Ch. 13 Free Response Questions

Ch. 13 Free Response Questions
Write an essay that: * Has an explicitly stated thesis that directly answers the question and DOES NOT simply repeat or rephrases the question. This can be done in a paragraph. * Addresses all parts of the question * Supports thesis with specific evidence * Is well organized
Analyze the impact of Renaissance humanism on the following: * Education (Yellow) * Women (Blue) * Politics/statecraft (Green)
Consult your textbook, supplemental class notes, and document readings as sources for this answer. Write the answer in your “writer’s notebook”. Try to do this in less than 45 minutes. Due on 9/13/10.

Ch. 13 Free Response Question
The Italian Renaissance witnessed the rebirth of
In the period from about 1300 to 1600, middle and working class woman typically married and over sought the domestic responsibilities of the home. However, they also frequently worked outside the home. The women of the middle/working class performed a wide variety of jobs including: the construction of ships’ sails, midwives, maids, cooks, laundresses, and household servants. Furthermore, women were heavily involved in the Florentine textile industry, weaving cloth and reeling and winding silk. Women ran the ferry service across the Rhone River at Lyons as well as assisted their father and husbands in agricultural tasks. Widowed women would even run their husbands’ establishments. While women of the middle and working classes experienced the benefits of Renaissance humanism, women of the upper class status saw a decline in status. When considering the types of jobs they performed, their access to property and political power, and their role in shaping the outlook of their society, the women of the Renaissance ruling classes typically had less power than women of the feudal age. As mentioned previously, well-to-do girls generally receive an education similar to that of the boys. However, because men held the view that woman’s attention should be focused on the domestic affairs of family life, the women of the time could not use their education to its fullest. This attitude of women’s role being
The Price describes how the ruler should gain, maintain, and increase political power. Machiavelli’s study and beliefs on human nature led him to make noteworthy political statements for the time. Key concepts discussed in The Prince include the fact that a politician should manipulate the people and use any means to gain power. Machiavelli also noted that the prince should combine the cunning of a fox with the ferocity of a lion to achieve his goals, and sometimes would have to put aside his morals when making political decisions. Furthermore, Machiavelli believed that it was desirable for a leader to be both feared and love; but it is difficult to be both at the same time, and it is much safer to be feared than to be loved. Fifteenth century rulers, by part of Renaissance humanism, began the process of order through centralization of power. The rulers employed the aggressive methods implied by the political ideas of the Renaissance to rebuild their governments. Beginning first in Italy, then in France, Spain, and England, the result was the rise of numerous powerful and unforgiving rulers with a common goal in mind: the centralization of power and the abolishment of disorder and violence. The “new monarchs”, Louis XI of France, Henry VII of England, and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, were tough, cynical, and calculation ruler and seemed to be abiding by Machiavelli’s