Vincent Cronin And Louis XIV: Reign Of The Third Reich In Germany

Abryl Navarro DBQ Essay During the 1500s and 1600s, Western Europe experienced a period of governments ruled by ab-solute monarchs. Absolute monarchies are forms of government in which the monarch has abso-lute power over the people. The absolutism was caused by religious and territorial conflicts which was crated fear and uncertainty. Rulers/ Kings abused their power of absolutism over their sub-jects.

     In addition to his strengths, Louis XIV had weaknesses. After Colbert died, Louis made one mistake that undid all of his work. He revoked Edict of Nantes who protected the religious freedom of the Huguenots. Instead of being imprisoned, more than 200,000 Huguenots fled from France. The country lost many of its skilled workers and business leaders. Louis XIV also fought many costly wars that caused his people great suffering. Many of the wars left France on the brink of bankruptcy.

A form of government ruled by one person whose authority is not restricted by law or governing bodies is absolutism. It is arguable if this form of government can truly be successful due to its impression left throughout the course of history. Justification of absolutism by Thomas Hobbes, Jacques Benigne Bossuet, and analysis of Louis XIV rule reveal why absolutism in ineffective. Due to its removal of self-authority, vulnerability to a power, and the possibility of weakening a country make absolutism inefficient.

To start, when Hitler came into power, everyone loved him and he was like any average ruler until things started to change. Hitler led Germany into battle in World War II and mostly everyone was convinced that it was only a matter of time before they won the battle, but when this was not the case Hitler was outraged. From the article in historylearningsite.co.uk it illustrates what Hitler felt, ““stabbed in the back” by the Jews” (Trueman). This was most likely the result of feeling like he needed someone to put the blame on, someone to be displeased at. The Jews didn’t purposely make Germany surrender or have any part of having Germany lose the war, after all it was their country too. After this event, things started to go down hill for the Jews and what most people refer to as mankind's worst mistake. Secondly, Hitler started to use his power to exterminate or control the population of all Jews, thus abusing it and doing things that should not be done with his power. Since he thought Jews took everything away from him and Germany he started dehumanizing them and treated them as if worse than animals. The novel Night states that they were deprived of all of their jewels and precious belongings, having to wear a yellow star so everyone knew they were Jewish, living in the ghettos,

Many rulers used absolutism in their countries. They believed rulers should have complete control over the country. Prince Machiavelli believed the best way to rule was to be feared and thought that the only way people would listen to him was if he was mean and scary. He thought if he was nice and loved then they would not fear him and end up taking advantage of him. (doc1) King James also believed absolutism was the way to go. He believed in divine right and that it was the only way to keep the country

During the era of his reign, Napoleon Bonaparte was a well renowned military leader and emperor of France. The quote “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” explains how the obsession of wanting complete authority over others would overtime fade away a person’s morality. Such a bold statement seems to perfectly correlate to Napoleon Bonaparte’s own history. He was a man with such power and popularity, but who soon became insensitive to the cost humans would have to pay because of his actions causing great anguish for others. The reason being as to why Napoleon is associated with this quote is because of his infamous deeds such as the imprisonment of the Pope, the execution of d’Enghien and

During 1650-1750, a new political system known as absolutism emerged and became popular amongst many countries in central and Eastern Europe. Absolutism is a political system in which a divine-right monarch enjoys absolute power over all affairs of state. Supposedly, the “divine-right monarch” receives his power directly from God, meaning that he is only responsible to God and that no one can question his authority. In the 1600’s, taxes and famine began to rise in many European states, which resulted in dangerous and uncontrolled riots. Many countries began to adopt absolutism as a political system that could be a solution to these issues. As absolutism became a solution to these issues and gained popularity in France, Prussia, and Russia,

