LAD#7: Washington's Farewell Address 1796

Summarize.
Washington opens by saying that though an election for president is approaching, he will not be running this time. He assures the people that he is stepping down not for any lack of interest in the continued growth of the country, but that it is the right thing to do. He had wanted to retire before but after serious thought decided that since the nation was in a critical period it would be best not to. Now that things are a bit more stable he is determined to retire and hopes that the people can accept that both personal interest and duty can coincide. He goes on to say that he never believed he was qualified to be president and that any successes he had should be attributed to the people who supported him.

He begins his warnings by stating that the independence and well being of the United States all depends on the unity of the states themselves. He warns to watch for people, domestic and foreign, who want to break from the union or weaken it. He encourages people to think of themselves as Americans before any other title, and to look past slight differences between each other. He specifically warns against sectionalists, who he believes  is only out to create distrust and take over the government.

Washington then puts all his support in the Constitution, saying it was an improvement from the Articles. He goes on to say that though it is the right of the people to alter the government when they see the need, they should do so only with reason and through amendments, but only after the government has had time to solidify. He also urges that violent usurps and radical political breaks should be avoided at all costs.

He then warns of the potential dangers of political parties, which can promote the interests of certain groups instead of Americans as a whole. He specifically makes a reference to the Federalist and Anti-Federalist parties and their attempts to align themselves as parties with other nations, which could potentially tear the United States apart. He points out that political parties have caused trouble wherever they have shown up, especially in a republic.

Washington goes back to defending the Constitution by saying that the separation of powers and the checks and balances between them are important in preventing another single person or group from gaining control, something which they had rebelled from in the Revolutionary War. Again he argues amendment over force should the people want a change in the government.

He then defends morality, religion and education; defends the importance of little government borrowing; talks about foreign relations; talks about his intentions writing this letter; defends his proclamation of neutrality.
to be continued with more details.

LAD#6: Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality

Summarize.
Washington believes that the United States should for it's own best interests stay friendly and impartial in the conflict involving France vs. Austria, Prussia, Sardinia, Great Britain, and the Netherlands. He declares that the United States, and its citizens, will remain neutral. If a citizen was to break this policy of neutrality in any way he would be punished, or if captured should not expect aid from the United States.
written in Philadelphia on April 22nd, 1793.

Republican Motherhood Blog

1: What role did the Revolutionary War play in the transformation of housewifery to Republican Motherhood?
In a Republican Motherhood, the mother is charged witht he duty of cultivating and raising sons for the next generation of men. During the Revolutionary War, American soldiers fought to defend the lives, possessions and liberty of the Americn people; but these heroics can often be forgotten over the course of years, as children are born who did not witness it. The new role of a Republican mother was to teach her sons about these values that the patriots defended and showed during their fight int he Revolution (Doc C).

2: What were the consequences of Republican Motherhood on women?
In some ways it further confined women to the household, by saying that it was her duty by God and nature, and now also her duty to her country, that her place was the home (Doc A).

3: What is the significance of the ideology of Republican Motherhood as a stage in the process of women's socialization?
Through Republican motherhood women were given much more respect; for they were the ones who could cultivate the minds which could become "enlightened legislatures". The home, which was considered to be their place of duty, was considered the "cradle of the human race" or in other words the place where the nature of the population is nurtured and grows (Doc A). It also encouraged women to be educated, since they were the "stewarsd and guardians of their husband's property" and needed the right tools and intelligence to do so. Furthermore, they needed to be educated in the ways of liberty and republicanism in order to teach their sons these values (Doc B).

Republican Motherhood - Mary Gibson Tilghman & Sons, by Charles Wilson Peale (1789)

1: Describe the setting.
A woman, presumably a mother, sits on a sofa looking directly at the viewer. Two young boys, presumably her sons, sit one on her lap and one next to her.

