Industrial Revolution Documents

After reviewing the Industrial Revolution primary source documents, I have a clearer perspective and visual impression of the events during that specific era. This type of exercise portray0ed both the positive and negative aspects of society. New innovations were being discovered, more jobs were being created, and there were more opportunities and ways to make a living for the citizens away or at their homes. For others, government was removing value from their lives. This was especially true for the citizens who were considered to be lower class, who were expected to work excessive hours, whether they were adults or children, in unsafe conditions, and were only paid a very miniscule amount of income. Industrialization was under way and the economy was starting to flourish with new technological advancements. What this type of exercise can teach us about history is that it has both positive aspects as well as flaws. By studying and learning about both, we can learn from the mistakes that were made to ensure that we avoid repeating them in the future. We also benefit from the advancements that were made and can learn from those positive innovations. The study of history is so broad and far-reaching, creating many different perspectives. Learning about these helps us look at ‘the total picture’ and observe everything that occurred, good and bad. Without the people who lived and experienced life before us, we wouldn’t have a frame of reference to learn from and therefore the ability to improve different aspects of life that we are privileged to have in our society today.
From participating in this exercise, I observe history differently. After analyzing the industrial revolution through written documents, as well as through pictures, they illustrate how far our society has progressed since this era. We are fortunate to have all of this history documented so that we can use the knowledge acquired as a foundation to create even more successful innovations and generate even more creative and potentially innovative ideas. Pictures definitely speak a thousand words and I found the documented images more powerful than just reading the different types of documents. ‘High Society’ and leaders of government should have been held accountable for the abuses of lower class citizens. While huge families were having to sacrifice their rest, time, children, and their health everyday, wealthy government officials and their businessmen were living extravagant lives outside of the city away in private mansions living the good life, while letting their fellow citizens suffer. By looking at the whole picture, we can reflect on the past and how issues should have been handled. By brainstorming for new outcomes and ways to manage society, we can make certain that no one in our present day and future society has to endure the harsh, hazardous, and despicable working conditions of the European citizens in the nineteenth century.

A few questions that I have that were left unanswered are:
• Did the government ever formally establish any permanent child labor and safety laws that would have helped protect the young children that were working for the long hours in the treacherous working conditions?
• Why wasn’t there any enforcement of the government inspectors checking these working conditions and making sure that the people’s safety was being insured for the betterment of the working class?

It is very upsetting to see people who lived in those conditions. It’s unjustifiable and should have never been allowed. It’s one thing to start out on a new journey when one must expect to deal with the dips and unexpected twists and turns that will be endured along the way and to conform to the given situation. However, it’s another thing to take advantage of someone who’s considered “below yourself” and make him or her suffer and sacrifice for you unnecessarily.

Napoleon's Legacy

Napoleon Bonaparte’s most important legacy was his establishment of the Napoleonic Code. In 1800 Napoleon assigned four renowned jurists the task of consolidating all of the French civil law into one set of laws. Napoleon knew that the existing laws were confusing, inconsistent, and chaotic to the French people, as they were dependent on local customs and granted special favors and privileges to selected citizens. The Civil Code, which was enacted in 1804, was a sole code that replaced hundreds of localized codes that existed under the monarchy. Renamed the Napoleonic Code in 1807, the Code was based on some earlier French laws, Roman law, and Germanic law that had been used in northern France. The Napoleonic Code confirmed most of the revolutionary objectives, by recognizing the equality of all civilians before the French law and the removal of privileges based on birth. Individual citizens were able to select their own job professions and employment in the service of the state was based on capability rather than social position or affluence. The Code confirmed the right to property acquired during the Revolution and terminated the manorial obligations of the peasants, eliminating feudalism and serfdom. Freedom of religion was also restored. Prohibiting strikes and various trade unions protected the interests of employers. While the “Civil Code” clearly reflected the revolutionary objectives for a consistent legalized system, it reversed the advances made by women during the Revolution as it reaffirmed the paternalistic character of French society. Women and children were legally reliant on their husbands and fathers.
Napoleon was able to extend use of the code to the lands outside France that he controlled, including northern Italy, a portion of the German states, and the low countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The code was successfully implemented in other regions such as Spain, Latin America, and in all of the other European nations, with the exception of England, where the Common Law was adopted. Indeed the Napoleonic Code was a model for successive laws during the nineteenth century in twenty-four countries. The state of Louisiana and the province of Quebec have derived many of their laws from the Napoleonic Code. This code provides the structure for the legal system in France today, which portrays how influential and resilient it has been for French society as well as many others. The ideals of the French revolution have endured long after Napoleon’s demise as a result of this body of law.

