Constitutionalism Dbq Essay

This investigation will focus on the question of “How were the ideological foundations of the 1790s French monarchy challenged by political Enlightenment philosophers and writers?” The French monarchy was controlled by an authoritarian regime which created political and economic issues in its society of the 18th century. Montesquieu, John Locke, and Rousseau were political philosophers who successfully expressed their writings and ideas to the public who then were able to challenge the despotic influences that governed France. Due to the inclusion and close evaluation of these philosophers it was determined that Enlightenment and Utility: Bentham in French, Bentham in France by Emmanuelle De Champs and The Oxford History of the French Revolution by William Doyle are valuable sources to the investigation. Both sources state how these thinkers represented enlightenment in legal thought as well as the works of these writers and the influence these works had. This information should act as the focus of the investigation and aid in answering the question.

By the close of the 17th century, England had developed into a Constitutional Monarchy and France had developed into an Absolutist, centralized form of monarchy.

A constitutional monarchy was created in France because it was the decision of the National Assembly to make the king be in charge France. Even though it was a ratified constitution for the French, they decided to keep it as a king in charge instead having a president. The king however was kept as executive power of France. For the French, the king was able to resist any democratic change which made the National Assembly reconstruct the French society. The French people didn’t feel pleased of this decision because the third estate wasn’t well represented in the government which is similar to how the American colonists felt when the British passed the Tea Act, Stamp Act, and Revenue Act. The French felt cheated because they were promised a somewhat similar democracy like the American colonists gained, but they ended up with a constitutional monarchy.

During the 17th century, France was ruled by a powerful absolutist monarchy with a weak Parliament while England had a constitutionalist government with a stronger English Parliament presiding over a weaker crown. Under Louis XIV, French nobles had restricted authority with little say in political matters, whereas in England, nobles were given more power through the constitutionalist government. However, even though the French and English governments had many differences, they still held a common goal which was to unite their country and people under one religion.

From the start, America was unique in that it experimented with democratic ideals to form one of the first republics since the ancient Greeks and Romans. A republic is unique because the power resides in elected individuals representing the citizens (republic). This idea of power to the people was evident early on in state constitutions. State constitutions tended to emphasize fundamental freedoms like that of religion, speech, and the press.The Constitution of Massachusetts established a state government that was nearly identical to the one adopted in the United States Constitution which replaced the Articles of Confederation. Being the first modern republic came with its challenged, but it is now widely regarded as a hallmark of American culture. The first one hundred years were essential in that they defined a republican culture. This development caused nations ruled by monarchs, like dominant foreign powers Britain and France, to reevaluate accepted social hierarchies and consider the role of equality in their society. The French Revolution was inspired by Americans like Jefferson and Locke. In fact, the French National Constituent Assembly, which replaced the absolute monarchy, passed the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” which was inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence”. The republican

During the seventeenth century, England experienced periods of growth and decline due to the presence of absolutism in the government. The weaknesses of England’s absolute monarchies led to the creation of the constitutional monarchy, which remains as England’s form of government in modern times. Through influential events such as the English Civil War, the Restoration, and the Glorious Revolution, England made reforms to political hierarchies.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe many forms of government were created. Two efficient systems of government, Democracy and absolutism, were common during this time period; all around Europe. Democracy is a system of government that the people or citizens take part of government affairs by voting. The other system of government that was more efficient at its time was absolutism. Absolutism is a system of government that only one ruler controls the government and rule over people's lives. Conversy had struck and many questions were asked; which system of government was more efficient - Democracy or Absolutism? The more efficient one is Absolutism, it assisted Louis XIV to run his government and helped many other

