LAD #7: Washington's Farewell Address

George Washington's "Farewell Address" was written for the people of the United States more than it was for himself. He served two terms, but even thought that that was too long. He worked for over 30 years for his country and he was ready for retirement after his second term ended, in which he would move to his house on the tope of Mount Vernon to spend time with his wife, Martha. He would have retired sooner, but felt obligated to his country. He was grateful towards the Unites States and happy that so far, the Constitution was a big success. Washington originally wrote the letter before his second term with the help of James Madison, but didn't end up using it until after his second term because he believed that there was greater troubles rising in the United States and because of this, people needed his help as a leader. Alexander Hamilton helped him revise his address after his second term was finished. Washington tells the people how wonderful the new government is and how it will continue to grow and flourish without him. He felt that his services as both a president and a leader were simply not needed anymore by the people because the nation had become a lot stronger. He also told the people that he never believed that he was truly qualified to be president, but his accomplishments were because of the support of the people. He believed that the states must remain peaceful and help each other. This was the only way for the United States to truly become successful. Similr to his famous Proclamation of Neutrality, Washington said that the United States had to stay neutral and not get into any wars and that the states should trade economically, not politically. This Farewell Address set multiple precedents for future presidents and addressed multiple issues of the time period.

Republican Motherhood

1. What role did the Revolutionary War play in the transformation of housewifery to Republican Motherhood?
Women were expected to work at home, and obly at home. If a woman were to leave her home to go out in public and be social, it was known that she was neglecting her duties as a housewife. This is clearly demonstrated, written "Our chief aim throughout these pages is to prove that her domestic duties had a paramount claim over everything else upon her attention" (Document A). Women's education was no longer just like men's education in the sense that women learned things such as manners, writing, English, and how to run a household (Document B).
2. What were the consequences of Republican Motherhood on women?
Women were required to stay at home everyday and shape the family.  They learned new sets of values in order to make a household and family run smoothly and efficiently (Document B). Women wished to grow in society, but were confined to the household, forever trapped in their gender role (Document D).
3. What is the significance of the ideology of Republican Motherhood as a stage in the process of women's socialization?
Women were the forming factor of the typical American family. Women believed themselves to be very strong and did everything they could to earn respect and honor for their sex (Document C). Women had the power to change the world for the better, and they knew so. Although they had as much potential as men, they chose not to challenge their roles because if they did, they knew that turmoil would befall society (Document D).

1. Describe the setting.
Mary Gibson Tilghman and her sons seem to be sitting on a luxurious couch, and their clothing looks to be quite expensive. They may have been in a portrait studio.
2. Who serves at the center of the portrait and why? How does the woman look? How is she "republican" rather than aritocratic?
Mary is the central focus of the painting because she is the woman of the family and appears to be holding the family together. She looks very serene and calm, as if her job as a mother came naturally to her. She looks very calm, as if she accepts her role as a woman and doesn't want a female uprising, which she would if she were an aristocrat.
3. What values do her sons exhibit?
Her sons exhibit almost barbarity, as we see the one on the left reaching or stuggling out of Mary's grasp and the one on the right shows off a dead bird. The one on the right is also brighter than the one on Mary's lap. Perhaps one of the sons represents order, and the other chaos.
4. Is there a significance to the position of Mrs. Tilghman's arm?
If the reader assumes that the son of the left represents disorder whilst the son on the right represents order, Mary's arm would be the dividing line between the two. Mary stands for all Republican women, and her arm in this position is significant because it implies that without women, life for the early Americans may have been offbalance, eventually ending in destruction.

LAD #6: Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality

In Philadelphia, George Washington wrote his Proclamation of Neutrality. In this Proclamation, he speaks to the people of the United States about the many wars going on outside of the country. He warns the Americans that the wars, under no cicumstances, are not to be interfered with. The United States was to to choose or aid a particular side. If a citizen or group of citizens broke this neutrality and aided a country in battle, it was stated that the United States would not be held accountable. Those people who chose sides were also to be punished in some form.

