Ap World History Dbq Research Paper

Democracy is a modern idea that has been shaped throughout history by a dissatisfaction in the people with their appointed rulers. Monarchs ruled Europe for centuries before other modes of government were introduced. These rulers often viewed themselves as appointed by God, an idea some of their subjects agreed with, but most ridiculed. This conflicting opinions of the people and the rulers was the focal point of debate between the upper and lower classes. While kings and queens focused on their displaying their power and their divine right, the clergy advocated against the “evils” of the peasant-class, and the poor rallied together to demand the equality they found in Christ to be applied to their rights. During the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, the potentates strongly believed that their leadership was appointed by God, and therefore made their rule unquestionable. Of the separation of church and state, a principle upon which the United States of America was built, the monarchies comprehended nothing. In a letter, King Louis XIV wrote, “King are absolute seigneurs…” (Doc 9). He wrote to his heir, explaining the …show more content…
Tired of the suppression, peasants throughout Europe rose against their governments, demanding property rights and tax reductions. German peasants in Swabia contested, “Christ has delivered and redeemed us all…” (Doc 3). These Germans were requested that their confiscated land be returned, and their desperation caused them to threaten violence. As the English agronomist Arthur Young traveled through Europe, he observed from an objective point of view the state of the peasants, “A cruel aggravation of their misery to see those who could best afford to pay, exempted…” (Doc 5). A German diplomat wrote that in Russia the peasants “have not been protected by the higher authorities” (Doc 6). His view as a foreigner expresses the genuine struggle the peasants were