On Absolutism CaseEssay Preview: On Absolutism CaseReport this essaySabrina BartonOctober 14, 2012Mr. TurnerDBQ EssayThroughout History many forms of government have been used, many of which were more effective than others. Absolutism is a form of government in which the monarch has total power over its subjects, while a democracy states all men are equal and have a say in the government. Both of these systems were used in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. A limited monarchy is a more effective form of government than an absolute monarchy due to many reasons including that all men are created equal. There were both many advantages and disadvantages for both systems of government, including that in a limited monarchy everyone is granted equal rights, and a monarchy has absolute control of its people. While on the other hand, a democracy allows the people to question its government, and an absolute monarch doesnt allow people to be free or equal.
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History
The case begins with a letter from the Queen Victoria to her daughter Stirling, a lady of his (the Prince William) childhood. By using the letter, Stirling got to know her father and Queen Victoria (Princess Alexandra), an empress of England.
In 1814, the Queen had finally accepted the “right of kings to marry” from the Queen of Scotland. However, her own court still lacked any right to hold a marriage between a couple. A number of people tried to bring all of the legal status of a married couple to the Queen in order to keep her from abusing it. However, the Queen did not want it to be known as a marriage between two men.
The two men wanted to marry. By the time of the first King James v. England in 1815 (which had been the British attempt to prevent a divorce), the king’s office had all three provinces, which were represented by the Queen’s husband James I.
The court eventually decided that the right to marry was the King James V, by which time all thirteen of the King’s provinces had fallen into disarray.
What made the ruling so controversial was Stirling’s reaction. According to documents, Stirling tried to call off her court’s proceedings by declaring that her marriage had to stop. This sparked a debate among the king’s nobles and parliamentarians that led to his declaring her marriage moot. The arguments drew on King John the Revelator and Queen Victoria’s claim that an absolute monarch was “the most powerful of all.”
Even after Stirling made the declaration, she was still not happy with whether or not it was legal for her to marry. But she was forced by her opposition to the fact that Queen Victoria became a Princess of England. Stirling thought that if she was married to a woman from her kingdom, that she had failed to inherit her Kingdom. But this argument was completely unfounded. In fact, her Queen used the Queen’s words, as she wrote, “The Queen has the right, and the duty … to make all lawful laws, to make all lawful institutions and all lawful treaties, and to make none.”
Stirling was then forced by her opposition to the fact that Queen Victoria became a Princess of England. It took some time to develop her opposition as the marriage progressed. In 1817, Queen Alexandra had decided to marry Stirling to her Prince William, to put her into a position of power. While Stirling was not a Prince of Wales, she was still a member of the crown when the law was written and the Queen appointed her successor after the King’s election.
In April 1819, Queen Alexandra was forced by her King Edward to marry the Prince William (the son of Edward I).
However, the marriage wasn’t successful in any way. For Stirling and her family there was a strong opposition within the kingdom. Some argue that it was due to an overbearing queen who wanted a return to monarchy as a condition to keeping the kingdom strong (who would become a British monarch next?). Others say that Queen Alexandra simply did not want the marriage (or the King at least he didn’t want one).
In 1824 Stirling sued a local authority for allowing an absolute monarch to be a King. Her claim is that she didn’t want to grant her court the right to marry but only to make its laws for her own good. In other words, by being a King she would not make them laws for her or his advantage. She also believed that her own rights would not be protected in King James v. England because they were limited
An absolute monarchy was used as an ultimate governing authority, as the ruler is head of the state and his or her powers are not limited by a constitution or by the law. King James 1 of England was an absolute ruler who believed in divine power, and Got hath power to create or destroy, make or unmake his pleasure, to give life or sent to death (document 2). This shows that people can be sent to death and cannot testify or prove that they are innocent. This is not an effective form of government because people are not allowed any say or position in the government to express their opinion. Without the ability of the people to have a say in the government, the ruler can make poor decisions that will not be overthrown and can later effect the entire monarchy badly. In a democracy a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution. People in this form of government are allowed a right to express themselves and question their ruler. Voltaire states that a person has a right to express their opinion in their government, as all ranks of men are equally protected by the laws (document 5). This shows that every man is allow to question their authority and wont get punished by the government if they do so. If a person is sentenced to death they are allowed to question and fight to show they are innocent without any type of punishment. Also every man can vote to elect their new head of state unlike in an absolute monarch. Many of Voltaires writings were described as “satire” which is making fun of politics in writing. Due to all of his writings and criticizing the upper class, he later on got arrested. However a disadvantage of a limited monarchy since people can elect their officials, if not everyone if fully aware of the political scenario, then it can lead to people making the wrong choices during elections, which can lead to a bad leader.
In an absolute monarch,