...think. However, even given the difficulty of this task I have in the end chosen three men, that without, this country may very well have shaped up much differently than the country that we have come to know to this day. The three men of my choice are John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. The reason for my decision on these three individuals is because they all played crucial roles in the formation of our great country and without their key insight and the driving force that they brought it could have turned out much differently. Each holds a very important place during this time in history which will be more fully understood and unveiled in the coming pages. To better understand these roles, and these men as a whole I believe it best to look at each individually to see what brought them to be such important figures in history and how it was that their fates intertwined. John Adams was born on October 30, 1735 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony of Braintree which is now known as Quincy (Bio, 2013). John was a direct descendent of Puritan colonists whose father was John Adams Sr. His father wore many hats which included being a farmer, a Congregationalist deacon, and a town councilman. Coming from these roots John Jr.’s studies started out of very humble means by...
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...University of Phoenix Material Influences on the Constitution Table Complete each section below. Include citations for your sources. |Documents |Summary |What was its influence on the Constitution? | |Magna Carta |Magna Carta is a document that King John of England was forced |Magna Carta served to lay the foundation for the evolution of parliamentary clause | | |into signing. The document was a succession of written promises|of the United States Constitution and enforced by the Supreme Court. | | |made between the king and his subjects that he would govern | | | |England and its people in accordance with the customs of feudal| | | |law. ("History Learning Site ", 2000-2013). | | |Mayflower Compact |Mayflower Compact is one if the first governing document of |The Mayflower Compact called for equality amongst people and...
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...Thomas Jefferson was who authored extraordinary words and it was there words that changed a nation. Jefferson’s ability to write made him prominent author of write the Declaration of Independence, (among other significant works). Jefferson’s writings reflected on the rights of mankind and what rights a government must offer its people. His use of words to fight for Human rights makes him one of the greatest American Hero’s. Thomas Jefferson’s writings on basic human rights caused a radical shift in American Colonist thoughts and these stunning ideas would influence the Americans to break away from Great Britain. “As a boy, Thomas Jefferson’s was shy and often tongue-tied…Preferred the company of books to that of most people.” (Wilmore, 1) These were words to describe the young Jefferson; his childhood would prove to be a key in shaping the man, who through his words would change a nation. Jefferson was born on April 13th 1743, in Shadwell Virginia. During his childhood he would spend 15 hours each day reading and writing, this would prove to make his writing skills at a high level (1). As he grew into an adult he would study law in his home of Virginia at the William and Mary College at Williamsburg (Bottorff, 15). During this time he would become a member of the Whig party and would advocate for the rights and liberties of mankind (Peterson, 1). It was in his childhood and as turned into an adult which he learned how to write and how to express his political views through words...
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...Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and an American Founding Father. Before all that, however, he was a student at the College of William and Mary where he studied law, where he defended slaves seeking freedom. This was controversial, as Jefferson was known to own several plantations which were worked by hundreds of slaves. It is even believed that he had a relationship with one named Sally Hemings, and he may have even fathered a child with her (Halliday, XI-XII). Jefferson’s life was marked by greatness, however, as he helped bring to light the troubles and possible downfalls that could have shaped America for the worst. Through his presidency, Jefferson changed the United States for the...
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...Summary of Life Thomas Jefferson had an incredible impact on american government in his years. He was the author of the Declaration of Independence. He was born on a plantation in Shadwell on a large tract of land near present-day Charlottesville. His father was a successful planter and his mother came from a privileged Virginia family. He had six sisters and a surviving brother. In 1762, Jefferson graduated from William and Mary in Williamsburg Virginia where he studied for long periods of time and practiced violin for several hours everyday. He also studied law with the guidance of a respected Virginia attorney, and started work as a lawyer in 1767. Jefferson dealt with a lot of problems at home during his presidency. He was a democratic republican and many...
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...University of Phoenix Material Influences on the Constitution Table Complete each section below. Include citations for your sources. |Documents |Summary |What was its influence on the Constitution? | |Magna Carta |Written in 1215, the document was a series of written promises |The magna carta served as the first piece of legislature attempting to keep the | | |that the King would rule England and deal with the people |rights for the people fair. The Americans saw it and read about it and decided it | | |fairly according to feudal law. It was an attempt by the barons|was time America had “higher law” ideas and design a document to give the people | | |to stop the king from becoming an oppressor more than a ruler. |rights and to protect them from oppression, such as the people during the time of | | | |the magna carta were suffering. | |Mayflower Compact |The mayflower compact served as the document needed to keep the|Much like the magna carta, the mayflower compact was put into...
