Peace of Westphalia
The two treaties of Münster and Osnabrück, commonly known as the Peace of Westphalia, was the culminating element for the Holy Roman Empire in the Thirty Years' War. It established a final religious settlement and provided for new political boundaries for the German states of central Europe. The impact of the Peace of Westphalia was broad and long-standing, as it dictated the future of Germany and ex-territories of the Holy Roman Empire for some time to come.
The Peace of Westphalia put down the Counter Reformation in Germany and instituted the final religious arrangement the German states had been crying for. It renewed the terms of the Peace of Augsburg, namely that each state of the Empire received the liberty to be either Lutheran or Catholic as it chose; no individual freedom of religion was permitted. If a ruler or a free city decided for Lutheranism, then all persons had to be Lutheran. Similarly in Catholic states all had to be Catholic. In addition to re-instituting the Peace of Augsburg in its traditional form, the Peace of Westphalia included Calvinism to Lutheranism and Catholicism as an acceptable faith. On the controversial issue of church territories secularized after 1552 the Protestants won a complete victory. With the advent of the Peace of Westphalia, the squabbling between Protestants and Catholics was finally put an end to.
The Holy Roman Empire was officially dissolved with the Peace of Westphalia. This had been advanced with the drawing of internal religious frontiers in the days of Luther, although now it was confirmed. Borderlands of the Empire fell away. The Dutch and Swiss established themselves as independent, as did the United Provinces. The western frontier of the Empire was carved up among France, Sweden and the Dutch. France took control over three Lorraine bishoprics which they had occupied for a century. The Swedes received the bishoprics of Bremen and Verden and the western half of Pomerania, including the city of Stettin. Sweden enlarged its trans-Baltic possessions, and in addition claimed the mouths of the Oder, Elbe, and Weser rivers in Germany. The Dutch obtained only the mouths of the Rhine and the Scheldt. On the interior front of the Empire, both Brandenburg and Bavaria increased their statures. Brandenburg lay claim to eastern Pomerania, the large archbishopric of Magdeburg, and two smaller bishoprics. Bavaria received control of the Palatinate and a seat in the electoral college, increasing the Empire's electors to eight.
The Protestant Reformation in Europe caused conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants, but ultimately ended up in unity. The first religious war was fought between the Schmalkaldic League and Charles V. That war ended up in the Peace of Augsburg, which let each German state choose their leader, and all of the people
What started with an assassination of an Austrian prince unpopular in with royalty in Vienna and plotters in Belgrade ended in war. Four years of artillery, machine guns, and poison gas had ruined the countryside of Europe. Woodrow Wilson put the blame for dead millions at the feet of secret diplomacy, excessive armament, imperialism, and the lack of international cooperation. His plan for a lasting peace was presented to the world in the form of the Fourteen Points, some of which were present in the final plan for peace, the Treaty of Versailles, which faced internal opposition at home. It was the strength of this opposition, from self or fawning-historian labeled "progressives" to conservatives and isolationists, in conjunction with the intractability and incompetence of President Wilson that encouraged the Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles.
Hope, by definition means to look forward to something with reasonable desire and confidence. Hope also means a person or thing in which expectations are centered. When discussing the word hope, one must consider the core values by which the word works around. You could hope for financial success, world peace, or simply hope for some good out of your day. In 2006, Barack Obama wrote the political biography The Audacity of Hope to outline his core political and spiritual beliefs, as well as his opinions on different aspects of American culture. The Illinois senator divided the book into nine chapters, each concentrating on both his own and the United States’ successes and failures in local and state politics. While revealing great leadership attributes, life experiences, personal qualities and hard facts, largely in anecdotal method, Barack Obama offers realistic, wide and thoughtful responses to today’s current domestic controversies using artistic appeals, such as ethos, pathos and logos. Senator Obama also gives the audience an in-depth analysis of the key policies that need to be changed for both Democrats and Republicans, and delivers an inherent message to offer hope to anyone, regardless of background or experiences. In the prologue, he discusses in great detail virtually every major political issue facing the American electorate today, offering his opinions and possible strategies for reform. “My motivation in entering politics was to cut through decades of polarizing partisanship and develop a moderate, effective approach to our government.” (Barackopedia.org). Obama notes that this same impulse, an impulse of a secure, functional and sustainable administration, prompted him to write The Audacity of Hope.
The Treaty of Versailles was a violation of Wilson’s ideals. The Treaty is one of the most important agreements (or disagreements) that shaped 20th century Europe socially and physically. Woodrow Wilson on January 22, 1917 in an address to the United States Senate called for a peace without victors, but the Treaty signed by the participating nations was everything but that. The blame for the war was placed on Germany and justified the reparations that were outlined by the treaty for the war. The terms of the treaty were very harsh to the Germans and they took on great resentment. It was a fragile peace agreement that would be used as fuel to keep hostilities going 20 years later.
The political organization and religion aspects during the 16th century influenced Protestant Reformation to occur in Germany. Martin Luther’s writings reflect on his views and perspectives of German politics and religion at the time. Martin Luther’s ideas in the Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation and The Statement of Grievances mentions Martin Luther’s thoughts about how corrupt the church is, why the corruption in the church needs to end, and what Martin Luther’s ideas are to change the way of the church.
