Niccol Machiavelli

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Niccolò Machiavelli
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By Tommy McFarlin Change and Revolution Period 3
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Background Information

• Born May 3, 1469 in Florence, Italy
• Was a political philosopher and writer
• Was one of the most important philosophers of the
  Renaissance
• Father of modern political science
• Attempted to explain politics realistically
• Died in June 21, 1527

Niccolò Machiavelli
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Machiavellis Political Life

• In 1498 Machiavelli was appointed secretary of a
  governing body in the Florentine republic
• As a governing official, Machiavelli conducted
  diplomatic missions
• Also organized a militia for the republic
• When the republic collapsed in 1512, the Medici
  family came to power and Machiavelli was thrown
  from office
• Machiavelli was arrested, tortured, and
  imprisoned for the Medici thought he was plotting
  against them
• Was released a year later and he died in 1527

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Machiavellis Philosophies In General
Statue of Machiavelli in Florence

• Machiavelli tried to base his works on his
  perception of human nature from history
• Used his experience as a government official and
  he studied history in order to allow himself to
  view politics in a different way
• His works explained how he thought the state
  should stay powerful and how a ruler should keep
  control over his people

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Machiavellis View of the State

• Thought of the state as an organism the ruler
  is the head and the people are the body
• Said that there is a direct link between the
  condition of the state and the people
• Thought a healthy state was orderly, in balance,
  and unified with its people happy, strong, and
  secure
• Stated that an unhealthy state was unbalanced and
  disorderly. This kind of state would require
  strong measures to return it to a healthy state

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Dealing With An Unhealthy State

• Machiavelli, in his works, emphasized that a
  leader must take drastic measures to return his
  state to a healthy one
• A leader may have to be cruel, deceptive, and
  forceful in order to preserve the state, if no
  other measures worked
• These beliefs of Machiavellis lead people to
  thinking that he supported cruelty, deception,
  and the use of force in politics
• The word Machiavellian now means cunning and
  unscrupulous

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Machiavelli Out of Office
Bust of Machiavelli

• Machiavelli actually resorted to writing down his
  philosophies only when he lost his job due to the
  rise of the Medici family
• In order to try and please the Medici family and
  gain back his job, Machiavelli wrote The Prince
  and dedicated to the Medici family
• However, the Medici family disagreed with the
  novel and did not give him his job back

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The Prince
The Prince

• Was written to explain basically how to be a
  great ruler
• Says that rulers should only worry about power
  and success
• Used Cesare Borgia as an example, for he had
  achieved great power through cruelty and
  ruthlessness
• When the public read the novel, they were
  horrified that any leader could be so horrible
  and who would think that cruelty is a just way to
  deal with situations

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Other Novels By Machiavelli

• Because The Prince was created to please the
  Medici family, not all of Machiavellis beliefs
  were contained in it
• Machiavellis philosophy is also expressed in the
  following novels that he also wrote
• Discourses upon the First Ten Books of Livy
• The Art of War

The Art of War
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Machiavellis Overall Impact

• Machiavelli affected the Renaissance in two main
  ways
• The works he wrote, mainly The Prince, influenced
  future rulers and how they controlled their
  region
• Machiavellis works also affected the people, for
  they were outraged that someone was telling a
  leader to be cruel and unjust.

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To Sum It All Up
Machiavelli

• Machiavelli, born during the Renaissance, was one
  of the most influential political philosophers of
  all time
• His most famous work, The Prince, gave
  Machiavellis opinion on how a leader should rule
  his state
• His philosophies have lead to new government
  strategies as well as ways to avoid an
  unhealthy state

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Works Cited Page

• Chew, Robin. "Niccolo Machiavelli Statesman and
  Political Philosopher." 1 Jan 2007. 4 Apr 2007.
  i.html.
• Geerken, John H. "Machiavelli, Niccolo." World
  Book Online Reference Center. 2007. 4 Apr 2007.
  6260.
• Kemerling, Garth. "Niccolo Machiavelli."
  Philosophy Pages. 2006. 4 Apr 2007
  .

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Thats All Folks