Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Blog #7: Washington's Farewell Address

Washington lets the public know that he is not going to be in the running for the next Presidency. He expresses his hope that the people will elect another well-suited man to be president after George Washington. He also expresses gratitude towards his country because of all that it gave him. His parting advice consisted of the following points
- Unified government is necessary and responsible for the protection of the people, liberty, and prosperity. He warns the people of attempts to separate the government.
- Wars and dangerous to the republican liberty
- When different parts of the country work together, great growth and success can be achieved.
- He warns against competing parties which could lead to the oppression of one group.
- Morality and religion are necessary for political prosperity
- Peace and harmony with foreign powers is encouraged, while alliances with certain foreign powers is discouraged.

Two major parties formed in the United States, the republican party and the democratic party. This relates to Washington's Farewell Address because he specifically warns against the dangers of parties in America and how they can lead to the oppression of one group by the other, and despite his warnings, we did end up having two parties anyways, 

Blog #6: Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality


George Washington, recognizing that the United States was in a bad spot in the context of war between major European powers, decided that the United States would remain neutral and impartial. He told everyone to just chill and not make any moves that would make other countries think that the US was not impartial to the situation. If any Americans were hostile towards the powers, they would be punished. This was signed on April 22, 1793 in Philadelphia, PA.


This situation where George Washington wishes to remain neutral in the situation is similar to when the United States wanted to and attempted to stay neutral during World War II. The US was unable to stay neutral because of Japan attacking but, nevertheless, the original plan of the United States was to remain impartial and not take sides- much like their strategy in The Proclamation of Neutrality.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

LAD #5: The Federalist



1) Factions are so difficult to eliminate because people form opinions and groups because of the way they see things. Everybody sees things a little bit differently and people have a predisposition to surround themselves with like-minded people. Therefore people will form groups with people who see things the same way as they do and the government can not regulate or control these groups without taking away the rights of the people.

2) Factions can only be controlled by limiting and getting rid of the effects of them. A real life example of this happening is when a majority of people outvote a small group of people. The effects of the smaller faction are controlled because they were outvoted by the larger faction. A democracy is one of the best ways to control the effects of these factions because the majority almost always wins and outvotes the minority.



The Federalist Papers relates to the Bill of Rights because the Federalist Papers were actually the written document of the major opposition to the Bill of Rights. Since the constitution did not explictly say what the rights of the people were, some people wanted a document that said this while others feared that if there was a document with peoples' rights on it, in the future some people would interpret the document as the ONLY rights that people had. Eventually, the Bill of Rights was obviously passed despite the opposition to it by the same people who wrote the Federalist Papers.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Republican Motherhood

Image result for republican motherhood
1. What role did the Revolutionary War play in the transformation of housewifery to Republican Motherhood?
 
     Women gained in the fields of roles and preparation. Women were now seen to shape young people into good Americans.  This giving them the change from mothers to patriotic members of society. Another change that was brought upon women was education. Women should be educated in writing and reading. Women are supposed to be educated so that they can prepare the young American boys for the real world.

 
 2.  What were the consequences of Republican Motherhood on women?
 
One consequence for women is that they made little progress of getting out of the house. Women were still seen as inferior to men and that men dominated society but it was really women that played an influence on the young people of America.
 
3. What is the significance of the ideology of Republican Motherhood as a stage in the process of women’s socialization?
 The significance is that the women did gain ground in their role. Women should now be educated. Education meant that women could make a platform for ultimately gaining their equality. Also the ideology of change is a positive move for women. The fact that society is becoming a place where women play a bigger role is a good building block for socialization.




1. Describe the setting 
The setting is on a couch. But the deeper meaning is that the couch is inside the home. Home is the issue that is addressed by the Republican Motherhood. The setting shows that the family has enough money but is not super wealthy.
 
2. Who serves at the center of the portrait and why?  How does the woman look?  How is she “republican” rather than aristocratic?
The mother or women is at the center of the portrait. She is the center because the women's role is the focal point of the portrait. The women looks rather modest and in control of the situation. She is republican rather than aristocratic because she is modestly dressed with cheeky smile on her face and not some extravagant pose and dress. 
 
3. What values do her sons exhibit?
Her sons portray the up and coming faces of America. The son on her lap is well composed and very obedient and the son on her left is dressed in an outfit similar to the continental army's dress uniforms. Patriotism is the underlying theme of this picture. 
 
 4. Is there a significance to the placement of Mrs. Tilghman's arm?
The significance is one of guidance. She is keeping the young child on the right track which in this case is on her lap and being obedient and cooperative. This behavior is an allegory for the real world where the mother will guide the boy to a positive role in American society. 

Image result for rosie the riveter
 
This was a cartoon that was popularized during World War II for women that were working in factories. This represents another big step towards women's equality.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Blog #4- Revolution Article

Five things I learned from reading "Rethinking the Revolution," by John Ferling were that


1) While British armies were generally fortunate, well fed and had supplies at hand, American armies were extremely food deprived, sometimes so much so that they ate odd creations such as a soup made from boiled shoes and melted candles.

2) Civilians suffered as much as the armies did from the war. Lots of people died from disease that was spread by their soldiers. Furthermore, civilians homes and food were taken over by the British.

