Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Thirty Years War Essays - Anti-Catholicism, , Term Papers

Thirty Years War The causes of the Thirty Years War can be traced as far back as the renaissance period. It was during the renaissance that such ideals as secularism, humanism, individualism, rationalism and above all else secularism were first apparent in main stream society. These ideas led to the protestant reformation, which is an even more direct cause of the war. The split of the Catholic Church, as a result of the protestant reformation left Europe in a state of religious turmoil and chaos. The gradual increase in intolerance and religious sectionalism that coincided with the addition of new religions and even more diversity has been marked as the main cause of the Thirty Years War. The effects of the war would prove to be devastating to most of Europe, evidenced by the sharp drop in population, but it was especially devastating to Germany. However, there were some countries and bodies of people that emerged from the conflict improved such as France, Sweden, and the religion of Calvinism. There were many territorial and dynastic issues that figured in the outbreak and conduct of the war as well, but it is believed that these factors did not become important until the middle stages of the war. The territorial and dynastic causes, which go hand in hand, did however, cause the war to continue longer than it most likely would have if religion had been the only motive. The extent of religious motives therefor is debated, but cannot be dismissed. The immediate causes of the war began with the resistance and eventual revolt of Protestant nobles in Bohemia, due to the religious intolerance mentioned before, which was under Hapsburg domination, against the Catholic king Ferdinand. The reasons and causes for its spread throughout Europe include the constitutional frailty of the Holy Roman Empire, the inability of the German states to act in concert, and the ambitions of other European powers. These were the causes that would eventually be responsible for the war lasting as long as it did. The political motives became more and more prevalent when Sweden entered the war to help the Protestant cause. Sweden did not enter the war for religious reasons at all; they were looking to gain land. Finally it seemed that religion was completely forgotten and abandoned as a cause when Catholic France and Protestant Sweden joined forces against the Catholic Hapsburgs. France was worried that the Hapsburgs were becoming too powerful so they decided to assert their influence into the war. The results and effects of the war and the two peace treaties were highly significant. France replaced Spain as the greatest power in Europe. With Sweden, France had blocked the Habsburg efforts to strengthen their authority in the Empire. At Westphalia, the right of the individual states within the Empire to make war and conclude alliances was recognized. In theory as well as in fact, the most important of these states became virtually autonomous, and German unity was postponed for more than two centuries. The Empire was further dismembered by the recognition of the independence of Switzerland and the seven northern provinces of the Netherlands. Two new powers emerged in northern Germany. France received most of Alsace by the Treaty of Westphalia, and by the Treaty of Pyrenees parts of Flanders and Artois in the Spanish Netherlands and lands in the Pyrenees. The religious settlement at Westphalia confirmed the predominance of Catholicism in southern Germany and of Protestantism in northern Germany. The principle accepted by the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 that Catholic and Lutheran princes could determine the religion practiced in their territory was maintained, and this privilege was extended to include the Calvinists as well. The Austrian Habsburgs had failed in their efforts to increase their authority in the Empire and to eradicate Protestantism, but they emerged from the war stronger than before. In Bohemia, they had stamped out Protestantism, broken the power of the old nobility, and declared the crown hereditary in the male line of their family. With Bohemia now firmly in their grasp and with their large group of adjoining territories, they were ready to expand to the east in the Balkans, to the south in Italy, or to interfere once more in the

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Hammurabi Essays - Codes Of Conduct, Legal Codes, Babylonia

Hammurabi Essays - Codes Of Conduct, Legal Codes, Babylonia Hammurabi Hammurabi In his position as king of Babylonia, Hammurabi managed to organize the worlds first code of law and establish Babylon as the dominant and successful Amorite City of its time. Records written on clay tablets show that Hammurabi was a very capable administrator and a successful warrior. His rule spanned from 1792 B.C. to 1750 B.C. When he became king in 1792, he was still young, but had already become entrusted with many official duties in his administration. In the early years of his reign, Hammurabi mostly participated in traditional activities, such as repairing buildings, digging canals, and fighting wars. Yet later in his rule, Hammurabi organized a unique code of laws, the first of its kind, therefore making himself one of the worlds most influential leaders. Hammurabi was primarily influential to the world because of his code of laws. This code consisted of 282 provisions, systematically arranged under a variety of subjects. He sorted hiss laws into groups such as family, labor personal property, real estate, trade, and business. This was the first time in history that any laws had been categorized into various sections. This format of organization was emulated by civilizations of the future. For example, Semitic cultures succeeding Hammurabis rule used some of the same laws that were included in Hammurabis code. Hammurabis method of thought is evident in present day societies, which are influenced by his code. Modern governments currently create specific laws, which are placed into their appropriate family of similar laws. Hammurabi had his laws recorded upon an eight foot black stone monument. Hammurabi based on his code on principles like, the strong should not injure the weak, and that punishment should fit the crime. As for punishment, legal actions were initiated under the code by written pleadings; testimony was taken under oath. The code was severe in its penalties, prescribing an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. This code of laws was able to be maintained by invoking the authority of the gods and the state. Although the punishments were different than those of today, the authority of the state (government) is similar. Currently, punishments are issued through the states law enforcement system, comparable to the way punishment was determined and enforced in ancient Babylon. In the code, crimes punishable by death required a trail in front of a bench of judges. Included in these crimes were: bigamy, incest, kidnapping, adultery, and theft. There were also laws similar to today. For example, a husband who wished to divorce his wife, was required to pay alimony and child support. By creating the worlds first set of organized laws, Hammurabi constituted a model set of moral codes for other civilizations to duplicate. The code of Hammurabi is believed to have greatly influenced the development of Near Eastern civilizations for centuries after it was written. Although Hammurabi failed to establish an effective bureaucratic system himself, his ideas were successful in establishing laws in Babylonia. Since Babylon was the worlds first metropolis, the large population needed to be bound by a strict set of organized civil laws. The way Hammurabi constructed his laws is influential to the world today, because laws can be more easily understood by the people.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Level of Service Inventory-Revised in Corrections Research Paper

The Level of Service Inventory-Revised in Corrections - Research Paper Example Using this tool, the government and other officials reduce cases of recidivism of certain offences in the society. In addition, through this tool various corrective institutions devise appropriate corrective measures and treatment practices for their inmates. LSI-R is a validated and recognized risk assessment tool that is highly efficient in identifying problem areas in various offenders’ lives. As a result, this tool helps reduce offender’s risk of recidivism. This quantitative survey tool offers offenders’ attributes and problems that are efficient in making vital decisions about relevant supervision and treatment method to be adopted. Furthermore, this instrument is useful in the allocation of various resources that are valid in solving the identified problems. Moreover, The Level of Service Inventory-Revised is a 54-item instrument, which is crucial and useful in assessing offenders across a range of 10 domains (Holsinger, Lowenkamp and Latessa 331). These areas are known to be closely related. This tool involves corrective measure such as prisons rehabilitative intervention that is useful in reducing the probability of offender ever engaging in crime. This practice is not complete without trained assessors. The se assessors examine offenders through interviews and validate the information and data collected through relevant external sources. The overall score from the structured interview and research is then used actuarially to associate the likelihood of reoccurrence of a behavior (Flores et al. 534). The last domain score is the most important since it is used to identify the most promising corrective measure for offenders to reduce and totally eliminate any chances of reoccurrence of a behavior. Due to its efficiency in assessing and predicting the probability of future reoccurrence of behavior, this tool is useful in