Viewing Christopher Columbus As A Society

After recently learning that Christopher Columbus contributed to the significant mass genocide of Native Americans and that he spread numerous diseases that were rampant throughout the Americas, I was alarmed and intrigued as to how our society views him. Since I was very young, I was always taught that Columbus was a very brave and intelligent man who discovered the Americas by "sailing the ocean blue." This is why we celebrate his accomplishments on Columbus Day. Obviously the information that I received as a child was not entirely complete! Despite the fact that it is very disturbing to believe that Columbus was actually the explorer who brought with him disease and destruction to Native Americans, I still believe that he had the best intentions of delivering positive economic development to the Americas. He had no idea that there would be humans native to the land he ‘discovered’, or conceive that the immune systems of the natives would be unable to defend against the viral infections brought by the Europeans. His intentions, as well as those of his fellow voyagers’, were not to kill but to explore and to conquer new uninhabited territory. Despite the fact that Columbus was not the first individual to discover the Americas, without the courage and guidance of Columbus and his inaccurate navigation skills, the Americas wouldn't have been developed and established as early as they were. Without his vision, part of North America might not have formed into the thirteen colonies and evolved into our present- day democracy. Columbus who was a very driven and valiant man, was bright, diligent, adventurous, and determined to take a stand for his country--to go on a quest to find the remaining frontier of Asia for the good of his countrymen. Instead, he successfully exposed a new frontier of the Earth to the people of the world and was able to introduce the Western Hemisphere to new future explorers and developers. His ‘discovery’ led to significant economic opportunities and expansion in the Americas with positive economic impact to Europe and their means of trade. This improved the social and economic conditions of Europe. Despite Columbus unintentionally bringing disease to the Americas, his life should be celebrated for the legacy of enormous contributions to the expansion, development, and abundance that we enjoy today.

King Henry VIII Trial

After participating in the three day mock trial of King Henry the VIII regarding the issue of whether or not he was guilty of heresy, both the prosecution and the defense were successful at arguing valid points that helped support their evidence and the key facts. The prosecution's side was very clear in conveying evidence that King Henry deserved to be punished. He divorced his wives for unjustified reasons, killed many of his former friends and colleagues, and he went against the church disobeying the pope. Henry had stated that he never committed adultery, even though while he was trying to annul his marriage to Catherine, his mistress Anne was six months pregnant with his child. He was still technically married to Catherine, who had endured at least six pregnancies, not including their daughter Mary. When King Henry asserted that his first marriage to Catherine was not valid, the defense speculated that Catherine just wanted to remain on the throne for the sake of power. Actually Catherine was a very selfless and intelligent woman who was very well regarded and who offered a great deal to the king. This included strong military aid against France, since she was descended from a family who had more power than King Henry the VIII. Further why would Catherine lie about how her marriage not being consummated to Henry's older brother Arthur? Wouldn't it be quite obvious to Henry to discover this once he had married her? If he had discovered that Catherine was not a virgin, wouldn't he have annulled his marriage to her right away? Yet Henry insisted that Catherine was a liar and that she had consummated her marriage to Arthur. In fact, Pope Julius II had granted an annulment of Catherine's marriage to Arthur, on the grounds that the marriage had not been consummated, so that Catherine could marry Henry. Granting Henry an annulment meant that the sacrament of marriage had never actually existed between him and Catherine. If King Henry was allowed to annul his first marriage and marry Anne, then his own daughter Mary would be considered an illegitimate child with absolutely no rights or royal ties to the throne. Henry couldn't have married Catherine in the Roman Catholic Church, and then have annulled the marriage in his own church, because Henry founded the Church of England to bypass the Catholic Church and obtain his annulment. This action went against the Catholic Church and the pope, and it did have a legal or a moral basis. Pope Clement VII had to refuse Henry's annulment whether it was justified or not, because he was obligated to Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V would never allow the annulment to be granted since he was Catherine's nephew. The defense’s focus was emphasizing their belief that Henry VIII was not a heretic. They argued that Henry’s marriage to Catherine was not valid and therefore could have been annulled. They insisted that Catherine was lying because she wanted to remain on the throne for political reasons and for the power. The defense maintained that Catherine’s former marriage to Arthur was valid and therefore her marriage to Henry was incestuous and invalid. Several influential figures such as Galileo were asked to testify during the trial as to their beliefs and opinions regarding King Henry situation. The defense also tried to convey that the king was a higher authority than the pope by claiming that God chooses the king while the people choose the pope. Therefore the king had a higher status and reign than the pope. They also stated that Henry’s break with the Roman Catholic Church was justified and was the most appropriate course of action for the welfare of England.

