Test yourself (The Age of Reason)

Questions :
1. Name the Enlightment thinkers and their important works.
2. Why was the period between 17th and 18th century called the Age of Reason?
3. How did the Enlightment thinkers attack absolutism?
4. Name two revolutions which were inspired by the Enlightment ideas in the 18th century.
5. Explain the following terms : Enlightened despot, Separation of powers, Social contract.

GRADE 7B : Unit test on Tuesday 21 April 2009

Dear students of grade 7B,

You will be having a unit test on The Age of Reason/Enlightenment on Tuesday 21 April 2009.
Please study the summary of the unit (you can find it in this blog), and from Text book p.19-28.

Regards,
Anang P.Setiawan

GRADE 7 : ENLIGHTENED DESPOTS

Summary

ENLIGHTENED DESPOTS

Tuesday 14 April 2007

Class : Grade 7B

Introduction
•In the 18th century, several European rulers were influenced by the Enlightment ideas. They believe that they should improve the living standard of their people. But they still held all powers in their hands. These rulers were called enlightened despots
•E.g. Frederick the great of Prussia and Catherine the Great of Russia
•The enlightment despots introduced reforms to lessen the hardships of the people. This gave people idea that their welfare was important and that government was on their side.

Frederick the Great of Prussia
•While Louis XIV believed in absolutism, Frederick the Great of Prussia (ruled from 1740-86) was an enlightened despot. He was influenced by the enlightened thinkers of the time, especially Voltaire. While Louis XIV said “I am the State, Frederick II called himself ‘The first servant of the State”. However, although he held liberal ideas and wanted gave his people a better government, he did not believe the people could rule themselves. He therefore assumed absolute power.

•Frederick wrote’ the people do not exist for the sake of the rulers, but rulers for the sake of the people’. He devoted his time to serving his people. He improved the economy by encouraging agriculture and industry. Science and education progressed under his rule. He also granted religious freedom, and introduced law reforms such as the abolition of torture as punishment.

•Frederick wanted to make Prussia a strong country in Europe. He spent a large sum of money strenghtening his army. He waged wars against other countries to expand his territories. Although he ruled his people like despot and made them pay high taxes to support his wars, Prussia became the leader of other German states and was powerful in Europe.

Catherine the Great of Russia
•Another enlightened despot was Catherine the Great of Russia (1729-1796). She was a German princess who married Peter III of Russia. Peter was not a good ruler, and Catherine later deposed him with the help of the Imperial Guard. She called herself Empress of Russia.
•Catherine was influenced by the great thinkers of the time. She tried to practise some ideas of Enlightment. She built schools and hospitals and permitted religious freedom.

•However she was also depostic. She chose her ministers carefully and selected only those were loyal to her. She did not grant wider freedom to her people and cruelly suppressed peasant revolts.
•Catherine succeeded in turning Russia into a great power. She gained the Crimea and lands along the Black sea from Turkey. She obtained rights for Russian ships to sail through the Dardanelles and the Bosporus into the Mediterranean.

Comparison of Absolute Monarchy and Enlightened Despotism

DIFFERENCE
•ABSOLUTE MONARCH
Believed in the Divine Right of Kings, and he claimed that his power came from God.
•ENLIGHTENED DESPOT
Claimed to be the servant of the state and introduced reforms to give the people a better government.

SIMILARITY
•ABSOLUTE MONARCH
Absolute in power, all people had to obey his orders
•ENLIGHTENED DESPOT
Did not believe the people could rule themsleves and therefore assumed absolute power.

EXAMPLE
•ABSOLUTE MONARCH
Louis XIV of France
James I of England
•ENLIGHTENED DESPOT
Frederick the Great of Prussia
Catherine the Great of Russia

End of doc.

Grade 7 : The Age of Reason Part 1

The Age of Reason Part 1

Summarized by Anang P.Setiawan

Date : Tuesday, 24 March 2009

INTRODUCTION
In the 17th and 18th centuries :
The use of reason as the best method to judge human action (problems of politics, religion, arts, education and law)
It was called the Enlightment/Age of Reason.

The Enlightment : Influenced the educated class.
They believed that Absolutism must be replaced by a reasonable and democratic form of government.

