Macdonald on Elizabeth, Stalin, & Frederick the Great

Compare Elizabeth I (England), Frederick the Great (Prussia), and Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union)

I. Elizabeth I

a. Assumed thrown after death of half-sister Queen Mary in 1558
b. During her reign: England rose to prominence, laid foundations for a world empire, and experienced cultural renaissance
c. Intelligent, cautious, and self-confident
i. She moved quickly to solve difficult religious problem
d. Her religious policy based on moderation and compromise
i. Elizabethan religious settlement in 1559
ii. Act of Supremacy designated Elizabeth as “the only supreme governor of this realm, as well in all spiritual or ecclesiastical things or causes.”
iii. Protestantism
e. Smothered religious differences in England
i. Catholics and Puritans opposed this
ii. Elizabeth’s challenge with cousin Mary, queen of Scots
1. Mary next in line to throne and attempted to kill Elizabeth
2. Mary eventually was beheaded
f. Elizabeth just as adept in gov. and foreign affairs as in religious affairs
i. Handled Parliament with much skill
ii. Only met 13 times during her entire reign
iii. She encouraged English piracy and wanted to weaken France and Spain
1. She avoided alliances

II. Frederick the Great

a. One of best educated and most cultured monarchs in 18th century
i. Well versed in Enlightenment thought
ii. Believer in the king as “first servant of the state”
iii. Diligence in overseeing operations of state made Prussia known for its efficiency and honesty
b. Established single code of laws
i. Eliminated use of torture
ii. Granted a limited freedom of speech and press
iii. Complete religious toleration
c. Made Prussian society even more aristocratic than it had been before
i. Reserved the higher positions in bureaucracy for members of nobility
d. Took great interest in military affairs
i. Enlarged Prussian army
ii. Seized the Austrian province of Silesia
1. This act embroiled him in two major wars
e. By the end of his reign, Prussia was recognized as a great European power

III. Joseph Stalin

a. 1879-1953
b. Totalitarian state
c. Favored “socialism in one country” rather than world revolution
d. By 1929, Stalin has succeeded in eliminating the Old Bolsheviks and establishing a powerful dictatorship
e. Time he ruled called the Stalinist era
i. Marked beginning of an economic, social and political revolution
ii. 1928—he launched his first five-year plan
1. Transforming Soviet Union from an agricultural country into an industrial state
2. Millions of workers lived in pitiful conditions
3. Real wages in industry declined by 43%
4. Strict laws limited workers’ freedom of movement
f. Collectivization of agriculture
i. Goal was to eliminate private farms and push people into collective farms
ii. Created famines and death of many workers
g. His desire for sole control
i. Stalinist bloodbath
ii. Dramatic decrease in birthrate