...economy in the colonies prior to the Revolutionary War, and after the independence America gained, it was part of one of the key money-making industries. Many of our founding fathers arose from the south: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and even James Madison. When it came to writing the constitution, it was a conflict of to retain or eliminate slavery in this new country. Several of the northern states had already done away with slavery, but it was a necessity for the southern financial system. The southern elites, like Landon Carter, have lived with slaves their whole life and knew nothing immoral about it. In fact, numerous men like Carter thought the black race to be inferior and it was the duty...
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..."As much as Americans like to think that we invented democracy, liberty, and freedom in the modern world, the reality is that almost every good idea of the founding period was stolen from European, and especially British, sources. Thus, America's founding ideas are really just the ideas of the English 'country party' put into action in British colonies. This is an achievement, to be sure, but it is in no way an especially or exceptional American achievement." There are many sources of influence for America’s ideals of liberty, freedom, and democracy in the modern world. Such as Democracy of ancient Greece, The Republic of ancient Rome, and the writings of Baron de Montesquieu. Many of these sources are distinctly English such as English common law, The Magna Carta. In regards to the specific comment above we look at the ‘Country Party’ and ‘The Cota Letters’. As an American I would like to think that our founding fathers’ have created something new and completely unique in t our country, however my readings have lead me to the understanding that the founding fathers had several sources of inspiration as to how to form and what kind of government to form in these states, united. The “Country Party” as mentioned in the quote above, is of particular importance to the ideas of Democracy, liberty, and freedom. The Country Party was especially inspired by political theorist, writer and philosopher Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke. Bolingbroke’s ideology was that of opposing...
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...Lying between the two sides of the argument over the original intent of the founding father are some past century historians who propose that the founding fathers each brought their own sets of principles and ideas to the table, eventually leading up to the collective result of all those individuals’ views mixing together: The Constitution. Jack Rakove, Pulitzer Prize winner for his book Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution, is a modern day historian who believes that the founding fathers were more a large group of people debating about the best way to set up a new government for their desperate country. This opinion is different from both James Kent and Charles Beard’s opinions in that Rakove does not say...
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...In the beginning of the book called Founding Brothers, the author, Joseph J. Ellis, tells his purpose to research how the relationships of the main people in the Revolutionary generation changed the development of American history. The author asks the reader to see the stories from both foresight and hindsight, implying that the stories should be understood both in terms of how they occurred, and in terms of what was later revealed over the years. He has chosen to focus the structure of the book around the important members of the Revolutionary generation, including Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, and Hamilton. The founding fathers realized that the new nation had great potential. George Washington was a great example because he thought the expansion into the West would help a civilized future. On page 7, George...
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...The historic Monticello is located on Thomas Jefferson Parkway in Charlottesville, VA, and was Thomas Jefferson’s beloved home once he came of age. Monticello was at the center of Jefferson’s plantation in terms of importance; the site has countless acres of land for crops surrounding the main house. Jefferson’s estate is enormous, covering around 5,000 acres of land. Jefferson’s burial site is also located nearby his house. Additional buildings display information about Jefferson’s life a building which displays a biography of Jefferson’s life. Monticello is significant to history because it demonstrates the brilliance of Thomas Jefferson’s architectural work and has been preserved as a living artifact of one of the nation’s founding fathers. The Marquis de Chastellux commented on Jefferson’s house saying, “My...
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...If college and the Electoral College have anything in common, it is that they both throw away the importance of what was once important. Grades have less value in college; popular votes, as in the public’s votes, have less value in the Electoral College. Nonetheless, both have a plethora of differences, a major one being that no one wants to terminate college whereas the fate of the Electoral College is hotly debated. Should the Electoral College be abolished? To conclude an answer, one should understand the functionalities of it. The Electoral College is a process, penned by the Founding Fathers hundreds of years ago, that is used to determine the United States’ President and vice-president indirectly. Each state will receive a certain amount...
