World History Homework Nine - Model

1. Now that you've taken the midterm exam, how might you have prepared better? (5 words or less)

By focusing more on how the major empires correlated with one another. (Jenna N.)

2. Religious wars in England: its loss, America's gain. Explain.

During the 1600’s, there was some of the most horrible religious maltreatment in the history of the world. Protestants ruthlessly persecuted each other and there was also incessant conflict between Protestants and the Catholics. The conflict between Anglicans and Puritans in England was extremely severe, and caused many Puritans to flee to New England. This was England’s loss. America’s gain was when the Quakers were persecuted for their Quaker faith, and William Penn founded the state of Pennsylvania. It’s a good thing the Quakers were persecuted because without them coming to Pennsylvania, spreading their faith, and reaching out to people, America might have never turned out to be like it is today. (Jenn)

England lost all decency within its great country. It was organized chaos. America gained more citizens by it because people in England got fed up with everything that was going on. (Nate)

3. The French Revolution: all bad, or was there something good about it?

The French Revolution basically threw out a tyrannical form of government and replaced it with another—the Parisian mobs, and then Napoleon. France has never fully recovered from the anarchy of the Revolution days, but the Revolution was bound to happen sooner or later. Had the French had great, selfless leaders like George Washington and James Madison, their own revolution might have turned out better. (Duncan)

4. Pick another revolution and describe it.

The American Revolution was a turning point for the world. Different mind-sets and outlooks on life create different results, and by comparing the French Revolution and the American Revolution, this becomes evident. The American Revolution sought complete freedom for it's people, in the world that they could create. (Anna)

5. Why do you think it took the world so long before revolutions started occurring?

One reason why it took the world so long for revolutions to occur was just because people didn’t know that they were possible. Just like the European philosophers and the concept of “zero”, how could you discover or use something that you didn’t know existed? (Olivia)

Honors Questions (answer any 2 in addition to the above questions)

H1. Does art follow politics, or lead it? Comment in connection with "revolutionary art (including music)."

H2. Napoleon's Empire: write about any aspect of it that interests you.

I think that the way Napoleon ruled was very interesting. He bred dislike of foreigners and catered to many of the common people’s likes and dislikes, such as the return of another regime. He also gathered power with his support for French institutions such as the “Concordant of 1801” which confirmed the Catholic church as the major church of France. He catered to the people and supported only France and this is how he rose to great power in the empire. (Joseph M.)

H3. The Louisiana Purchase was a "win-win" deal, meaning it was advantageous for both sides. Explain.

The Louisiana Purchase was advantageous for both sides in that both America and France got something which they wanted and needed. France (led by Napoleon) got $15 million to fight in Europe with, which she desperately needed at the time, and America received 828,800 square miles of land for settlement. France had no use for the West of North America (it was too far and provided no resources) and the United States did. (Duncan)

H4. Comment on the theory or justification of a revolution, and what you think about it.

The basic idea behind a revolution is that the government is accountable to the people, and that when the government oversteps its authority, the people have a right to change it. While it was a revolutionary idea, this “Social contract” theory makes sense, since it is true that all people inherently have equal rights. This is in fact a Christian idea; Jesus invited the poor and the crippled and the lepers to the dinner table, unrightfully reserved for the rich. One Bible verse which could implicate the theory of revolution is Matthew 22:21, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s….” However, Christ did not condemn wealth or private ownership, and thus not all money actually is Caesar’s. In fact, Caesar all-too-often takes more than his share. When this happens, Caesar is not receiving what is his, but taking what is not his. In this verse, implicit support for revolution can be found, as the verse implies that Caesar’s power is not unlimited. (Addison)

H5. Write about any other aspect of the lecture.