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...as the author of the Declaration of Independence, a document that served as a profound expression of his own beliefs on equality and natural rights, as well as a concise articulation of the revolutionary impulses of an emerging nation. Long revered as one of America's founding fathers, Jefferson remains the subject of intense scholarly debate in the twenty-first century. Of particular interest to current critics and historians are his views on the separation of church and state, and the inconsistency between his well-documented belief in individual liberty and his status as a slave owner. His views on Native Americans, African-Americans, and women are considered at odds with the principle of universal equality he claimed in the Declaration to be “self-evident.” Biographical Information Jefferson was born at Shadwell, in Goochland (now Albemarle) County, Virginia. His father was a self-made man and an early settler of the Virginia wilderness, and his mother was a member of a prominent Colonial family, the Randolphs. Jefferson attended private schools and the College of William and Mary, where he studied law, science, literature, and philosophy. He was admitted to the bar in 1767 and practiced law for two years. In 1769 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. During that same year he designed and began building Monticello, his famous family home, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. While a member of the House of Burgesses, Jefferson penned A Summary View of the Rights of...
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...Early Republic Summary George Washington (1732-1799) is the first President of the United States. Washington, as Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), have played an important role during the Independence War and thus, greatly contributed to the victory of the United States during this War. Both, Washington and Hamilton, are considering as ones of the « Fathers of the Nation ». After being the first Vice President of the United States during the term of Washington, John Adams (1735-1826) became in 1797, the Second President of the United States. As Whashington and Hamilton he played a crucial role during the Independence War and as a representative of the Continental Congress in Europe. Early during the administration of John Adams, a political and diplomatic episode involving France and America happened : the XYZ Affair. This episode concludes to the undeclared naval War called the « Quasi-War » (1797-1800). In 1798, after the Congress Federalists voted, John Adams confirms the Alien and Sediction Acts which give power to banish and punish any person who disciminates the US government or represents a danger for the Nation. In response to those Acts, resolutions were passed by the legislatures of Kentucky and Virginia in 1798. The resolutions highlighted the fact that Federal Government has no capacity to exercise too much power. Few years later, in 1803, takes place the Marbury V Madison Supreme Court which makes the Supreme Court the first constitutional court...
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...University of Phoenix Material Influences on the Constitution Table Write one or two paragraphs in each section. Include citations for your sources. Documents Summary What was its influence on the Constitution? Magna Carta Magna Carta, also called Magna Carta Libertatum or The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, is an English charter, originally issued in Latin in the year 1215, translated into vernacular-French as early as 1219,[1] and reissued later in the 13th century in changed versions. The later versions excluded the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority that had been present in the 1215 charter. The charter first passed into law in 1225; the 1297 version, with the long title (originally in Latin) "The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, and of the Liberties of the Forest," still remains on the statute books of England and Wales. The 1215 charter required King John of England to proclaim certain liberties, and accept that his will was not arbitrary, for example by explicitly accepting that no "freeman" (in the sense of non-serf) could be punished except through the law of the land, a right which is still in existence today. Magna Carta was the principal document forced onto an English King by a group of his matters, the feudal barons, in an effort to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges. It was followed and directly influenced by the Charter of Liberties in 1100, in which King Henry I had specified particular...
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...Abigail Adams once said, “Well, knowledge is a fine thing, and mother Eve thought so; but she smarted so severely for hers, that most of her daughters have been afraid of it since” (Adams, Abigail. Letter to Elizabeth Shaw). In every American elementary school classroom, children are being told the story of the country, how George Washington crossed the Delaware River, how Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and how America, a colony still in infancy, managed to gain independence from powerful Britain. The Founding Fathers are essential historical personages that every American child is well schooled in, but the women who helped shape the country are rarely discussed. Abigail Adams is mostly known as the wife of the second president John Adams, but she was much more than that, and left an indelible imprint on the political landscape of the time. She is a Founding Mother- full of spark, depth, and intelligence. SUMMARY Abigail Adams was an intelligent woman from the day she was born until the day she died. She was raised to have a strong sense of morals and beliefs, as well as a love for education. Her...
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...His mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, came from the one of the oldest families in Virginia. [1] Thomas grew up as any normal young colony boy would. His interest included hunting, fishing, horseback riding, and canoeing. All the children learned to play the violin and to appreciate music. Peter Jefferson taught Thomas to read and write, and to keep the farm accounts. [1] At the age of nine Thomas began his studies in local schools, and went to live with a nearby Scottish clergyman, who taught him Latin, Greek, and French. [1] At the age of fourteen Thomas Jefferson’s father passed away. Thomas being the oldest son became the head of the family. His inheritance included Shadwell with its 30 slaves and more than 2, 500 acres of land. John Harvey, Thomas’s guardian, managed the estate. [1] After Thomas’s father died, he entered the school of the Reverend James Maury, near Charlottesville. Thomas Jefferson was a remarkable genius, he enjoyed a large number of pursuits ranging from reading the works of Greek and Roman authors, and he read these in their own language. He enjoyed studying fossils and introducing carious European plants to the New World. Thomas Jefferson became a great president that was a powerful political writer. Additional Jefferson was an outstanding architect, scientist, musician, philosopher, lawyer, naturalist, farmer, and surveyor. While Jefferson enjoyed discussing the creative ideas of great philosophers, he also was a...
