Throughout history, only a small number of people have accomplished so much that they are known as “The Great”, and Frederick II of Prussia was one such person. Frederick was a capable king, and one of the first monarchs to be “enlightened”. As king of Prussia, Frederick led an era of great change in his nation. Under his rule, “The Enlightenment” spread, and Prussia became a major military power in Europe. During the time of Frederick, a movement focused on using reason, called “The Enlightenment”, swept through Europe. As an enlightened monarch, Frederick helped to usher this change of thinking. This reason was implemented in a few of Frederick’s policies, most notably in how he put the state above his personal desires. Frederick attempted …show more content…
At the time of his ascension, his father had left a standing army of 83,000, but by the time Frederick died, that number had risen to 190,000. Only a small portion of these were Prussians, however, as Frederick hired mercenaries so the peasants could continue to work and pay taxes to support the army. This focus on military allowed Prussia to gain territory and power, but did not help improve the life of the average citizen by any means. However, Frederick put the state above all else, and needed such a powerful army to ward off his main rivals, Austria and Russia. His “warding off” generally involved preemptive invasions whenever he felt threatened, so much of the first twenty years of his reign were spent at war. From these wars, he gained some territory, but the most important gains of land were Silesia, and the land gained from the partition of Poland. Despite the dominance of his army, Frederick made many enemies, and was almost defeated in the Seven Years’ War. Besides his previous feuds with Russia and Austria, he also angered France when he attempted to make an alliance with Britain. Surrounded on all sides, he only survived when he signed a peace treaty with the new czar of Russia, and the previous one had died. Thanks to Frederick, Prussia gained a large amount of land and power, but he almost lost it all due to some of his decisions, and life for the general populace was not
Frederick II won many wars because he had great formation, and because he had a smart army, but also many times he got lucky and won the war. When he went to go start a war with the russians there didn't pay attention to him. The Russians were focused on the prussia, and the australians were mostly focused on the Silesia. Prussia survived the war with the Russians. Frederick found out how exposed his dominions were, all though there extent allowed the to abandon territory and thus to trade to trade space for the vital time
It has been noted that Frederick believed that a ruler should be like a father to his people (Beck 606). Meaning, he did what was in the best interest of Prussia, while simultaneously increasing its power as an absolute monarch. According to Britannica, listed as the largest and most comprehensive encyclopedia, “To him [Frederick the Great], it was his duty to protect his subjects from foreign attack, to make them prosperous, and to provide them with laws that were simple and adapted to their wants and their particular temperament.” In order to meet these objectives, Frederick must have had to prioritize his people, which is a typical trait of some of the greatest leaders. It goes on to say, “Notably, his insistence on the primacy of the state over personal or dynamic interests and his religious toleration widely affected the dominant intellectual currents of the age.”
Five nations, three alliances, numerous acts of aggression, and over a century of rising tensions culminated in the outbreak of the Seven Years’ War. Throughout the years leading up the 1750s, societal structure and political influence weighed heavily on the development, maintenance, and purpose of the military. Cycles of conflict and diplomacy between two powerful alliances pitted Prussia and Great Britain against France, Austria, and Russia, and caused the rise and fall of historical figures such as Frederick II of Prussia (“Frederick the Great”) and the internal collapse of France, Prussia, and Austria. During the Seven Years’ War, the “face of battle,” or detailed experiences of the battlefield, transformed in tandem with social evolution
Both Enlightened rulers sought to strengthen their state, but had a different approach in order to achieve it. Frederick the Great implemented his reforms unhurriedly and steadily, whereas Joseph II emphasized his reforms more radically and at a more rapid pace. Frederick the Great trusted the nobility and thought of them as the foundation of the social structure. Thus, granting the nobility more power over the serfs. On the other hand, Joseph II believed that allowing serfs to have greater power would, in turn, strengthen the country. By cause of this, Joseph II abolished serfdom. The critical thinking of the Enlightenment greatly influenced the revived changes that were emphasized in Prussia and Austria. However, not all of the policies adhered to the standards of the Enlightenment.
Frederick diminished the power of the Junkers, who were the nobility of Brandenburg and Prussia that threatened his power. He did so by giving them reconfirmation of their own privileges, which included authority over serfs in exchange for their acceptance of taxation. The “Great Elector’s” son, Frederick I, became the first Prussian king by helping the Habsburgs and Holy Roman empire in the War of Spanish Succession. He later passed the throne down to his son, Frederick William I. Frederick William I, known as “the Soldiers’ king”, is considered to have truly consolidated Prussian absolutism by eliminating the “last traces of parliamentary estates and local self-government.” [1] In addition, Frederick William I turned Prussia into a military estate by forcing conscription, which became lifelong in 1713. Instead of destroying the Junkers, he appeased them by allowing them to lead his growing army in which peasants were forced to serve in. In addition, he abused the Junkers’ acceptance of taxation, which allowed him to create such a well-trained army and an educational system that was under state control. Therefore, he created a “rigid and highly disciplined” [1] civil society that consisted of a
Correspondingly, in Prussia, the next Hohenzollern was Frederick the Great, who applied enlightened absolutist ideas to the economy. Frederick took a more humane approach to policy, which would strengthen the state, and he also reconstructed agriculture and industry. Altogether, the monetary and financial systems these enlightened rulers employed were to make more money. More financial capabilities would result in a stronger state, due to the ability to accomplish more goals, and a better life for the rulers’
Another piece of evidence was King Louis XIV believing in an absolute monarchy because he thought the more power you give to the people, the more they want.(Doc 3) This statement shows that before the government changed people had no voice. They had no say in what happened. The Enlightenment caused a change of government and proved King Louis XIV wrong. When the citizens had more control over the government, they didn’t ask for more power, they were satisfied with what they had. Voltaire believed that Freedom of Speech was essential.(Doc 4) Voltaire ideas led to the first amendment.
