   

The History of Minoan Crete and the Mycenaeans

     We did not really learn about the existence of Minoan Crete until about 1899 when the city of Knossos was excavated.  Other cities were found around the island of Crete as well.
     They were a civilization with lovely pottery, palaces, and frescoes.  Their art seems to focus on daily life.  As for the palaces, they are thought to have originally been religious centers and later used for royalty.
     The Minoans are thought to have been a peaceful people focusing in trade instead of war.  But it does appear that they took part in human sacrifice.
     They had a "palace economy" where the people would manufacture the goods and the government would decide where everything went.
     We are not familiar with their literature because their language is written in a text called "Linear A" which we cannot decipher.
      They are thought to eventually be invaded by the Mycenaeans of mainland Greece.


     We will now talk about Mycenaean Greece.  It was thought that Greek history began in 800 BC but that theory was proved wrong by a man named, Heinrich Schliemann who lived from 1822-1890.  He loved the Homeric epics and decided to go to Turkey to find the city of Troy.  He does find Troy and excavates it.  He found evidence of destruction and he wondered if that could possibly be evidence of a Trojan war.  It was not enough however, and we still are not sure if their ever was a Trojan war.
      The Mycenaeans appear to have had independent cities and each one was probably ruled by one king.         The Mycenaeans seem to have been a warlike people quite unlike the Minoans of Crete.  The Mycenaeans did however absorb some of the Minoan culture which can be seen in their craftsmanship.
      The Mycenaeans used a form of writing called "Linear B" which we have deciphered and have learned that it is an early form of Greek.
      We think that a lot of Greek religion originated in Mycenaean times.
      We will now come to the demise of Mycenaean Greece.  Here are some theories on what happened to Mycenaean Greece.  Some believe that there was internal conflict.  Others think that environmental factors were involved.  There are also other theories but I will not mention all of them.
      Now we will move on to the Mycenaean Dark Age, (1100-800 BC) where we find next to nothing concerning outside trade, literacy, or anything else.   There is however, some controversy on if their ever was a "Dark Age". This minority is convinced that we have the dating systems wrong and that we are adding time that was never there.
     Thank you so much for reading "The History of Minoan Crete and the Mycenaeans" and please let me know what you think!