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...T.H. Breen presents a fresh perspective on the American Revolution in his most recent book, “American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People”. He strives to correct the popular narrative of American Independence by restoring ordinary individuals to the forefront of the Revolution. Breen argues that there would have been no Revolution and no independent nation if ordinary men and women had not chosen to act—the Revolution was, after all, a people’s revolution (p. 4). Although Breen doesn’t discredit the contribution of the Founding Fathers, he does argue that they were neither the first, nor the most powerful force behind independence. Rather, it was the insurgents who first sparked rebellion—the Founding Fathers came along behind them (pg. 4). Breen re-writes the historical timeline, one driven not by the elite but by the men and women that, in many ways, history has forgotten. Early in the book, Breen acknowledges the reluctance to refer to American Patriots as insurgents. Insurgency is discomforting; it stirs up thoughts of violence and lawlessness. During the Revolution, even colonists active in rebellion against the crown didn’t see...
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...George Mason was a leader in supporting and advocating for the division of power through the government. Mason, one of the founding fathers, expressed his views of the Constitution in “Objects to the Constitution” which proves that he would support the U.S relations with the Cuban Embargo. Mason started off his early years in Fairfax, Virginia. As a young boy, he suffered major loss due to the death of his father. His opinion on slavery made him a unique character, his belief of understanding the importance of slavery but felt they would be educated and free. Masons’ objective decisions set the path for his later accomplishments as a law regulator. His interests in law allowed him to become a Virginia statesman, where he then wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776. During this time, he developed a bias towards local governments and opposing executive powers to one person, such as the president. George Mason believes that congress should have the official say in all things relating to political affairs....
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...Over the course years after the American Revolution, Americans typically viewed the revolution as American colonies standing up to the “big bad bully” that is Great Britain and rebel for their freedom and rights and that “these years are the most important in American history, indeed in the history of the world”. That American colonist wanted to be viewed by Great Britain as an independent country. John Merrell thinks that the revolutionary period deserves to be looked at closer. Merrell insist that “the founding fathers would be surprised by our certainty, for they themselves were confused” confused about what they had started in the revolution. In the article merrell talks about how hard it was for john Adams and his friend, Jefferson, to make sense of their Revolution and that they “knew what generations since have largely forgotten” which is that the independence of America was unheard of and such a unbelievable event. Merrell suggest that we have to look past the American heroes to find the real reasoning behind it all. We can find the true impact of the revolution by looking deep into the social aspects in pre-Revolutionary and post revolution. With all the news about a rebellion against Great Britain more social groups started to come into play one of them being white women. In the 1700’s women were not considered a person but as a possession males had, but the boycotting of British goods gave women a bigger role. Merrell suggest that woman played a major role in the...
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...In October 1787, one of the founding fathers of America, John Jay published the paper federalist number 2 for the people of New York. The paper was concerned about how to protect the United States from dangerous foreign influence. Jay discussed the federalist number 2 about the importance of a strong Union of America and he opposes the idea of those politicians rejected the continuing firmly united America. He believes the people must decide for the fate of their natural rights. According to Jay’s explanation about America’s constitution was based of love of country, written by the people not imposed, but accepted. We need to stay united because, we are all the same people coming from the same ancestor, language, and culture. The people wants...
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...Willing to share his weaknesses, Douglass begins his speech by having a “distrust of [his] ability” and claims that when it comes to public speaking, he has “little experience” (Douglass). Pointing out an insecurity allows Douglass to express his sincerity to his audience which ultimately establishes trust. Demonstrating the importance of the True over his own self, Douglass acknowledges that he is not as educated as the everyday white male and encourages his audience to discuss America’s history with more traditionally educated men. Establishing trust through consistency allows Douglass to persuade his audience and ultimately seek the True. Sharing similar priorities with Douglass, Socrates humbly accepts Callicles’ refutations instead of becoming defensive. Socrates distinguishes the difference between a wise man and a wise man who speaks the truth as a “dear friend” who cares for him (Gorgias 487). According to Socrates, having a friend to refute his claims is more important than maintaining his...