According to an article by Josephine Marcotty in Minneapolis’ Star Tribune from April 10, college students lead “hyper-enriched lives,” said Greg Kneser, dean of students at St. Olaf College. That’s what makes this generation of students distinct from its predecessors, he said. That is why more students who cannot cope with these feelings end up at college counseling centers with “increasingly serious mental-health problems.” 15 to 20 percent of college students nationally were diagnosed with depression. The second most common diagnosis was severe anxiety. According to the article, it is not unusual for mental-health issues to become apparent during a student’s college years.
It is known that depression is a growing issue, but the question is why it is continuing to affect more and more people, specifically students. It is difficult to pinpoint a specific cause when there are so many theories as to what exactly causes depression. Some argue that it is genetic while others say it is a result of too much stress. This is not to say that there is only one cause of depression, but there has to be a reason why the number of depressed students has been increasing in the recent years.
Elder, Linda. “The 18th International Conference on Critical Thinking and Educational Reform.” 18th International Conference on Critical Thinking. 4 Aug. 1998. The Center for Critical Thinking <http://www.criticalthinking.org/University/univcomm/conf/conftext.nclk>.
Why suicide? Why is it becoming a more common escape method from the academic, financial, and transitional burdens put on college students? Depression and suicides among college students make more headlines than the more familiar problems of drinking and vandalism that occur on campus. Suicides are a dramatic way to relieve stress or depression. Although suicides are fairly rare, they still account for the third leading cause of deaths of individuals raging from 15-24 years of age (Suicide Rates and the Troubling Economy.) There are many reasons why these mental health problems are on the rise and why they will continue to occur (Depression, Suicide Rising among College Students.)
Many students on a college campus experience stress, depression, or being overwhelmed and rarely seek mental health services on campus. A study was done at a large, highly competitive, public research university, to see how many students experience any of these things and to see how many actually use their available resources (Laven, A.). Studies found that most of these students who experienced these emotional situations tended to have lower grade point averages; however, they indicated that their problems were not serious enough, they had never used the available resources on campus, and they generally knew very little about the resources on campus (Laven, A.). Although many of the freshmen indicated that they would rather turn to friends or family for advice, if the problem is persistent and affects one’s daily life, campus resources should be used.
The Treaty of Westphalia was a paper that ended the predominantly blood wars on religion. This treaty was signed on Saturday, October 24, 1648, putting forth new changes through Europe by influencing its diplomacy throughout many nations. The Treaty of Westphalia set forth a new change for the tolerance for new forms of religion. Creating a tolerance to new forms of religion was considered as one of the biggest steps for modern-day diplomacy, each state had a view on what should be considered of what should be considered a righteous religious. The idea to bring forth of acceptance the forms of Lutherism and Calvinist in the same form of those as in the Roman Catholic Church was a way to create reasonable negotiation between the many different
...a part of Germany. Also, for the Saar, the Saar inhabitants were to be offered a plebiscite after 15 years also for them to decide whether they wished to return to Germany, be a part of France, or remain under the supervision of the League of Nations. The residents in these areas were given a chance to choose who they wanted to rule them, in line with the aim of self-determination. This shows that the treaty settlements were not harsh but instead fair on the part that the people were given the right to decide what they wanted politically and were entitled self-determination.
The growth of the European super powers during the 19th century consisted of the great powers vying for territorial attainments, developing their international influence, and ensuring positive domestic attitudes of their diplomatic actions. Attempting to cement their hegemony of international politics, the Prussian Empire sought to create an ethnically and politically unified German state to rebuff the prominence granted to Austria at the Congress of Vienna. Through the machinations of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and his determination to unite the German lands through “blood and iron”, Germany quickly rose to become the epicenter of European politics and forever changed the geopolitical landscape of Europe. In examining the unification of Germany and its implications for the international system, this paper will explore the prehistory of the unification, significant diplomatic successes and failures during the bolstering of Germany’s power, and the change in the power structure of Germany that ultimately changed the military landscape of the international system and became the precursor for World War I.
College brings many changes to a young adolescent. Moving away from parents and being on your own is the biggest and sometimes scariest step. This change for college students can sometimes be very dramatic and can often lead to depression. A column written by Michael Kerr (2012) reported that one out of every four-college student suffers from some sort of mental illness, depression being the most common. It also stated that 44 percent of American college students report having symptoms of depression. College is supposed to be a time of growth, learning and self-discovery. What factors play a contributing role to the rates of depression found in college students? Research by Nyer and colleagues (2013) has suggested that sleep disturbances and anxiety contribute to depression-like symptoms in students. Another study conducted by Xueting, Hong, Bin and Taisheng (2013) found that students who were trying to reach perfect grades in their academics found themselves falling short of expectations which triggered symptoms of depression. Varied distractions, academic or financial difficulties, substance abuse, lack of sleep and unstable friendships are additional risk factors for depression (Xueting, 2013). If not left untreated, students often resort to suicide as a way out of the depression. (Wilcox, 2013)
Rudd, R. (2007). Defining critical thinking. Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers, 82(7) 46-49. Retrieved December 9, 2007, from EBSCOhost database.