2: Who serves at the center of the portrait and why? How does the woman look? How is she "republican" rather than aristocratic?
Mary Gibson (Mrs. Richard Tilghman) sits at the center of the portrait, the focal point of the piece. The light seems to radiate from her head and shoulders, and she looks modestly proud with a slight smile and good posture. She is dressed relatively plainly and modestly, her dress made of a naturally colored cloth, unlike an aristocrat who would be wearing a gaudy, opalescent outfit. She also seems to not be wearing much if any makeup, but is still naturally beautiful.

3: What values do her sons exhibit?
They are both sitting relatively calmly and are showing good posture. The seemingly younger child on Mrs. Tilghman's lap is dressed modestly, and even her presumably older son next to her is only dressed in an indigo colored outfit that seems similar to a soldier's uniform. This shows that they, like their mother, are proud but modestly so.

4: Is there a significance to the position of Mrs. Tilghman's arm?
Her arm is placed across the younger child's knees, gently but firmly holding him back from his reaching towards his other brother. This shows that in a Republican Motherhood role, the mother should guide her children to be responsible and civil.

LAD#5: Federalist #10

1.  Why are factions so difficult to eliminate?

Both things that are essential to create factions are also deeply engraved in the nature of mankind. One is liberty, which without it political and daily life could not function. The second is man's ability to form his own opinions and his common fault of attaching them to his emotions and passions, thus making it very hard to ue logic to change his opinion.

2.  If factions cannot be removed then how can they be controlled?

A minority faction is easily controlled by being outvoted. A majority faction can be prevented by instituting a republic instead of a direct democracy. In this way, a smaller (but not too small) number of elected citizens can hopefully discern the true interest of their people and make an educated and as objective as possible decision. Also, a larger territory for the republic to govern will take in a larger variety of interests and opinions, and less likely that one passion will become a ruling majority.

LAD#4: Revolution Article

Five things I learned from reading "Rethinking the Revolution":

• The author is shockingly correct; personally I never really thought about the Revolutionary War as incredibly bloody or violent. I didn't think that it wasn't, but I just never thought about it that way. Instead I think about it as an almost glorious (for lack of a better word) revolution that brought the United States into existence.
• The Revolution was America's longest declared war - eight years - and 1 in 4 Continental Army soldiers died, compared with 1 in 5 during the Civil War and 1 in 40 in WWII.
• Images shape the way we remember history; a lot of Revolutionary images are very Romantic in style, and don't actually show much battle, merely the supposed honor and dignity in it. Whereas in the Civil War, when photographs were first being taken, obviously more realistic and thus gruesome images were captured.
• With a few exceptions, we tend to remember military leaders from the Civil War [Robert E Lee, Ulysses S Grant, Stonewall Jackson etc.] and civil leaders from the Revolutionary War [Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson etc.].
• The reason the Revolutionary War it self isn't remembered as such a horrible conflict was because it was overshadowed by other things; namely, it was sandwiched between the American Revolution and the Constitutional Convention. Also, six times as many people died in the Civil War, causing many to unintentionally downplay the seriousness of the Revolutionary War.

LAD#3: Declaration of Independence

1: democratic principles-
-all men are created equal
-all men are given the indisputable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
-the purpose of government is to ensure these rights
-the government draws power and consent from the governed
-when a government no longer does this, the governed have the right to abolish it
-a long-standing government should not be abolished for small reasons
-when a government repeatedly abuses it's power, it is the right and duty of the governed to rise up.

2: grievances towards the King-
-he forbade governors from passing important laws without his agreement, and then neglected to respond
-he refused to pass certain laws unless the people on which they were passed accepted a lack of representation
-he dissolved representative houses who were calling him out on his wrongs
-he obstructed proper justice systems
-he kept standing armies in the colonies in times of peace without permission, and gave them power above the people
-he allowed troops to quarter where they wished without the possibility of being refused and protecting them from trials for any crimes they committed
-for his policies of mercantilism, including taxing goods and cutting off trade to the rest of the world
-he either did not allow colonists trial by jury or forced them overseas for it
-he obscured or demolished any kind of legislative government in the colonies
-he forced captives to either fight or die against their fellow colonists
-etc

