Questions 1,3, and 4 on page 488-494

1. Indulgences were sold by the Catholic church and it was a pardon of sin. Martin Luther's action began an event known as the reformation in which Luther revised some of the catholic church's practices. Lutherans were the name that was given to the people who followed Martin Luther's beliefs. Protestants were the princes in Germany were folks who stayed loyal to the pope and his teachings unlike the Lutherans. The Peace of Augsburg was when the princes agreed that each ruler would decide the religion of his state. Annul means to set aside, and Henry wanted the pope to annul his marriage to his barren wife. The Church of England was known as the Anglican Church.
3. Secular beliefs, disloyal leaders, and taxes led to the Reformation of the middle ages' Catholic Church.
4. The term Protestantism originates from the development of the Reformation, and it is the name for one of the three separating branches of the Church.

Questions 1,3,4,5 on pages 480-487

1. A utopia in Greek means "no place", in english it means an ideal place. William Shakespeare was a famous writer of the Elizabethan Age, and is sometimes regarded as the best playwright of all time. Johann Gutenberg was a craftsman from Germany, who invented a printing press that incorporated a number of new technologies in a new way.
3. Albrecht made woodcuts, engravings, prints of religious objects, and he emphasized realism.
4. The Renaissance influenced the creation of the printing press, which let common people read important books like the bible.
5. The printing press made books accessible to many people, and they were written in peoples' native languages, so they were easily understood.

Test Back and Renaissance

1. A renaissance is a time of rebirth, and in the context of Italy is means art and learning. Humanism is an intellectual movement that focused on human potential and achievements. Secular means worldly rather than spiritual concerns. The church financially supported artists and they were called patrons. Perspective shows three dimensions on a flat surface like a painting. Vernacular was Dante's native language.

3. The Renaissance Man strove to master every area of study. The Renaissance woman were not expected to seek fame, and were told to know the classics and be charming. 

4. The Roman art and statues inspired the artists of the renaissance.

5. They wanted to go back to the Greek and Roman styles of art and literature, since those civilizations flourished in their time.

Test Day

Today we took the test on the Roman Empire/Republic. The test was a total of sixty six questions and I think I did pretty good on it, unlike my math test that I took today that I got a 13 out of 29 on. The test was balanced with a lot of questions that weren't too difficult, but no too easy either. Mr. Schick was looking sharp today with his elbow patches. Today was a good day.

Test Review Day

I missed class on Friday due to my illness, but I'm back again and better than before. Even though I'm still sick I'm glad our test was pushed back and I got to review in class today. We went over the powerpoint and Mr. Schick told us what would be on the test, so I fell better about it already. God rest ye marry gentlemen. Hope Mr. Schick is felling better after his hernia surgery.

Mr. Schick Returns

Mr. Schick came back today, and we started class off just like usual with a powerpoint instead of reading the textbook. We went over the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of ancient Rome, as well as modern day America. The consuls were compared to the president and vice president, and the consuls have one year terms while the president has a 4 year term. Both Rome and America have a senate, but the United States' senate has 200 less members than the Romans. Ancient Rome had Praetors instead of America's justices. Romans had the Twelve Tables, while we have the Constitution and its amendments. Today was a boring day, but I'm glad Mr. Schick is back and feeling good.

The Decline of the United States?

Mr. Schick told us to write about how the US is declining or not, and I believe that it is not declining. People may say that the United States is getting worse since Trump was elected, but he has done some good things. The stock market has flourished under his presidency, and more jobs have been created. The real estate market crash of 2008 was terrible, but we got through it, and we can get through anything if we try hard enough. I don't know where the notion that the US was declining came from, but I suppose people probably said this during every presidency. The United States has been a powerhouse for a long time and even if we aren't at the top of the charts in economics we'll still live on. No matter how hard of a decline we face we will come back and the reason for that is our spirit. Nothing can crush the American spirit. Even if the country is invaded or destroyed the American way of life will live in each and every one of us.

Questions of page 176

1. Inflation is a drastic drop in the value of money coupled with a raise in prices. The Romans recruited mercenaries who were foreign soldiers who fought for money. Diocletian was a strong-willed army leader who became the emperor of Rome in 284 AD. Constantinople was the name of the capital of the Roman Empire. Attila united the Germanic peoples and became a threat to the Roman empire.
3. The main internal causes of the Empire's decline were a weakened economy, and military and political turmoil.
4. Diocletian preserved the empire by reforming it to have stricter laws.
5. The tribes began to invade more due to them being united by Attila.

Questions 1,3,4,5 Answered

1. Jesus was a jew born in the town of Bethlehem in the town of Judea. Jesus had twelve followers or apostles they are more formally known as today. Paul was a man who was at first apposed to Christianity, but he later converted. Diaspora is the dispersal of Jews, and this happened after they tried to break free from the Roman Empire. Constantine was converted to Christianity after he prayed for divine help and received a sign. A bishop was a priest that supervised several local churches. Peter was an apostle of Jesus and he became the first bishop. Three bishops nominated Peter as the first pope.
3. Jesus put emphasis on loving your neighbors and forgiving your enemies.
4. The Christians refused to worship Roman gods, which upset the romans.
5. The Nicene Creed was a formal statement of belief for the Christians.

Rap song vs. Reality

Mr. Schick's rap song is close to what actually happened in Rome. His song is based off of low by Flo Rida. He starts the song with the Etruscans, Greeks, and the Latins, and these are the real first people that settled on the modern day Italian peninsula. The part about draining a swamp is not 100% accurate however. When he mentions Tarquin he doesn't mention what actually happened with him and his parents. Mr. Schick does mention how Rome got rid of tyrants altogether after Tarquin. His verse on early Roman government sums it up pretty well so I won't go into that. In his song he doesn't mention how Hannibal led his army through modern day Spain and France to cross the Alps. The verse about the start of the civil war goes into very little detail about what actually took place. The part about Julius Caesar is pretty accurate, as well as the part about Octavian's triumvirate. I thought the rap song was pretty cringy when he played it, but the lyrics are fine, but hearing Mr. Schick sing brought some sort of pain to my ears.