Notebook Assignment #1:
Political Revolutions Unit Intro
Absolute Monarchy in France
to
On Note Taking Guide:
What are some reasons people might
resort to violence to get a new system of
government?
Last unit, we learned that Enlightenment “philosophes”
were busy thinking about questions relating to the best
forms of government and the rights people deserved.
Voltaire was
thinking about how
free speech and
separation of
church and state
made for a more
fair government
Montesquieu was
thinking about how
“separation of
powers” made for a
more fair
government
Rousseau was
thinking about the
most fair “social
contract” between
people & their
government
But what was the political reality
were the philosophes living in?
All three of these philosophes was French and France in the 1700s was ruled
by the Bourbon Family who were monarchs (kings) with absolute power they
believed stemmed from divine right.
Regardless of what the philosophes thought about people’s rights or what the
best type of government was, they lived under a system where the people only
had the rights that Absolute Monarchs chose to give them.
For Notes – Define Absolute Monarchy and Divine Right in
own words:
A government system where the monarch
holds final authority in all military, religious,
legal, economic and social decisions.
Absolute monarchs believed their power was
legitimate because their families had earned
the grace of God and it was a sin to questions
their authority on Earth. (“DIVINE RIGHT”)
Some supported Absolute Monarchs
Some believed a society needed an ABSOLUTE RULER who is
as “STRONG AS A SEA MONSTER” (from book “The
Leviathan”) to keep order. Otherwise people would be at war
with each other all the time leading to chaos and a life that would
be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short” for all.
Thomas Hobbes, English political
philosopher supported Absolute
Monarchy in his book Leviathan
written during the English Civil War
in the 1680’s
Others strongly opposed Absolutism
Some (like John Locke, English political philosopher) believed
that God gave that all people “natural rights” (ex: Life, Liberty,
Property) and that government leaders had a responsibility to
protect those rights.
Locke believed that if the government didn’t protect peoples
rights, it is the legal for people to have a revolution and set up a
new government that would protect their “natural rights”.
Discuss in Notes: What are
the arguments for & against
an absolute monarchy?
Predict in your notes:
Why might Enlightenment thinkers have
posed a threat to “Absolute Monarchs”?
Voltaire was thinking
about how free speech Montesquieu was
thinking about how
and separation of
church and state made “separation of powers”
made for a more fair
for a more fair
government
government
Rousseau was
thinking about the most
fair “social contract”
between people & their
government
(0 - 3:30)
The Most Absolute of Absolute Monarchs
Louis XIV (aka the “Sun King”) ruled France from
1643 until 1715 mainly from the extravagant Palace
of Versailles he had built. The cost of the palace
along with many expensive wars abroad left huge
debts for his heirs and contributed to the end of
absolute monarchy in France
Living like a King: What was it like to live
in the Sun King’s palace? Let’s find out!
As you tour Versailles, write down some notes on your
impressions or reactions to the video tour.
French Absolutism: 6 ½ minute Tour of Versailles Palace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=852eroBwDrA
For Notes, Explain:
 How the Palace of Versailles symbolizes the
ideas, power and extravagance of absolute
monarchy.
 Why did the French people choose to restore the
palace even after they eliminated the monarchy
and why do so many tourists still visit the palace
today?
France…our first case study this political revolutions unit
For Notes:
How does the portrait of
and the quote by King
Louis XIV of France
reflect the idea that he is
an “Absolute Monarch”?
Louis XIV:
“L’état, c’est moi”
I am the State
By the late 1700’s, there were two places that had gotten rid of their absolute
monarchs and instituted governments based on the ideals of the Enlightenment:
England & America.
These revolutions inspired many in France and later other parts of the world
Suddenly the people of France stopped just thinking about the
ideas of the philosophes and began to take action.
Many in France began to think, “why did Americans get to copy
our ideas while we were stuck with an oppressive absolute
monarch?”
Why can’t we be
More like
England?
While we are
here with no
rights, the
Americans are
busy using our
ideas!
It’s time for
action!
For Notes:
Explain what this quote means to you:
“The Revolution had been
accomplished in the minds of men
long before it was translated into
fact.”
Albert Mathiez, French historian decades
after the French Revolution