English Constitutionalism

The review bandwagon grew to double digits as eleven smarties joined me in S109 this morning to review English constitutionalism.  Check out the review brainstorm doc, and feel free to add ideas and examples. The main idea is that constitutional government emerged in England in the seventeenth-century.  Parliamentary powers over the Crown (i.e. King/Queen) grew with victory in the English Civil War (1642-1649), and Parliament's authority was confirmed when William and Mary deposed James II in the Glorious Revolution (1688-1689) and accepted limits on their authority through the English Bill of Rights.  While knowing the order of Stuart Monarchs in the 1600s is useful, it is not as important as the main idea.  Here's a quick summary:

1. James I: absolutist ideas, but cooperated with Parliament
2. Charles I: absolutist ideas, and quarreled with Parliament=>Civil War, executed
3. Oliver Cromwell: Parliamentary political and military leader, Puritan, ruled as dictator after execution of Charles I; banned Christmas
4. Charles II: restored to throne after death of Cromwell; King and Christmas returned
5. James II: Charles II's brother, suspected Catholic, deposed by Parliament
6. William (of Orange) and Mary: invited by Parliament to invade England, they did; accepted Bill of Rights

A few students remembered that John Locke wrote his explanation of the social contract between rulers and the ruled to justify the Glorious Revolution.  Thomas Jefferson, and others, would famously recycle Locke's reasoning in the American Declaration of Independence, which declared that men can "alter or abolish" a government that restricts their rights.

The glib, short, and very fast video below recounts the English Civil War in more detail than you need, but the main ideas should shine through.

The review train steams forward on Wednesday with a look at early modern central Europe: Prussia, and stuff...

Wars of Religion

A focused group of inquisitive minds closed out last week in style with a fog clearing discussion of European wars of religion.  The review document is here, and the Dutch Revolt line is crying out for completion.  I created a short quiz (six question, including two matching) to help brush up on this.

Philip II, painting by Renaissance master Titian

The most prominent name on the quiz that we didn't discuss more than briefly last week is Philip II of Spain.  He had a hand in two of the conflicts: Dutch Protestants were revolting against his rule and he supported the most militant Catholic faction in the French Wars of Religion.  Philip II ruled the Spanish Empire during the second half of the sixteenth-century, and he ordered the Spanish Armada assembled to attack England, because the English under Elizabeth I supported the Dutch rebels.  Philip II was so committed to Catholicism that he his Royal Palace, El Escorial, was also a monastery.  He used much of Spain's American gold and silver to finance wars against Protestant rebels.


We also discussed the two eruptions of large scale religious violence in the Holy Roman Empire during the first halves of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-centuries.  I used the phrase Wars of the Reformation to refer to the conflict between Lutheran and Catholic forces in the Holy Roman Empire following establishment of Lutheranism by many German Princes.  This fighting was interrupted for long stretches as Charles V Habsburg, Holy Roman Emperor, fought the Ottoman Empire and France.  The Peace of Augsburg (1555) ended these conflicts and allowed Princes in the HRE to establish Lutheranism or

Sack of Magdeburg

Catholicism.  This peace lasted until the Thirty Years' War which began in 1618 and (helpfully) lasted thirty years until the Peace of Westphalia.  This war was a major watershed in European History and caused tremendous suffering in central Europe. 

Many of the Royalist officers who fought in the English Civil War (1642-1651) gained combat experience in the Thirty Years' War, but that is a story for our next review session...

Reformations

S109 was alive with intellectual ferment once again as a lively band of AP Euro scholars discussed aspects of the Reformation today.  The fruits of their labor are visible on the Reformations review doc, which shows many of the issues of the Reformation era.   Gutenberg's printing press, which first appeared around 1450 (also, the starting time for this course), came up several times both Catholics and

One of Gutenberg's Bibles.  The text is in Latin, printed on paper.
This copy is from the New York Public Library

Protestants made use of printing.  The Reformation era began in 1517 when Martin Luther wrote his 95 Theses criticizing Church doctrine, especially the sale of indulgences.  Students should start working on a few key dates to help them stay organized.  The two above are an excellent start.

Students need to be able to explain the main ideas of Protestantism, and also compare the various Protestant movements, particularly Calvinism and the Church of England.  The impact of the Reformation rippled through the centuries, and as we will discuss during Friday morning's review of the Wars of Religion.

Renaissance Review

Afternoon review last Thursday featured ChromeBooks and lively Renaissance chat.  For many sessions students will brainstorm on google docs using ChromeBooks.  Check out the social/political and intellectual/cultural docs.   These are by no means exhaustive, so feel free to add key ideas or details.  I do edit them during review to correct misconceptions and/or add key details.

Renaissance Italay

We remembered that northern Italy, heartland of the Renaissance, was comprised of city-states in the fifteenth and subsequent centuries. The great powers of the day did fight over and in Italy, though.  The Habsburg-Valois Wars (Holy Roman Empire vs. France) were a prominent example during the Renaissance
Northern Italy was more commercial and more urban than most parts of Europe. The bourgeois and noble elites that dominated the city-states were patrons of many of Renaissance artists, although the church and landed nobility continued to fund arts. Patronage was also one way that women, especially noble women, influenced Renaissance art.  Isabelle d'Este, who became Marchesa (like a Duchess) of Mantua (near Venice) is a famous example. She commissioned, collected, and displayed paintings and sculptures by Leonardo da Vinci and other famous artists.  She ruled Mantua while her husband was away at war or a prisoner.  Since these things happened a lot, she exercised quite a bit of authority.

Sketch of Isabella d'Este by Leonardo da Vinci

  Isabella's father, a Duke, educated Isabella and her sisters, in the humanist manner.  Despite the prevalence of patriarchy, some elite women did become quite well educated.  Don't worry if you don't remember ever learning about Isabella d'Este, you will not need to recall her name for the AP Test.  Isabella's story does illustrate several of the key themes of the Renaissance.

Other key topics that we discussed included Northern Humanism and examples of Renaissance art, you should know a few, and literature.

There is often a FRQ on either the Renaissance or the Reformation.  Review rolls on this afternoon with a look at the Reformation.

Review is rolling!

I have enjoyed seeing AP History Scholars back to review for the test. Engaged minds! We have met on a couple of times and discussed general review techniques and the DBQ.

I think that using self-testing to review every day or two over the next month is the most effective approach.  By self-testing I mean quizzing yourself on the material, perhaps using marked up copies of your own notes.  This technique is backed by the American Psychological Association.  Check it out, they're a sharp group.

The official AP Euro course themes can be found on the back page of your syllabus or downloaded from here. Try to focus on identifying a manageable number of high priority terms, people, events, and themes.  I have other materials to help with review:

• Old DBQs with which to practice 
• "Sense of the Century" sheets, on lovely orchid-colored paper, to practice recalling key events, themes, and people.  These also help with the chronological awareness necessary to write some FRQ.  Use these in tandem with the key themes.
• European History textbooks to use to review and look up material. Sick of McKay? Pick up Kagan

The calendar on the moodle page has the schedule for future review session.  Renaissance review this Thursday after school.  I am also available in the "PLCC" office in the SSRC before and after school to work on writing or specific content.


See you soon!

Mr B