Sir Thomas More who represented my side, the prosecution, was successful in delivering a powerful opening statement with adequate support to rebut the defense’s position. Our side also succeeded in portraying King Henry as a self-centered and selfish individual. Our group demonstrated the witnesses’ bias relative to their testimony of objectivity. Our prosecution was direct, on task to the issues, and surfaced the truth regarding the behaviors, flaws and crimes of the defendants. Despite Biblical and testimonial challenges, we were resolute in our prosecution of what was right and just.

Further in-depth research on the case with analysis and defensive positions could have mitigated some of the challenges that we faced in court-particularly as it related to Biblical references. Strategic preparation would have served us well in supporting prosecution’s evidence during arguments. Awareness of proper decorum behavior in the courtroom, would have improved efficiency and effectiveness during the trial. A role- playing exercise to anticipate the opposition’s questions would have enabled us to prepare answers allowing our positions to be more convincing. It was difficult to cross-examine individuals that were not alive during the years of King Henry’s reign of power. At times, we offered commentary into the questioning that was irrelevant to the prosecution.

This exercise contributed to my understanding of the impact of The Reformation. Additionally, it provided perspective regarding the peoples’ opinions and positions on matters that was important during their lifetime. I learned of the secret opposition to the Roman Catholic Church that ultimately resulted in the Protestant revolution. ‘Application learning’ provided me with a better understanding on differing views and opinions.

Leonardo DaVinci

In today's society it is extremely rare to find someone who is as highly knowledgable in over eight broad subject areas. From a young age, Leonard was very insightful and bright in a wide variety of subjects, arts, and crafts that comprised his palate of learning. Around the age of fifteen, Leo was already studying art and was apprenticed at the renowned workshop of Andrea del Verrochio. Leo was also given access to scholarly texts and was introduced to a wide variety of philosophies. Over the course of Leo's life he created numerous world renowned art prints and sculptures, such as the "Mona Lisa." As Leo grew and matured into a young man, he was given the opportunity to create and design weapons, buildings, and machinery. He also studied other topics such as nature, flying machines, geometry, mechanics, municipal construction, canals, and architecture. Many of his studies evolved into successful creations such as the submarine, a vessel that our navy continues to rely on today. Without his inventions, our current society would not have such war vehicles, since Leo laid the foundation to construct and develop them.
A great deal of Leo's time was dedicated to studying the sciences. He would explore and research his ideas by physically experimenting with his subjects and he would go out and explore the surrounding nature. In many scenarios, Leo locked himself in his workshop, so that he had the opportunity to cut open human bodies and ponder and test the theories of the human body and living things. His research was very controversial, since the Catholic church frowned upon violating the dead bodies of fellow humans. This made the process of experimentation very difficult for Leo. Leo was engaged to work on various projects for the Pope, who forbid him from dissecting bodies and physically studying human anatomy and physiology. I believe that there is no modern day equivalent for Leonardo DaVinci. Leonardo was a true "Renaissance man," who had interests and talents in both the arts and science. While there are many successful artists and scientists in the present day, none exhibit the genius that Leonardo displayed in so many diverse areas. Leo had virtually no support from his fellow colleagues within the church. Without the support of society, he had to work privately to research and produce his own art work and inventions. Today, many scientists and scholars have been given the opportunities to work and communincate with other scholars from around the world. They also benefit from the extensive use of computers and electronics, as well as from economical and social support. Leo was deprived of such support, with the exception of a few close friends, such as Niccolo Machiavelli, who helped Leo advance some of his artistry. Even today, very successful people such as Bill Gates, have purchased Leo's work for their own learning and understanding of his philosophies, as well for the betterment of their businesses. Without Leonardo DaVinci, our world would be truly lost. No one has had more impact on art and science than this diversely talented man.