Machiavelli's arguments

What does The Prince (1513) reveal about how Machiavelli believed power is gained, maintained, and consolidated?

By Isiah Jones

Introduction

​➡ Directions: Read the prompt below and respond to the questions.

Think about the principal of your school. His/her job is to make decisions that are best for keeping the school safe for students and staff, and making sure that every student has the opportunity to get a quality education that will prepare them for the world after high school.

​For a principal to do their job the best, is it better for them to be loved than to be feared or is it better to be feared than to be loved?

​In the chart below write down the reasons you can think of that support both sides, then turn to a partner in class and share your ideas. If they have ideas you haven’t thought of, record them in your chart. It is better to be LOVED than to be feared. It is better to be FEARED than to be loved.

Poll

For a principal to do their job the best, is it better for them to be loved than to be feared or is it better to be feared than to be loved?

• better for them to be loved than to be feared

• better to be feared than to be loved

What does The Prince (1513) reveal about how Machiavelli believed power is gained, maintained, and consolidated?

Exit Ticket: Machiavelli's advice is more about political survival than moral leadership." Defend or challenge this statement using at least two pieces of evidence from The Prince.

Objective: Students Will Be Able To analyze Machiavelli's arguments about gaining, maintaining, and consolidating power by evaluating his advice and supporting claims with textual evidence.

Machiavelli Vocabulary

• Exile: To be forced to leave one's home country or region and live somewhere else

• Cynical: Believing that people are generally selfish and dishonest

• Consolidate: to make something stronger or more secure. (In history: to unite or combine power).

• Diplomacy: The skill of managing relationships and negotiations between different countries through talking, rather than through force or war.

• Pragmatic: Dealing with problems in a practical and realistic way rather than based on theories or ideals.

Multiple Choice

1. After being forced into exile, a leader would...

• a) be celebrated with a parade in their home city.
  

• b) be given a higher position in the government.

• c) have to live in a foreign country, away from home.

• d) take a vacation to relax and see the world.

Multiple Choice

2. A cynical person watching a politician promise to give everyone money would most likely think...

• The politician is not sincere and is just trying to gain votes.
• The politician is being honest about their intentions.
• The politician is offering a realistic plan for economic growth.
• The politician genuinely wants to help the people.

Multiple Choice

3. A pragmatic leader facing a food shortage would...

• Implement strategies to ensure food security.
• Increase food prices for consumers.
• Focus solely on agricultural exports.
• Reduce food distribution efforts.

Contextualize: Who Was Machiavelli?

Our Goal: To understand the man behind the infamous book.

Directions:

1. Listen as we read the background information together.

2. Watch as I model how to "source" (contextualize) a document by looking for the author's motive and experience.

3. Help me answer: How did his life experiences shape his cynical view of power?

Multiple Choice

Who is the author of The Prince?

• Francesco Petrarca
• Giovanni Boccaccio
• Ludovico Ariosto
• Niccolò Machiavelli

Multiple Choice

Where was The Prince written?

• France
• Greece
• Spain
• Italy

Multiple Choice

When was The Prince written?

• 1513
• 1450
• 1600
• 1492

Multiple Choice

Who was the intended audience for The Prince?

• Artists and writers.
• The Medici family, specifically Lorenzo

• Common citizens and workers.
• Philosophers and scholars.

Multiple Choice

What type of source is The Prince?

• Primary Source

• Secondary Source

Multiple Choice

What is the best description of the genre of The Prince?

• Diary entry

• memoir

• speech

• biography

Contextualize: Who Was Machiavelli?

Second Read: Digging Deeper (5-Minute Independent/Silent Read)
Directions: Now, silently re-read the introduction. Use the text to answer the following questions about the source's nature and potential bias.

7. Why was The Prince written? What was Machiavelli's goal?

8. How might The Prince be useful evidence in understanding how Machiavelli believed power is gained, maintained, and consolidated?

9. What bias might Machiavelli have about how power is gained, maintained, and consolidated? Explain.

Open Ended

Why was The Prince written? What was Machiavelli's goal?

Open Ended

How might The Prince be useful evidence in understanding how Machiavelli believed power is gained, maintained, and consolidated?

Our Goal: To learn how to analyze Machiavelli's rules for power.

Annotation Key:

• (G) = Gaining Power

• (M) = Maintaining Power

• (C) = Consolidating Power (Making your power solid and secure)

Section 1: That Which Concerns a Prince on the Subject of the Art of War
Read & Annotate: I will find the most powerful words.

1. Categorize: Is this advice for Gaining (G), Maintaining (M), or Consolidating (C) power?

2. Paraphrase: I will state Machiavelli's rule in my own words.

Fill in the Blanks

1a. According to Machiavelli, what should be the two aims of a prince?

Open Ended

When Machiavelli writes that a prince who has “thought more of ease than of arms” may lose their states, what is he warning princes to avoid?

Open Ended

Based on Section 1: That Which Concerns a Prince on the Subject of the Art of War, how should power be gained, maintained, or consolidated according to Machiavelli?

Jigsaw: Machiavelli's Power Playbook

Step 1: Find Your Expert Group (2 minutes)

• You'll be assigned number (1, 2, or 3).

• Number 1s: Go to the SECTION 2 expert area.

• Number 2s: Go to the SECTION 3 expert area.

• Number 3s: Go to the SECTION 4 expert area.

Step 2: Expert Huddle (10 minutes)

• In your expert group, read your assigned section.

• Highlight and annotate! Mark where Machiavelli talks about Gaining (G), Maintaining (M), or Consolidating (C) power.

• Answer the questions for your section on the handout.

• Agree on the #1 most important rule from your section.

Jigsaw: Machiavelli's Power Playbook

Step 3: Teaching Triads (12 minutes)

• Return to your original table. You should have a 1, a 2, and a 3.

• Each expert has 3 minutes to teach their rule.

• Teammates: Listen and fill in your guided notes for all three sections!

Multiple Choice

Machiavelli argues that a prince must sometimes "know how to do wrong." According to his reasoning, when is it acceptable for a leader to do this?

• It is acceptable for a leader to do wrong when it is necessary to maintain power, protect the state, or achieve a greater good.
• A leader must always act morally, regardless of the situation.
• It is acceptable for a leader to do wrong to gain personal wealth.
• A leader should never do wrong under any circumstances.

Multiple Choice

Based on the advice from all four sections, which of the following is the most complete summary of Machiavelli's view of power?

• Machiavelli argues that power should be pursued through idealism and moral integrity.
• Power requires constant military focus, a realistic view of human nature, and the practical willingness to be feared.

• Machiavelli suggests that power is best achieved through democratic means and public consensus.
• Machiavelli believes that power is maintained by adhering strictly to ethical principles and traditions.

Open Ended

Machiavelli states that men are "ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, [and] covetous." How does this specific view of human nature directly support his argument that it is "safer to be feared than loved"?

Machiavelli Exit Ticket

Prompt: A historian states: "Machiavelli's advice is more about political survival than moral leadership." Defend or challenge this statement using at least two pieces of evidence from The Prince.

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Success Criteria (for Quizizz Description or Student Instructions)

3 (Proficient): Clear claim + 2 accurate text quotes + explanation connecting evidence to claim

2 (Developing): Claim + 1 text quote + basic explanation

1 (Beginning): Unclear claim + no text evidence