Robespierre and The Reign of Terror

France's government became more democratic after the French Revolution. This caused the middle class and poor people to gain more power. But the new leaders did not meet all the people's expectations and standards. King Lous XVI lost alot of his power while radical clubs in France tried to take control of the government. These clubs also tried to get rid of anyone in the old government by using the guillotine to publicly execute people. After trying to escape France, King Lous XVI was captured, charged with treason and killed.

Because of these executions, there was much fear of France's government and people. Afer this, Maximilien Robespierre took control of the government and killed any trace of old monarchys. He also closesd churches and killed a lot of people. He was basically a dictator whose rule was known as "The Reign of Terror" due to so many executed and killed people. Later on he was killed and a new government was formed.

The French Revolution

1) Many people in France would be critical of the nobles, the King and the clergy because first off they were treated as underclassman and didn't get as much idependance, fairness and equality as the nobles, the King ad the clergy. Second, the people were forced to pay taxes during economic problems to support the King, nobles and church. The French people were not satisfied with the way their government and country was ruled because they felt as if they had no power at all.

2) The French peasants in 1789 might have grumbled about paying taxes and being forced to do military service. Also they were being treated unfairly by the government.

3) Source A shows a peasant carrying someone from the clergy and a noble on his back. This picture has many meanings but one interpretation I had of it was that the peasant had to support all the other "higher" classes and hoped for a revolution that would make him stop supporting them.

4) The author if source B describes the peasants' lives as being harsh and unfair. The peasants didn't have that much but still had to pay taxes in which were difficult for them to pay.

5) Yes. It shows that the poor had a hard lifestyle and what made it worse was that they had to pay to support the rich people. It shows that they want to go against the rich people anhd have a revolution to eliminate their harsh, unfair lives.

6) The peasants would be influenced by John Locke because they would like some of the ideas he came up with like equality, fairness and control over picking their rulers. The peasants didn't like their form of government and would rather have a democracy in France. With a democracy, the peasants would live easier lives.

7) It was banned by the government and higher authority because they didn't want the peasants to revolt against them. Since a majority of France's population at the time were peasants, the high authorities would be outnumbered if the peasants were ever to revolt. It was also banned because the government wanted their rules to be followed and they didn't want the peasants to form a new type of government.

John Locke and "The Enlightment"

The U.S. Constitution was heavily influenced by John Locke when it was written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. The Constitution states that all men are equal and have the same rights. Since they are equal, they should have equal opportunities and should be treated equal. Also stated in the Constitution was that the people of the United States of America should control and make decisions for the government. The government should do what is best for the people, ensuring saftey and hapiness. If the government fails to follow the peoples' rules, the government can be abolished and a new ruler will be chosen to follow their demands.

Copernicus and the trial of Galileo

Geocentrism and Heliocentrism are both theories of the Solar System. Heliocentrism is Copernicus' belief that the Sun is in the center of the Solar System. Geocentrism is the belief that the Earth is in the center of the Solar System, making every other planet, moons and sun revolve around it. The geocentric theory came first but was proven wrong during the scientific revolution, making the heliocentric theory more accurate.

In 1633, Galileo was put on trial because he believed in Copernicus' theory of heliocentrism, which stated that the Sun was the center of the universe. Because of the bible, the Catholic church supported geocentrism and decided to put him on trial when they became angered over Galileo's book on heliocentrism. Galileo was charged with going against the Catholic church who planned on arresting or even killing him. This trial was the end of Galileo's freedom and the end of the Italian Renaissance. 

Scientific Revolution: The Scientific Method

Back in the 1500s, scholars used ancient Greek and Romans or the bible to get ideas about science. When the scientific revolution came about, scientists learned that much of the information and beliefs that was taught for thousands of years was wrong. The scientific method was used to prove or disapprove an idea or belief during an experiment. The scientific method consists of  five steps; the problem, hypothesis, experiment, observation and results and conclusion. The problem is the idea or theory in which would like to learn about or experiment on. The hypothesis is a  prediction of the outcome of your experiment. After these two steps, you then perform your experiment and take notes on what you observed happening. You put all the new information that was learn during the experiment together, and establish whether your hypothesis or beliefs was correct or incorrect. 

EVOLUTION VS. CREATION

Darwin's Theory of Evolution believes that all life and organisms are related and has descended from the same ancestors. It believes that life has evolved from non-living things and that complex creatures naturally evolve from simple organisms over time. When organisms are created mutations occur. These mutations are beneficial and are passed down from generation to generation. over time this creates new organisms. So basically this theory is that mankind is related to all animals such as apes and we share the same ancestors.

Creationism is a religious belief that humanity, life, Earth and the universe were created by one great power known as a god or deities. Creationisn deals with many religions such as Catholic and Judaism. It does not support the theory of evolution and can be very controversial.

I personally believe in creationism all because I am true to my religion. I do believe that God created everything. I also belive in Creationism because its kind of hard to believe that every single living thing is created. I definately do not want to be known as a gorillas cousin!