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...INTRODUCTION Natural Law Is a philosophy of law that is determined by nature, and so is unive rsal. Classically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature both social and personal and deduce binding rules of moral behavior from it. Natural law is often contrasted with the positive law of a given political community, society, or state. In legal theory, on the other hand, the interpretation of positive law requires some reference to natural law Although natural law is often conflated with common law, the two are distinct in that natural law is a view that certain rights or values are inherent in or universally cognizable by virtue of human reason or human nature, while common law is the legal tradition whereby certain rights or values are legally cognizable by virtue of judicial recognition or articulation PROPONENTS OF NATURAL LAW Plato According to Plato we live in an orderly universe. At the basis of this orderly universe or nature are the forms, most fundamentally the Form of the Good, which Plato describes as "the brightest region of Being". The Form of the Good is the cause of all things and when it is seen it leads a person to act wisely. In the Symposium, the Good is closely identified with the Beautiful. Also in the Symposium, Plato describes how the experience of the Beautiful by Socrates enables him to resist the temptations of wealth and sex. In the Republic, the ideal community is, "...a city which would be established in accordance with...
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...MEMORY OF THE WORLD REGISTER The Federal Archives Fonds (Barbados) Ref N° 2008-01 PART A – ESSENTIAL INFORMATION 1 SUMMARY The West Indies Federation (1958-1962) was a political federation of ten territories in the Anglophone West Indies. Its formation signaled the beginning of a new era of decolonization for the region of the West Indies in the post-World War II period. The history of the West Indies is inextricably linked with the histories of other former British colonies, which include portions of Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America. The Federal Archives reflect the interconnectivity of these histories and document one of the decisive periods of twentieth century history when territories, under the colonial rule of the British Empire, first flexed their ‘political muscles’ and sought to become sovereign nation-states. Undoubtedly, the West Indies Federation shared some commonalities with other contemporary federations particularly with regard to issues such as constitutional reform and overcoming nationalist interests. However, the West Indian experience was unique and distinct from all others mainly as a result of the geographical separateness of the territories by sea and the insularity of the territories, which historically related bi-laterally with England. Additionally, there was the impact of extra- and intra-regional migrations on account of the colonial plantation economies that were...
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...Second Treatise on Civil Government sets out a theory of A) the divine rights of kings. B) aristocracy. C) democracy. D) republicanism. E) natural rights. 4) Indirect democracy is based on A) consensus. B) unanimity. C) the system of government used in ancient Greece. D) representation. E) "mob rule." 5) Republics are A) representative democracies. B) direct democracies. C) a hallmark of unitary governments. D) frequently found in totalitarian regimes. E) another name for states. 6) Who was the major author of the Declaration of Independence? A) George Washington B) James Madison C) Thomas Jefferson D) Benjamin Franklin E) Alexander Hamilton 7) According to ____, life without government would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” A) John Locke B) St. Thomas Aquinas C) Jean-Jacques Rousseau D) Thomas Hobbes E) Aristotle 8) The idea of popular sovereignty can first be found in the A) Mayflower Compact. B) Declaration of...
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...MSc Development Studies Perspectives of Development Presentation Assignment: The Free-market Theory/The Free Enterprise Theory/Economic Liberalism Key Words: Laissez faire, Adam Smith’s ‘invisible hand’, liberalism, supply and demand, nationalization, privatization, deregulation, rational choice liberalism, neo-liberalism Between 1970 and the last decade before the millennium, there took place a remarkable and dramatic change in the attitude towards the role of the state in economic activities. According to Shutt (1998), during the late 1950 and 60’s, there developed a near consensus among economists especially those linked to the Chicago School of Thought that laissez-faire capitalism was the dominant economic system and that deviation from it was untenable and unsustainable. The argument was that in order to achieve a modicum of development all countries must dedicate themselves to establishing fully liberalized economic, political and cultural systems in which the state plays a minimal role or simply put that of an adjudicator. The rise in what came to be popularly known as the free market economy owed/s much to the failure of the economic models based on extensive state intervention (this was particularly so after the Second World War) to deliver adequate levels of prosperity or security as was signified following the fall of the Soviet Union. As will be argued in this paper using theories from Peter Berger (1985) and Hernando De Soto this apparent logic...
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