Enlightment Thinkers
Many thinkers believed that natural laws should govern man and society.
These laws could be found by scientific methods based on reasoning. John Locke (1632-1704)
He introduced “Social Contract Theory”.
He wrote “ The Two Treaties on Government”
Ideas :
-All men had basic natural rights of life, liberty and prosperity.
-The people set up a government and gave it the power to protect their right.
-Social contract ( Transfer of power from people to the government)
-If he misused the power, the people had right to revolt against him and form a new government. (revolution against tyranny was legal)
-States run by the people.
Many of his ideas were adopted in the American Declaration of Independence.

Montesquieu (1689-1775)
Ideas :
He argued for the separation of powers into the executive, legislatature and the judiciary to avoid tyranny.
His ideas were included in the American Constitution.

Voltaire (1694-1778)

Ideas :
-He attacked the political and social institutions of his time.
-He critized the French government and Roman Catholic and Protestant churches.
-He recognized man’s need for God.
His ideas inspired the French to start the French Revolution.



Rousseau (1712-1778)


Ideas :
-People could be equal under government under government set up by their consent.
-The Monarch’s right to rule was given by the people and not by God.
-Everyone had a responsibility to all others and had individual freedom in a justly organized society.
His “Social Contract” was called the “Bible of the French Revolution”

End of Doc.

Grade 8 : Field Trip to National Monument (MONAS)

Grade 8 : Field Trip to National Monument (MONAS)

By : Anang P.Setiawan

On Friday 13th of March, grade 8 students together with grade 9 students went to MONAS (National Monument) to do their projects. After studying about Dutch Colonization of Indonesia, the 8 graders needed to make an essay for their project about Indonesian History dated from the first time The Dutch came to Indonesia until Indonesia proclaimed its independence on August 17, 1945 after 350 years of colonial rulings.

MONAS was constructed to commemorate and honor the people's relentless strugle for independence and it is also to awaken a sense of patriotism among the people and future generations.

The students were guided by an official guide. He showed and explained to students about the monument and the story behind it. He said that the architecture and dimensions of the National Monument symbolizes the distinct characteristics of Indonesia. The high rising obelisk signifies the Lingga (pestle) and the soucer-like platform the Yoni (mortar), both are cooking utensils that are commonly found in most Indonesian households. The Lingga and Yoni symbolizes the positive and the negative, male and female, day and night, water and fire, earth and sky, all of which signifies timelessness and immortality.

The guide then took us to the hall of Independence, the place where the proclamation of independece text ( as written and read by Soekarno and Hatta on August 17, 1945) is kept. then he guided us to the top of MONAS called The Flame of Independence. He explained that the top of National Monument is 14 meters tall and 6 meters in diameter. This structure is made og 14.5 tons of bronze and comprises of 77 seperate elements. The entire of the structure is covered with approximately 50 kg of gold sheets. The students enjoyed the view of Jakarta from the top of MONAS. the weather was little bit cool as raining was pouring at that time.

Some students actually still needed time to gather information for their essay but they had no time as we had to leave from MONAS at 2.30 the latest to avoid the traffic jam that always happen in Jakarta. They may get the information from other sources for their essay such as intenet, magazine, articles, encyclopedia, etc. We left MONAS at 2.30pm.

Note : Please submit your essay project the latest is on Friday 27 March 2009.

End of Doc

Grade 7 : Field Trip to National Museum

Grade 7 : Field Trip to National Museum on 12 March 2009

By Anang P.Setiawan

On Thursday, 12 March 2009 the 7 graders went to National Museum, Jakarta to do a field trip. This activity was a part of Social Studies project in History of Indonesia, especially about Pre-historic Era. We left our school at 9.30am and arrived at Museum around 11.30am. After having lunch, the students started to do the project. The students were asked to do some activities, such as doing observation, collecting data, interviewing, answering questions on the project booklet and making an essay based on the data they have gathered from museum.

The students were divided into 3 groups and each group was guided by an official tourist guide. The students listened attentively to the guide and asked many questions about the museum. They were very interested on the items displayed in the museum. It's interesting for them to be able to see the artifacts from the past and learned something from them.

The students finished the activity at 1.45 pm. We left the museum at 2pm. In a bus, on the way back to school they were very tired but felt happy and satisfied with their tasks. We arrived at school at 3pm. It was an exciting and educational trip.

Note : The duedate for submitting the booklet project and essay is extended till 27 March 2009.

Please do not be late to submit your task.

End of Doc.

Grade 7B : The deadline to submit the brochure project

Dear grade 7B students,

Please be noted that the latest day for submitting your brochure is on Tuesday, 10 March 2009.

Rgrds,
Anang P.Setiawan