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...Preface: The Generation In the preface, Joseph Ellis takes his time in explaining the importance of the American Revolution. He starts off by stating that during the 1780’s everyone thought that it was only natural that America verge away from British rule. They all figured that it would be a gradual change; not a full blown revolution. Throughout the chapter, Ellis puts great emphasis on the many things that could have gone wrong during the revolution. He points all these negative events and set backs that he felt could easily have brought the developing America down to show just how great of an accomplishment the revolution was. The Founding Fathers were not completely oblivious to the severity of breaking away from Great Britain. Tom Pain states that, “it is only common sense that an island can not rule a continent (pg.3).” Many assumed that it was only natural that the thirteen colonies govern themselves. They figured that it would be a peaceful break such as the gaining of independence for Ghana or Canada. It was not until later on that the colonies realized that Britain would not easily hand over the land. What I find interesting is that only the Founding Fathers seemed to realize the great events taking place during their time. John Adams even instructed his wife to file and keep all of his records. It is as if he knew that hundreds of years from then, we the future Americans would look back at his notes and recognize his greatness. This makes me wonder why they...
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...John Locke's contributions in Philosophy and political views are followed and practiced even to this day. Locke’s ideas influenced religion, economics, political change, theories of knowledge and the human understanding that led to governmental and social improvements. John Locke believed in political reform. John Locke is one of the most influential authors and political philosophers in history. His ideas and views have influenced such momentous commodity such as the American constitution. Many of Locke’s ideas were used in the creation of the United States Constitution. John Locke was a British philosopher and medical researcher. Locke was born to Agnes Keene and John Locke on August 29, 1632, in Somerset, England. His father was a Puritan lawyer, who served as a Captain during the English civil war. Locke’s schooling began at Westminster School in 1647. He earned the title of King’s Scholar, which prepared him for the next phase of his education at the Christ Church in Oxford in 1652. He studied literature, physical science, medicine, politics, and natural philosophy. In 1656 he continued for his Master of Arts degree. In 1665 at Oxford, Locke encountered Lord Ashley, a notable statesman looking for medical treatment. After a friendship formed, Ashley invited Locke to join him in London as his personal physician. Locke agreed and left for London in 1667, where he lived for the next eight years. This was the beginning of Locke’s deep political interests, which was...
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...was a British philosopher, Oxford academic, and political activist. Locke is referred to by many American political philosophers as one of the most influential political philosophers of the modern period. His ideologies and beliefs in regards to politics, religion, and the relationship between a country’s citizens and its government are heavily referenced within some of the United States’ most important documents. Locke’s association with Anthony Ashley Cooper led him to become a successful government official, an economic and political writer, an opposition political activist, and finally a revolutionary whose cause ultimately prevailed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 (Woolhouse, 2007). John Locke’s many writings and speeches on the importance of the freedom of man from a totalitarian government has influenced American politics dating back to the early days of the Continental Congress and the drafting of the United States Declaration of Independence. Perhaps the most central concept in Locke's political philosophy that influenced American political thought is his theory of natural law and natural rights. Among Locke's political works, he is most famous for the Two Treatise of Government in which he argues that sovereignty resides in the people and explains that man has fundamental natural rights as a human that should not be regulated by an omnipresent government (1689). Locke used the claim that men are naturally free and equal as part of his justification in suggesting that...
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...Jefferson’s importance in American history was much more than his major offerings as a politician, diplomat, statesman, writer, scientist, intellectual, and philosopher. There was no other founding father that had the comprehensive knowledge and extensive intelligence than Jefferson. Even with all his education and knowledge, Jefferson believed Republicanism required a homogeneous population. Even though he believed the blacks and the Indians would be the downfall of Republican society due to slavery. In Jeffersons view, slavery violated blacks right to liberty and undermined the white man’s self-control. By 1822 Jefferson owned 267 slaves and was worried about losing any of the newborn slaves which was known as “profits”. For Jefferson, slaves provided the means for him to live a life of leisure and to follow the Enlightenment and Republican ideals....
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