Political Parties; Elites; Ideologies; Mass Politics - AP European History

Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Communist politician who became the head of state of Romania in 1967.

He became famous later in his rule for his extremely strict policies regarding free speech and the press and his brutality against those who held anti-government sentiments. He was overthrown in 1989 when he ordered his forces to open fire on protestors. Eight days later, both he and his wife were captured and executed by firing squad.

Karl Marx explained this ideology in The Communist Manifesto. Communism, or Marxism, describes human history as a constant struggle between the rich and poor, and predicts the eventual uprising where the working class (the proletariat) rebels and seizes control.

Totalitarianism is a political system in which the government controls every facet of society and individuals liberties are nearly non-existent.

Fascism is the brand of totalitarianism that developed in European nations such as Germany, Italy, and Spain in the 1920's and '30's, which is also characterized by intense government propaganda to create loyalty to a charismatic leader.

Calvinism is not a political ideology, but a religion. It is a form of Protestantism that differs from other Christian sects in its belief in pre-determination, the idea that one's destination in the afterlife is already determined at birth.

Republicanism is an ideology in which the government is run by representatives elected by the citizens.

The two quotes (from John Locke's Second Treatise on Government (1689) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract (1762)) voice the Enlightenment ideal that all men are born with the same natural rights.

The First Estate referred to the clergy in France, so that would be the best answer. The aristocracy was the Second Estate, so that would not be the best choice. The commoners were the Third estate, so likewise that would not be the correct answer here. The free press is sometimes referred to as the Fourth Estate to signify its importance to society, but it was not officially recognized as such before the French Revolution, so that would not be the best answer.

The clergy were referred to as the First Estate, so that would not be the correct answer here. The commoners were known as the Third Estate, so that too would not be a correct choice. The free press is sometimes called the Fourth Estate, however that term was not in use before the French Revolution, so that would not be the best answer here. Lastly, the aristocracy were referred to as the Second Estate, so that would be the best answer to this question.

The free press is sometimes called the Fourth Estate but that term was not in use before the French Revolution, so that would not be the correct choice. The clergy were known as the First Estate, so that would not be the best answer here. The aristocracy were known as the Second Estate, so that is not the correct choice either. Lastly, the commoners were known as the Third Estate, so that would be the best answer.

The Patricians were the ruling class of the Republic, so that would not be the best answer here. The First Estate referred to the clergy in pre-Revolution France, so that would not be a good answer. The Second Estate referred to the aristocracy in France before the Revolution, so that would not be the correct choice. Similarly, the Third Estate referred to the commoners in France, so that would not be the best choice here. Lastly, Plebeians was the term given to the citizen-commoners in the Republic, so that would be the best choice for this question.

The Medici family was an extremely powerful Italian family that controlled the largest bank in Europe during the Renaissance and helped contribute to the great artistic works of the time. Between 1430 and 1470 they spent the equivalent of 500 million dollars commissioning paintings, sculptures, city squares and buildings. Several of Lorenzo Medici’s court members would become some of the world’s most famous artists, such as Piero, Leonardo da Vinci, and Sandro Botticelli. Even Michelangelo, painter of the Sistine Chapel, lived with Lorenzo for 5 years and was a close friend of the family.

Henryk Walezy was the first man elected to be King of the Commonwealth. He was actually a son of the reigning King of France, and he abdicated the throne in order to become King of France in 1574.

After what is known in Russia as "the time of troubles," the Romanov family took the throne of Russia in 1613, and their dynasty ruled until the Russian Revolution in 1917. The other family names here are of other high ranking noble families in Russia and Eastern Europe

The Prime Minister, as a position, was made in order to be a close adviser of the King, over time the position transitioned to one in the parliament, and to being the leader of the Parliament.

The Communist Manifesto was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848. It outlined the beliefs of communism and socialism, providing a unique approach to historical study. Marx portrayed history as a battle of the classes, with the merchant and middle class finally overcoming the landed aristocracy in the nineteenth century; Marx predicted that the working class would shortly overcome the middle and upper classes.

Reactionary, as a political term, means opposed to reform or intent on returning to an even less progressive period in the past. On the European nineteenth-century spectrum, reactionary is as far to the right as you can go, further past conservative, and the polar opposite of radical. Reactionaries in nineteenth-century Europe were the absolute monarchs and nobles who opposed any political or social reform to improve the conditions and power of the lower classes.

The Third French Republic was inaugurated after the overthrow of Emperor Napoleon III. It reinstated a parliamentary-based Republican form of government to France in 1871. Despite its Republican nature, the Parliament actually was composed mainly by a majority of various Royalists rather than Republicans, although they were split between the rival Orleanist, Legitimist, and Bonapartist groups. As the Third Republic moved towards the twentieth century, more liberal groups, including Socialists and Communists, would find a place in French politics.

Henry VII was the founder of the Tudor dynasty in England, and his son was Henry VIII. In turn, Edward VI and Elizabeth I were both children of Henry VIII who ruled over England. Elizabeth I had no heirs upon her death, and the throne passed to James I, who inaugurated the Stuart dynasty.

The above quotation, excerpted from V.I. Lenin's The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism (1913), expresses the communist idea that the world's workers must eventually triumph over the capitalists who exploit their labor for personal gain.

In the famous 1902 pamphlet What is to be done?, Lenin outlined his vision of the "vanguard," a dedicated group of effective and professional revolutionaries that educated the workings class on class issues and effected political mobilization. Lenin believed that labor organizations such as unions were, on their own, insufficient to effectively bring about revolution. The revolution needed elites or intellectuals who understood how society worked outside of the narrow views available to the members of one particular class.

Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party was founded in 1921; it was the first European fascist movement that came to power after Mussolini's March on Rome in 1922. Though fascism would later come to influence movements in many other countries, the ideology's roots lay in Italy. Mussolini's party formed from a split in the Italian Socialist Party. Mussolini and the other future fascists supported Italian intervention in the war in order defeat the traditionalist regimes in Germany and Austria. Fascism was heavily influenced by the left wing of turn-of-the-century European politics, despite the fact that the movement later came to be seen as a far-right movement. Fascism held on to its radical roots, but it came to criticize the class-based view of society of left-wingers. Fascists came to view history as a struggle of nations or races, and most fascist movements came to argue for class cooperation in order to benefit the state or the race.

Queen Anne was the last of the Stuart monarchs, and while she gave birth multiple times, none of her children survived into adulthood, leaving no clear heir. Parliament feared that there would be an attempt by Catholic members of the Stuart family to take the throne after her death, which would have resulted in a great deal of violence and bloodshed. In order to ensure that the monarchy stayed with a Protestant, the Act of Settlement of 1701 was passed, which stated that the heir to the throne was to be Sophia of Hanover, a German noblewoman who was the granddaughter of James I of England, and that the line of succession would extend through her descendants as long as they were not Catholic. Sophia died before Anne did, and then upon Anne’s death, Sophia’s son, George, became King George I of England.