Greek/Roman Philosophy and Revolutions

Purpose: To review the first two standards.

Name_____________ Date______________ Per#______________

Directions: Annotate and complete the fill in the blanks at the end. Standard: 10.1 Subject: Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy and how they influence Western (European and American) thought.
Democracy Patrician Western Socrates Plebeian Constitution Vocabulary Plato Aristotle 10 Commandments Bill of Rights Republic 12 Tables

We learned about Greece after learning about Egypt. They were the next major group of people and they borrowed much of the culture of Egypt. The Greeks lived in city-states. Each one was called a polis. In the polis of Athens, the ekklesia would meet at the acropolis where men over 20 years old would vote on laws in a democracy. This democracy was started because Athens had leaders that would treat the poor farmers very badly. The farmers revolted against this. To help calm them down, Solon gave them freedom of speech. Cleisthenes took it a step further and allowed them all to vote as well. However, this democracy did not include women, slaves, or foreigners, because they were not considered citizens. Athens was also home to three very influential philosophers; Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Socrates was the first philosopher of Athens and believed that people should think for themselves. He was charged with corrupting the youth and was supposed to be killed, but he killed himself first. His best student, Plato, carried on his legacy. Plato believed that the ideal government would be run by a philosopher king. He wrote The Allegory of the Cave, in a book called The Republic. This story told of how man came to find out the truth about his life in a cave, and that the truth hurts! His best student was Aristotle. Aristotle disagreed with Plato about how an ideal government should be led. He wanted a strong leader with good values. He started up a school that would last over 900 years! The next major civilization was Rome. Rome was a republic, like the United States. Rome held elections for representatives that would then vote for the people on different laws. Rome had two groups of people. The patricians were very rich landowners. The majority of the people though were plebeians, poor farmers. Rome had a republic, like the U.S. with a Senate. Two consuls acted like a president and vice president would in the U.S. Rome also had the 12 Tables; a system of laws that were posted in every town, and included such laws as being innocent until proven guilty. At first, Rome hated Christianity and had many gods like the Greeks did. In fact, Rome killed Jesus Christ 2000 years ago because he was preaching to poor plebeians and was going to start a revolution. Eventually Rome became Christian though, and mixed the 10 Commandments with the 12 Tables. Both Greece and Rome are looked at as influencing the ideas in the U.S. Constitution. Both cultures valued the achievements of individuals. Both cultures also had democracy they elected their leaders. Also, the Romans separated the powers of government (legislative, judicial, and executive) like the U.S. does. Standard: 10.2 Subject: Glorious Revolution, American Revolution, French Revolution, and individual liberties.
John Locke William the Orange Dec. of Rights of Man Louis XVI Rousseau Napoleon Constitutional Monarchy Vocabulary Dec. of Independence Robespierre Congress of Vienna Coup detat Hobbes Reign of Terror English Bill of Rights

Before studying the revolutions, we started by studying about the Enlightenment. This was a period of time when people began to believe less in religion and more in science. The two most important philosophers of this time that we studied about were John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. John Locke believed that people were basically good. He believed that all people were born with the natural rights of life, liberty, and property. Thomas Hobbes beliefs were the opposite of John Locke. He believed that people were evil, and that people need to be controlled by strict laws. The ideas of these philosophers led to the Glorious Revolution, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution. The test may also mention Simon Bolivar, a revolutionary that helped many countries in South America become free as being influenced by these philosophers. Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution occurred in the late 1600s when James II took over as king in England. He was Catholic and wanted to make England a Catholic country. He fired the Parliament of England in an effort to take over. This violated the rights of the Nobles that were outlined in the Magna Carta laws. The Parliament asked William the Orange and Mary (James II sister) to come and take over. As soon as they arrived, James II ran away to France. Because William the Orange was able to take over with out any battle or blood, this was called the Glorious Revolution. William the Orange set up a cabinet and prime minister to help him govern the country, and he set up the English Bill of Rights. American Revolution About 100 years after the Glorious Revolution, another revolution occurred in the English colonies of America. The white colonist were upset with England because they were not getting as much money as they wanted when they sold their slave-picked cotton to England and they were paying high taxes. They protested taxes such as the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act with protest such as the Boston Tea Party. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. He borrowed the ideas of John Locke and said that all men deserve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This was the start of the American Revolution. Of course, the American colonist won, and set up a republic (a form of government in which citizens vote for representatives). They also create the Constitution that shows how the government is separated and guarantees individual rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of press in the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments of the Constitution). This is one of the longest lasting Constitutions. French Revolution The French Revolution occurred soon after the American Revolution. French society was divided between their estates, or social classes. The First Estate consisted of the church officials, also known as the clergy. The Second Estate was the Nobles. The Third Estate was made up of everyone else from the peasants to the merchants (the bourgeoisie). The Third Estate was 98% of the population. The leader of France was King Louis XVI, and he was in debt. He called a meeting of the Estates-General to find a solution to this problem. The Third Estate is locked out of this meeting and meets at a nearby tennis court instead. They made the famous Tennis Court Oath, a promise to come up with a constitution. They create the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which was similar to the ideas of the American Revolution and the John Locke. The main ideas were that people should be given rights. Around the same time, women in Paris riot over the price of bread. This is called the March on Versailles. Also, in the fall of Bastille, French rioters break into the Bastille prison. King Louis XVI tries to stop all of this by changing the government to a constitutional government. This does not work, and Louis XVI is put on trail for being a trader and killed. This allows Maximillian Robespierre to take over as leader of the Committee of Public Safety. He leads the Reign of Terror in which thousands of French people are killed by the guillotine after being accused of going against the revolution. Robespierre was killed himself. This is around the time when Napoleon led a coup detat (military takeover) of France, and took total control. Napoleon tried to take over most of Europe, but was defeated. The European countries met at the Congress of Vienna and reset the borders of the European countries back to their original places.