It's all About Balance

In honors history 10 class this week we learned about the congress of Vienna. We read documents, took notes, watched videos and talked with our peers about the congress of Vienna. When people’s power is threatened  they should try to make peace and form alliances. They should do this so people can see their good side and see that they aren’t an enemy for having a lot of power.

Nobody likes to have less power than anyone else. The balance of power made sure that countries have equal power. The balance of power reversed the changes Napoleon made during his conquest. Metternich was a very powerful ruler but he used his power to eliminate these threats. Metternich did this by becoming allies with Russia, Austria, Prussia,Britain and France.He strengthened all of these countries by dividing equal amounts of power to each of them. This made a huge impact on the congress of Vienna because it later attempts the  expansion of France.

(Metternich looking as if he has a lot of power)

Metternich. 2007. Images of German Statesmen: Bismarck & Metternich, n.p. Comp. Jeremy Lewis.

I think that the powerful people of congress made the right choice by giving each of those countries power. I think this because it shows that they aren't greedy. I don’t think their was another way to react. I think  when someone or a group of people have too much power they should give away some of it. I feel as if it is the right thing to do is share some of your power with others.

The Basis of Economics

In the 19th century there were three main ideologies. These three ideologies were liberalism,conservatism and Nationalism. They influenced social and political action by tradition, natural rights and bringing together nations with culture, language and history. In class we got into groups and every two groups had the same ideology. We all read a document that went with our ideology and then answered the essential question by making a one minute video. In end we all voted which videos were the best for each ideology.

My groups ideology was Nationalism. Nationalism is the coming together of a nation through culture,language and history. Our video was of two high school students talking to each other and one of them was teaching the other about nationalism. Nationalism influenced social and political action in the 19th century by uniting the Germans. The Germans were being forced to unite because they wanted to fulfill their historical role in bringing about the great progress of humanity.

(Screenshot of our video on nationalism)

Liberalism is when government promotes the people’s individual rights. Liberalism influenced social and political action in the 19th century by having a government that’s goal was the people’s natural rights and to also promote and protect those rights. Conservatism is when People go by tradition. Conservatism influenced social and political action in the 19th century by supporting monarchy and that traditions were organic solutions to social and political actions. The three ideologies are liberalism,conservatism and nationalism.

Change is Good

In honors history 10 class we are learning about Napoleon. Our activity last week was to watch a video about him. While watching this video we took note of all of the places he conquered. We also read a document about him, Madame de Stael and Marshal Michel Ney. We highlighted adjectives about each. Lastly we were given 12 facts about Napoleon and we had to say whether they effected France or the world. 

Napoleon made an impact on the social, economic and political systems of Europe. He did this by gaining lots of power worldwide, and 90% of Europe was under French control. Napoleon defeated many if not all countries. People would call him a hero but others would call him a tyrant. Napoleon Made an Impact on the social system in Europe because he made everyone equal. He got rid of nobility's powerfully and let people in France live a better life. Napoleon gave the people the rights to property and education which they didn't have before. Madam de Stael says "His system was to encroach daily upon France's liberty and Europe's Independence." Madam does not like Napoleon because he is making everyone equal and she likes having more power. Napoleon also impacted the economic system in Europe. He did this by expanding trade and building many roads and canals. This is what made his ruling so successful. Lastly Napoleon impacted political systems by making a new system of government called meritocracy. This meant that social class did not matter when it came to running in office. In The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1903: Phineas Camp says "Napoleon was great -- intellectually towering above the princes and monarchs of many generations....He had no rival in the tactics of war....His imagination was under the guidance of reason, whose intuitions were clear as morning light, and as rapid in their comprehensive action." This quote shows that Napoleon had a lot of power when it came to politics in Europe.

Overall without Napoleon the world would not be like it is today. Many people liked him and many did not. Napoleon made a difference in not only Europe but the world its self. He made an impact on the social, economic and political systems in Europe.

(This is Napoleon. From the picture you can tell he is very powerful and probably wealthy.)

Polansky, Iva. THE FIRST EMPIRE 1804-1814. no date. Blog, Paris. Victorian Paris. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.

If I was a Rich Girl

In class the other day we did an activity that taught us about Marx and Smith's theories. The activity was each student received chocolate, some more than others. With this chocolate we played rock,paper, scissors. If you lost you had to give the winner one of your chocolates and when all of your chocolates were gone you had to sit down. This showed capitalism. After she redistributed the chocolate , everyone got an equal amount. That is called communism. With these chocolates we decided what we were going to do with our chocolates.This is called socialism. The purpose of this lesson was to show that some people are richer than others. I thought this activity was fun and helped me better understand Marx and Smith's theories. I did not find the game frustrating because I ended up with lots of chocolates.

Both Marx and Smith had different theories for helping the poor. Marx's theory was to help the poor with capitalism, socialism and communism. capitalism means countries trade is controlled privately. Socialism means having a classless society due to the economic equality. Communism means their is no government needed. Marx made it possible for the poor to take money from the rich because they could not make their own money. Smith on the other hand still cared about the poor but his theory was a little different. His theory was called "the invisible hand". The invisible hand allowed people to buy what they wanted and gave the government no control of this. You could buy and sell with benefits and control the prices of items.

In my opinion Smith's theory is better. I like Smith's better because the poor cannot take money from the rich. If you wanted to buy something you could and sometimes it and benefits unlike Marx's theory.I think both theories are good solutions but Smith's is better because the rich people do not have to give their earnings to the poor.

                                                     (Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand")

         Ruccio F David. Invisible Hand . Picture. Occasional links & Commentary Blog. 21 March 2011. Web. 8 Oct 2014.

https://socialsciences.arts.unsw.edu.au/tsw/Marx.html