This can be seen through one of the main focuses of the French Revolution, liberté (how citizens participate in the government), which was increased then decreased over the course of the revolution. In 1789 France's government was an absolute monarchy. The King, Louis XVI, was seen by many as a bad ruler. Many people believed this because he spent money recklessly, was in slow making decisions, and altogether he was not very interested in ruling France (Murphy 11/13). Since the government was an absolute monarchy, there was no voting, no freedom of speech, and no fair trials -- the King could imprison whomever he wanted. This resulted in there being close to no liberté in 1789, the year the French Revolution began. Later in the revolution, it was declared “law is the expression of the general will. All

The question of how much power should the state have over its people and how the people react to that demonstration of power has been a prominent theme throughout history. Limiting power first began with King John’s signing of the Magna Carta which limited his authority as a king creating the first constitutional monarchy. To thoughts of the enlightenment particularly the ideas of John Locke and Jean Jacque Rousseau, ideas such as equality of man in Locke’s Two Treaties on Government or how the general will contribute to the limitation of sovereign power mentioned in Rousseau’s Two Treatises on Government. Ideals which directly or indirectly led to revolutions particularly the French Revolution and the uprising of the third estate and the Declaration

The American Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence are used everyday, in every case, every law, and in everyone’s life. Every step a person takes without worrying for their life is thanks to the laws and limitations of freedom made by the D.O.I. and Constitution. However, the law isn’t a good thing, nor is it bad, but instead, it is neutral. We have laws that limit our freedom, but in exchange, protect other freedoms of ours that would be more important than others. For example, if someone is angry, and assaulted another, then they can be arrested for assault; this sounds good, but say if you were the angry person, and wished to harm the other, then the law may not seem agreeable, especially in a case where the anger is due to the other party. There are many examples of how the D.O.I. and the Constitution affect the everyday life of the people, but I will select one recent event that is personally one of my favorite. I will explain the case

Absolutism may have worked in France but the people of England were determined to have a more Constitutional way of life. It wasn’t until 1689 that England began to take major steps towards constitutionalism with the signing of the English Bill of Rights. This bill clearly outlined the rights of Parliament and set limitations on the authority of the king. With these rights came freedom of speech, voting for positions and the right to appeal the king’s decision if Parliament felt it was necessary. A tremendous supporter of constitutionalism was John Locke, an English philosopher. In 1689, Locke published Second Treatise of Civil Government, in which he stated that all citizens had the right to protect their life, liberty and property from one another. He also stated that although people needed a sovereign leader, this ruler should not be absolute and did not have the right to breach the rights of the citizens.

A few hundred years ago, monarchies were the most traditional way to run a government. Throughout Europe, rulers rose to their power with nothing but their “divine” birthright. European men and women were subjected to the whims of kings and queens and forced to obey their policies by primarily using fear tactics. Frequently, the decisions made by rulers were detrimental to the people and did not promote their freedoms or rights, and the system of government in place did not allow for political discussion and dissent. For this reason, many philosophers of the time began to explore the true role of government and what the best form of government would be if it is to protect basic human rights. This time period is defined as the

The establishment of centralized state power was an aspiration of many absolutist monarchies in eighteenth century Europe. However, implementing such an efficient political apparatus proved very difficult due to the aging feudal infrastructure of continental Europe. The French Revolution, carried out in name of enlightened ideals, coupled with Napoleon Bonaparte’s military efficiency swept away the remnants of the Ancien Régime and triggered the creation of the modern, unitary, and bureaucratic state. Although France was the first to undergo this incredible administrative and social restructuring, the accomplishments and efficiency of Napoleon’s reforms triggered a progressive conversion to the bureaucratic state model across Europe and – arguably – the rest of the world. From

They felt powerless, which they really were, and they decided to make a constitution known as the Magna Carta. This gave more power to the people and less to the king or ruler. Later there was an action known as that “Hundred Years’ War” (1337-1453), where the king raised the taxes to pay for the army and to fund the war. And years after, in 1689, The people created the English Bill of Rights, a bill which the people demanded such as no cruel or unusual punishments, no excessive bail or fines, the right to bear arms, and the right to petition… to the king without fear of punishment, and the king and queen were forced to sign. But this helped our government today.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.