During the 16th and 17th centuries it is clear and evident that the centralization of power, or the absolutism in and hierarchy, does in fact induce stability in society, however, it is also evident via the given readings that absolutism also had its flaws which were later proved to be its downfall. It essentially all boils down a single concept of the people versus government. This is evident in the history of the French prior and leading up to the Révolution. In addition to, the monarchy of the English under King James VI and I’s rule. As complicated as the nature of government is, when power or authority is concentrated excessively into a single point, the society will crack by that very same point if a healthy relationship between citizen and ruler is not established. One cannot expect to bully and undermine one’s citizens without considering the possibility that one day they will rise up against him or her and “religious” masks can only be worn for so long before people recognize the hypocrisies present within them. Both of these truths are evident as seen in the given texts. Specifically, with The Great Cat Massacre, On The Social Order and Absolute Monarchy, by Jean Domat, and Trew Law of Free Monarchies, King James VI & I.

Although Louis XIV, also known as Louis the Great, brought death and destruction through his wars, there are many positive aspects of his reign, such as the creation of Versailles and the building of France’s national army. He did what had never been done before. He changed the lifestyle and the attitude of France by creating one of the most powerful monarchies ever to be built and at the same time, reassured all the nobility and other wealthy groups of their political and social standings. He made it clear that he was the final decision maker yet he still needed the help of the nobility and other authorities.

During the late 17th and early 18th century, many European nations such as France and Russia were absolute monarchies. Even countries such as England had kings who at least attempted to implement absolutism. Indeed the concept of absolutism, where the monarch is the unquestionably highest authority and absolute ruler of every element in the realm, is certainly appealing to any sovereign. However, this unrestricted power was abused, and by the end of the 18th century, absolutism was gone. Absolutism failed because the monarchs' mistreatment of the population caused the people to revolt against their rule and policies. There are many factors which caused this discontent. For one, there was a great loss of human lives. Louis XIV of France

The Weimar Constitution was a genuine attempt to create a perfect democratic country. In his book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1960), American historian William L. Shirer described the Weimar Constitution as "on paper, the most liberal and democratic document of its kind the twentieth century had ever seen ... full of ingenious and admirable devices which seemed to guarantee the working of an almost flawless democracy.” The constitution guaranteed equal rights to the German people, yet also contained the fundamental structural flaws that would play a major part in the Republic 's downfall (and thus the Nazi Party’s rise). Two clear examples of such weaknesses were the use of an excessively proportional electoral system and the

Some people think that King Louis XIV did more harm to France than good. They cite his lack of moderation in managing his money. They also point out that Louis denied religious liberties to the Protestants of France and tightened control over his Roman Catholic subjects by revoking the Edict of Nantes. They also claim Louis’ war efforts were very costly and drained the treasury of France. Some say his arrogance, including his emblem of the “Sun King”, turned “his” people away from him. They think that Louis only cared about himself and what he wanted and didn’t think about future France.

Louis became unpopular because he was so sure of himself. He felt that everyone should revolve around him, so he took the sun as his image, because they had just discovered that the world revolved around the sun. He persecuted Protestants. He also used bribery. King Louis XIV forced Protestants to pay extra taxes and forced the people who kept the Protestant religion to house soldiers whenever they were in town. He taxed the Protestants because they chose to believe in something different then his beliefs. Louis threw out the Edict of Nantes because it gave people the freedom to choose their own religion and he believed that people should have only one religion, Catholicism. This act took away the people's right to freedom of religion.

After being ruled by a prime minister for so long, France needed some changes. That is exactly what Louis the XIV would bring to France. In an age of separation, Louis wanted to start a unification process. He started this by giving himself sole power and also only having one religion for the country. The king is always the center of attention good or bad. Louis was prepared to take the good with the bad, and handled it well. He emphasized the king as the center of attention. While some see him as egotistical and greedy, Louis was one king who knew how to make improvements.

        In conclusion, Thomas Hobbes established much of his views on absolutism.       Absolutism is a political theory holding that all power should be vested       in one ruler or other authority. Ironically, Hobbes did not believe in the       Divine Rights of Kings, even though of his strong royalist views.       Absolutism is founded on the idea that human society tends toward       self-destruction. So, in order to achieve order and harmony in society,       people must renounce all of