Due November 4th
Catherine the Great Biography
Catherine the Great was born on April 21, 1729 and died on November 6, 1796. Catherine was born into a royal family. She was the daughter of Prince Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst and Princess Johanna Elizabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. Although she was born with the name Sophia Augusta Frederica; she later on, to demonstrate her dedication to the Russian people, converted to the Russian Orthodoxy, and then became Grand Duchess Catherine. By the age of fifteen Catherine was offered to marry the Grand Duke Peter of Russia. The two were married in 1745. Unfortunately the marriage was far from perfect. Peter was disloyal to Catherine but she was disloyal too. Catherine had two children, Paul and Anna. It is unknown though whether or not either of the children belong to Peter. Catherine was committed to her country unlike her husband. When Peter’s mother, Empress Elizabeth, died on December 25, 1761, he became Emperor Peter III and Catherine became empress. Her husband went on to create many enemies within a few months of his rule. Catherine became apart of the plot to have her husband overthrown. Some thought that the ideal plan would be to place their seven year old son on throne and have Catherine as a temporary ruler. However, she thought things differently. She wanted a more authoritative role. On June 28, 1762 she and her lover of that time, Gregory Orlov, declared herself Catherine II the ruler of Russia. Her husband was later killed in a fight. As ruler she wanted reform for her country. Catherine made a proposal called “The Instruction”. It was a system that gave equal protection for any person. It also stressed the prevention of criminal acts instead of harsh punishments. Catherine also created the Legislative Commission but with little success she had it canceled in 1768. She also added to the school system by making the arts and science important. Catherine believed that these subjects would earn Russia a reputation as a center of civilization. Painting, theater, and music prospered under her rule; during her reign Catherin made St. Petersburg one of the most impressive capitals in the world. She would say that her rule was the,” thorn less rose that never stings.” However when she died of a stroke her mentally unstable son wasn’t able to rule as well as she had.
Why I Chose Catherine the Great
The reason I chose to do Catherine the Great is because she was a female ruler. During the 1700’s it wasn’t very common to have that happen, especially ruling over an entire country. She was a very smart and independent woman. She helped improve many things such as the health care system, education, and she earned Russia a good reputation at that time.
Life During Catherine's Rule
Life during Catherine’s rule was better than previous rulers. During the time she ruled there were long wars with Turkey, Sweden, and the Polish-Lithuanian for commonwealth, and gaining territories. Russia expanded to the black sea, Ukraine, and Belorussia. There were also new establishments built. For example, The Academy of Fine Arts, the Gostiny Dvor, the Marble Palace, the Old Hermitage, the Taurida Palace, the Yusupov Palaces, and the Smolny Institute. Also the School of Mines was established to allow geologist to explore the land for minerals. In 1762 a decree allowed everyone to open factories which in return offered jobs to a multitude of people. This in turn enlarged the number of cities and people. During this time education was taken seriously. However, education was only given to the upper class citizens. Peasants during this time were treated as property. Most didn’t have good living conditions and had no education.
Catherine the Great Impact
Catherine the Great made an impact in government, science and technology, culture, and economics. Her affect on government was that she expanded her countries rule. This was one of the most successful times for Russia because Catherine had two winning wars against the Ottoman Empire which extended the borders of her country. She also continued with reforms of the Russian state. Catherine’s impact on Culture is that during her reign were that she had art and literature brought into her country which broadened her peoples thinking. Also the capital ,St. Petersburg, was full of sculptors, educational systems, and palaces which she had built. Another impact was how she continued to establish education and law codes. Her lasting impact on science and Technology are that in 1764 with the outbreak of the smallpox, to reassure her people of the vaccination, she had and English doctor give it to her first. After waiting only a few weeks, when she did not get the disease, everyone else began to take it. She did this to show her people how dedicated she was to them and it spread the vaccination and made it popular. If she hadn’t gotten it, who’s knows what could have happened to the people of Russia. Lastly was her impact on the economy. Her impact was the expansion to the black sea. This allowed her people to trade with outside countries which brought in a profit.
Resources
Cavendish,Henry. “Catherine the Great.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2009.
Advameg, Inc. 11-2-09
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ca-Ch/Catherine-the-Great.html
Lewis, Jone. “Catherine the Great.” 2009. New York Times Company. 11-3-09
http://www.womenshistory.about.com/od/catherinegreat/p/catherinegreat.htm
Toscani, Melissa. “Empress Catherine II “The Great” of Russia.” Pavlac’s Women’s
History. 1998. 11-4-09 http://www.departments.kings.edu/womens_history/catherine2.html
Due October 15th
The Woman I chose is Shirley Temple. Her claim to fame is that she was a child star. She was a popular for five years straight and then became less popular as she got older. What surprised me about her is that she was the youngest actress to get an Academy Award. Also That she was the U.S Ambassador to Ghana for two years. Shirley Temple couldn't have been a possibility as a Power of One subject because she had little or no effect on some of the areas that need to be covered, such as culture and economics.
The next person I chose was Obama. He is famous because he is The first African American president. What surprised me is that he wrote the book Dreams From My Father and received an Grammy for the audio version of the book. What also surprised me was that he has won a noble peace prize for his efforts on trying to strengthen the peace internationally. What has interested me about Obama is how involved after college, such as; being apart of Business International Corporation, he was a community organizer, helped organize voter registration for President Clinton's campaign, and he taught at the university of Chicago Law School. He could have been a possibility for the project because he has made many contributions to each of the categories.
The last person picked was Martin Luther King Jr. He is famous because he was a civil rights leader and is known for his speech during the 1963 March on Washington. What has surprised me about him is that even with all the threats and problems his actions caused he still continued to do what he believed in. Most people would give up but he didn't. What I found interesting is that he won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He could be a Power of One subject because he has down many things that have influenced or modern world, such as African-American rights, he's had effects on the government, and culture.
Comments (2)
Kendra Smith said
at 10:07 am on Oct 18, 2009
#1 -- Be careful with absolute statements -- with more research, an argument could be made for both culture and economics.
#3 -- "down" s/b "done"
Amy said
at 8:01 pm on Nov 4, 2009
hurry put a picture!
its gooood (:
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