Unit 3: Significant Figures AP Euro

Edmund Burke

• Political thinker who defended tradition, monarchy, and gradual change

• Often called the father of modern conservatism

• Critic of radical revolution (especially the French Revolution)

• Believed society should change slowly and carefully, not through revolution

• Thought traditions, religion, and institutions preserved stability

Napoleon III

• Masterfully used liberal and socialist agendas to form a state centered around monarchical authority

• He kept almost all power as the emperor and empowered the Church 

• However, he increased the power of the National Assembly and also legalized the strikes

Count Cavour

• He worked with other powerful groups 

• He also eliminated noble privilege and protected constitutionalism 

Bismarck

• Used pragmatic political called realpolitik

  • Ignore differences in your beliefs and negotiate 

•  Placated literally everyone

• Also created the Reichstag (representative assembly)

Nietzche

• Criticized traditional values

• Rejected traditional religion and morality (“God is dead” idea)

• Believed society was held back by “slave morality” (obedience, weakness)

• Promoted idea of the Übermensch (overman) → individuals who create their own values

• Emphasized willpower and individual strength (“will to power”)

Sigmund Freud

• Founder of psychoanalysis (study/treatment of the unconscious mind)

• Austrian doctor working in late 1800s–early 1900s

• Human behavior is driven by the unconscious mind

• Childhood experiences shape adult personality

• Challenged Enlightenment idea that humans are purely rational

John Stuart Mill

• Created utilitarianism

• Advocated that best way to prevent oppression of the working class was universal suffrage

• Advocated for laissez-faire