3) There are actually no paintings of the American Revolution  that depict an actual battle scene.

4) France was actually not very helpful to the revolution.

5) In order to seem more educated, George Washington, who was surprisingly self conscious of his writing, went through his writing and edited it, fixing grammar mistakes and changing his style, after the war.



George Washington editing his war writing reminded me of The Diary of Anne Frank because what a lot of people don't know is that her diary actually was edited, by both her and her father before it was published to be more appropriate for the time. Originally there were 2 versions of the diary, which Anne Frank's dad combined when he published it. Similarly, Washington edited his own writing to be better for publishing.



Did you hear the joke about the Liberty Bell?
No? That's a shame, it cracked me up.

Sunday, September 18, 2016

LAD #3: Declaration of Independance


1) America was founded on democratic principles such as the fact that "all men are created equal" and that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were unalienable rights given to all Americans. The Declaration also states that the government is not run by one person, it is made by the people and for the people, and if the government starts doing bad things that the people don't agree with it, it is the right of the people to get rid of that government and institute a new government.

2) Another part of the Declaration of Independence were the grievances that the people wrote to the King. The King in England refused to agree to these laws, and since he ruled the whole country by himself, there was nobody to put him in his place. He taxed the colonies unfairly and gave the people no rights. The King would only work for the benefit of himself, instead of the benefit of all the people.

3) The colonial people were declaring themselves an independent nation from England, and although they had to fight and win the American Revolution to gain their independence, the Declaration of Independence was the beginning of the road to freedom. This was the announcement of the colonies that said that they were now independent from England, that they could form their own personal alliances and control themselves, instead of being controlled by the King.


I connect the Declaration of Independence to the impeachment of Bill Clinton (who was later acquitted), because one of the founding principles of democracy that the Declaration of Independence outlines is the right of the people to get rid of Presidents that they think are not doing a good job, or who are not working for the benefit of the American people. This is exactly what happened with Bill Clinton, and also Andrew Johnson.



Q: "What did teenagers do at parties in 1776?"
A: "They indepenDANCED"


Thursday, September 8, 2016

LAD #2: Peter Zenger

Image result for zenger trial

1) Who was John Peter Zenger?

A printer and journalist who printed the New York Weekly Journal. His case established the first major victory for freedom of the press.

2) What was the controversy over his charges? Talk about Hamilton's defense.


Zenger adamantly attacked Governor Cosby in his newspaper and he was jailed for libel. Hamilton's defense rested almost solely on the fact that everything Zenger had said in the paper was true, it wasn't like he made things up to make the governor look bad.

3) What influence did his case have on American governmental tradition?

This case affected American government tradition in many ways. For one, Zenger was represented by Alexander Hamilton who kept using this case to demonstrate his beliefs on personal freedom. This case also took place before the declaration was signed so it influenced the future of America in regards to "freedom of the press."

4) What is the lasting significance of his trial? Explain.


This trial is pertinent even in today's society because articles in the newspaper or news on TV is constantly called into question. This trial was one of the first major victories for freedom of the press and freedom of speech. It also effected the way that libel cases are tried because now a big deciding factor on whether or not the defendant should be indited is whether or not the information published was true or untrue- a precedent set by the Zenger trial.



Image result for the pentagon papers
The Pentagon Papers was another case in American history that was a milestone for free speech and free press. It also dealt with a paper that had published information that the government did not necessarily want readily available to the public. The government tried to get the newspaper in legal trouble (as in the Zenger case) and although the judge originally ruled in favor of the government, the ruling was later reversed in an appeals court. (In the Zenger trial, the ruling was changed by a jury but not in an appeals court).  

LAD #1: Mayflower Compact and Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

Image result for mayflower compact

1) What concepts are included in the Mayflower Compact?

The continued loyalty to King James, the furthering of the Christian faith, the combination of the settlers into normal government and the enforcement of laws and constitutions.

2) How does the Mayflower Compact reflect an attachment to both the "Old" and "New" worlds?

They were still a new society that was separate from the "old" world and they were in a different location so they were attached to the New world, but at the same time they placed importance on maintaining the Christian faith and being loyal to King James.

3) How did the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut differ from the Mayflower Compact?

The Fundamental Orders was specific about the laws that were set into place, it was a written constitution of sorts while the Mayflower Compact was vague and just had ideas instead of set rules.

4) What prompted the colonists of Connecticut to take this approach to government, i.e.: use of a written Constitution?

The colonists believed that god stated that in order to keep peace in society, they had to create an organized government (they were acting upon the word of god).

5)  In what significant way(s) does the Fundamental Orders reflect fear of and safegaurd against the upsrising of power by one person or a chosen few?

The Fundamental Orders stated some laws that made government positions be based on the popular vote of the people which showed fear of an uprising from one/a few people. The fear was showed through the idea of balance of power that was created through the creation of two general assemblies.


Image result for two houses of congress
In the United States today we have two houses in congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate which helps keep the balance of power, much like the two general assemblies created through the Fundamental Orders which was also to keep the balance of power and to make sure that one person or a small group of people could not start an uprising.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016