Alabama Social Studies SS24.8.14a
The Standard
- SS24.8.14
- Summarize the rise of absolutism and explain how absolute monarchy differed from governing practices in Europe before the seventeenth century.
Explain how the Thirty Years’ War and the Peace of Westphalia led to the rise of absolutism.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students trace how a long war pushed rulers to collect taxes and maintain armies. They explain how the 1648 peace left the emperor with less influence over German princes. They connect these changes to the growth of stronger rulers without claiming every ruler became absolute.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can use a timeline to link war costs, taxes, and armies. They can explain why the peace strengthened many German princes but did not give any ruler unlimited power overnight.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think the war ended with one ruler taking over all the German states. They may also think the peace strengthened the emperor or made every ruler absolute at once.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: In two sentences, explain how paying for the war changed rulers' power and how the peace changed the balance between the emperor and German princes.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs cards labeled war costs, tax collectors, armies, princes, and emperor; have them arrange the cards with arrows showing gains and losses of power.
Post a short passage about princes' control of religion; ask, "Who gained power here, and who lost it?"
Play true or false with "Every ruler became absolute in 1648" and "German princes gained authority"; require students to correct false claims.
Compare a current map of Europe with a map of the German states in 1648; ask who governed each marked territory.
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Related Standards
- SS24.8.14c
Describe how the development of absolutism affected governments in Russia and Prussia under the reigns of Peter the Great, Frederick the Great, and Catherine th...
- SS24.8.10
Analyze the factors that contributed to the Reformation and explain how it affected the religious and political unity of Europe.
- SS24.8.14b
Analyze the rise of absolutism in France under Louis XIV, including the divine right of kings.
- SS24.8.14
Summarize the rise of absolutism and explain how absolute monarchy differed from governing practices in Europe before the seventeenth century.
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