Frederick had to struggle with other people not thinking he was another human just because he was a different color than them and they did not think he was capable of having an education, he believed in himself and went through everything he had to just to learn. He thought learning how to read and write was the way to get through life, that it was freedom, so then he never gave up and found his way around the struggles and made it possible that he could learn how to read and write and proved everyone
Between the 17th and 18th century, Enlightenment ideas that originated from France spread to other parts of Europe. Prior to the Enlightenment, absolute monarchs ruled most of Europe. Over time, citizens began to question the monarch’s power with ideas from philosophes such as Voltaire and John Locke. The philosophers concluded that society’s problems could be solved using a method of logic and reason. Also known as the Age of Reason, the Enlightenment inspired societal change and evolution. Through the use of logic and reason, enlightened despots of the 18th century were influenced by the social, political, and economic aspects of the Enlightenment.
The purpose behind Fredrick Douglass’s Narrative was to appeal to the other abolitionists who he wanted to convince that slave owners were wrong for their treatment of other human beings. His goal was to appeal to the middle-class people of that time and persuade them to get on board with the abolitionist movement. Douglass had a great writing style that was descriptive as well as convincing. He stayed away from the horrific details of the time, which helped him grasp the attention of the women who in turn would convince their husbands to help by donating money and eventually ending slavery. He used his words effectively in convincing the readers that the slave owners were inhuman and showed how they had no feelings for other human
The definition of reform is to make changes in something; socially, politically, or economically, to improve it. One of the world’s most prominent writers, Thomas Carlyle, said, “Reform is not pleasant, but grievous; no person can reform themselves without suffering and hard work, how much less a nation.” According to Carlyle, the action of reforming is not easy to do for yourself, let alone for a whole nation of people. While many revolutions have tried, only a few have successfully reformed the people around them. Such innovators include Frederick Douglas, Charles Darwin and Steve Jobs.
The effects of slavery continue to be seen in the world to this day, but its time of full force was during the time of Frederick Douglass, an American slave who eventually learned to read and write. He escaped from slavery and began to tell his story, which became very famous for its raw description of the conditions of slavery. Although many think that slaves were the people most affected, Frederick Douglass reveals that the slaveholders were also greatly changed by the institution. In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Douglass highlights the dehumanizing nature of slavery, both physically and mentally in both the slave and the slaveholder by providing insight into his relationships and experiences with
A significant amount of the 17th century was spent in devastation for the nation of Poland. The Ukrainian Cossacks were controlled by the Commonwealth at the height of their success. In 1648, the Cossacks waged war for their independence, with Russia joining the Cossacks in 1654. On another front, Sweden had invaded Poland in 1655 leaving much of the country in ruins (Lambert, n.d.) Within a span of seven years Poland was fighting two different wars with three different countries on its own land. The result of these wars left most of the country’s population dead and a majority of the country in ruins. With a country in ruins and now a weak central government things continued to not fare well for Poland in the 18th century. In 1764, the king of Poland died unexpectedly, leaving Poland again Vulnerable to Russia. Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, saw this as an opportunity to further Russia’s influence in Poland. She intervened to have a former lover Stanislaw Poniatowski be crowned the new king of Poland. By having Poniatowski as king, Catherine could easy manipulate the state of Poland for the benefit of Russia. Poland would again deal with more strife in the coming years. The country would have an uprising in order to regain its country but were quickly defeated leaving parts of Poland divided off between Russia, Prussia and Austria. By 1795, Poland ceased to
Frederick hoped to accomplish a sense of being to the slaves and to get the world to open their eyes to the reality of what was going on. As we all know, Frederick Douglass was an abolitionist and wanted to end slavery all together to make it no longer legal or constitutional. He especially got his word out during the Civil War when people actually went to war over this cause and also when people were listening to the other side; the other side being African
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is an account of Frederick Douglass’ life written in a very detached and objective tone. You might find this tone normal for a historical account of the events of someone’s life if not for the fact that the narrative was written by Frederick Douglass himself. In light of the fact that Douglass wrote his autobiography as a treatise in support of the abolishment of slavery, the removed tone was an effective tone. It gave force to his argument that slavery should be done away with.