3: the conclusion-
The colonists first modestly petitioned the king against all of these grievances but were repeatedly met with denial and further grievances. They also tried to appeal to other British officers, who turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to their pleas, and so they will be considered the same as the rest of the world, "enemies in war, in peace friends".
Thus they declare themselves free states, cutting all ties with the British crown and government, establishing their own and being given all rights that every independent state has.
ans

LAD#2: Peter Zenger

1) Who was John Peter Zenger?
The hired printer of the New York Weekly Journal, who in 1733 criticized the corrupt policies of NY Colonial Governor William Cosby. He served an apprenticeship to William Bradford after arriving in New York from Germany in 1710.

2) What was the controversy over his charges? Talk about Hamilton's defense.
Cosby accused Zenger's articles to be "scandalous, virulent" and "false", arresting him under charges of seditious libel. His defense lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, admitted that Zenger had published the articles but argued that unless it was false the publications could not be considered libel.


3) What influence did his case have on American governmental tradition?
It was an early instance defending freedom of press; if a statement, no matter how derogatory, can be proved, then it cannot be considered libelous. It was also an example of a precedent; that is, an act or decision that serves as a formal guide for future situations of the same nature.


4) What is the lasting significance of his trial? Explain.
Besides the influence on American governmental tradition regarding freedom of press and stating that truth was a defense against charges of libel, since Hamilton mainly appealed to the jury, it also set the precedent against tyranny by the judge.

LAD#1: Mayflower Compact & Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

1) What concepts are included in the Mayflower Compact?
That the colonists were settling in Northern Virginia in the name of their sovereign, King James, and in the name of God and advancing their Christian religion. By signing, they promised to come together and meet regularly to create government and laws to keep order, and that their duty was to their colony.

2) How does the Mayflower Compact reflect an attachment to both the "Old" and "New" worlds?
The colonists reference King James, their sovereign from England, but also mention "furthering" their Christian religion. They also swear submission to the colony and its future government.

3) How did the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut differ from the Mayflower Compact?
The Fundamental Orders are an actual document of government and laws whereas the Mayflower Compact was more of a promise to create a government and laws in the future. The Fundamental Orders also brought together three settlements (Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield) into a single commonwealth, where the Mayflower Compact only bounded together the people of a single settlement (Plymouth).

4) What prompted the colonists of Connecticut to take this approach to government, i.e.: use of a written Constitution?
In the Fundamental Orders it states that according to the word of God a government should be created beneath him in order to not only keep the peace and union of the people, but to "preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel".

5) In what significant way(s) does the Fundamental Orders reflect a fear of and safeguard against the usurping of power by one person or a chosen few?
The first Order dictates that there will be one governor, but six other Magistrates at all times, and for there to be an election held yearly. The second dictates that the people in those positions must be voted in by those qualified to vote. The fourth limits a person to being governor only once in two years, so that they cannot continually be in that position. Other Orders make sure that at all General Courts there are multiple people, including freemen acting as deputies to the settlements, present and able to check the power of the others. All of these limit the power of a single person, and the Fundamental Orders also give ways for the "freemen" of the colonies to fight back should the governor or magistrates fail to follow it.

Hello!

My first post on this blog... I'll be honest, I wonder how much we're actually going to use it. Either way this class will be an interesting adventure, to say the least. Just a quick few things about me: I am in the process of developing my own personal political party/moral system that will probably never be completed, since the only work on it is in my head. It is based on conservative values with a modern twist, I suppose. I'm also a rower, and that is a huge part of my life, not only in time commitment but also in how it has changed my lifestyle into being much more healthy both physically and mentally.

So yeah. That's that. I've got other homework to do so, I'm just going to move along now.

PS: in the URL, "apush-by-e-pers", the name "E-Pers" is one of my nicknames at crew. Just in case you were confused.