LAD #5: The Federalist #10

1.  Why are factions so difficult to eliminate?

Factions are so difficult to eliminate for a few reasons. The first reason in that if factions were eliminated, the liberty of the colonial citizens would be abolished as well. The second reason is that the colonials would be forced to conform and have the same thoughts, interests, and passions. Because liberty is the basis of political life and essential to the well being of the colonies and the governments, liberty cannot be taken away with factions. If everyone was forced to have the same thoughts and ideas, the United States would transform into a Communism rather than a democracy. It is impossible to request that men have the same thoughts because having original thoughts is inevitable and man has a liberty to exercise free thought.

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

The factions themselves cannot be removed, but the effects of those factions can be altered. Laws regulating factions were put into place. If a majority of a group vote for something, then that majority defeats the minority in the process. When the faction includes a majority of the population, it can be controlled as well. Another cure for the faction issues is a government in which there is representation and equal delegation of power. Each state is limited to a certain number of delegates so that no one state can overpower another. There must be a large enough group of delegates to get work done, but a small enough group to prevent arguments and be successful.

Blog #4 - Revolution Article

1.) George Washington edited his own biography and took out the embarrassing parts to make himself look better.

2.) Although there were multiple paintings created of the Civil War, none of them depict any dead soldiers or too much violence.

3.) A majority of the country thinks that the Revolutionary War wasn't very violent, when in reality, it was very bloody and not only did soldiers die, but innocent civilians did too.

4.) The weapons were better in the Civil War than in the Revolutionary War, but the soldiers in the Civil War fought closely, often times only standing about 20 feet away from each other.

5.) Tons of civilians died at the hands of the British, and five Connecticut towns were completely wiped out.

LAD #3: Declaration of Independence

1.) Democratic Principles
Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, included the three unalienable rights that we use today, which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Also included is the fact that the writers thought that the declaration should be written for the people as a whole, rather than for individuals. Everyone has these unalienable rights, and the consitution created a democracy for the colonies at this time.
2.) Grievances
King George III would only pass laws for the colonies if they were to benefit him as well. The king also dissolved all of the representative houses that didn't agree with him and his beliefs. When there was no fighting or violence, the king kept British troops in the colonies just to make sure they were always watched and that violence or outbreaks was not an option. Britain's policy of salutary neglect let the colonists think that they could do whatever they wanted, but then the British came in and enforced laws, expecting the colonists to follow them. The right to trial by jury was abolished as well.
3.) Summary
The Declaration of Independence was the time at which the colonies officially declared themself free from British rule. The colonies wrote about how they now could form alliances with whomever they wish, trade with anybody they wanted to, make their own laws, and that they were now their own country. The colonies became officially and politically free in 1783, 7 years after the Declaration was signed.

LAD #2 John Peter Zenger

1.) John Peter Zenger was a writer in the colonies. He began to publish his own newspaper, and he called it  the "Journal." It came out weekly, and it was a place for Zenger to write about things that he didn't agree with. In it, he wrote about his opposition to the policies of governor William Cosby.

2.) There was a great controversy over the articles written by Zenger. The governor was arguing that it was "seditious libel," meaning that the articles were enough to convict Zenger.. However, his lawyer Andrew Hamilton  claimed that it was only seditious libel if the information was false, and Zenger and his followers knew it to be true. The jury knew it to be true as well, and Zenger was found not guilty.

3.) John Peter Zenger's trial paved the way for the modern American trial and said that when arguing against libel, truth was always a determining factor. His articles were sometimes looked at as slanderous, but all were based upon true fact. He believed that if one told the truth, then he should be free.

4.) The trial of John Peter Zenger also has one major lasting effect on America: freedom of press. Although John Peter Zenger was not the first man to voice his opinions and grievances against an oppressor, he was the first man to fight for his beliefs and win. Andrew Hamilton wrote that even if a statement is offensive or slanderous, if it is the truth, a person has a right to write it because it can be proved in one way or another.

LAD #1 Mayflower Compact & Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

1.) The Mayflower Compact was created so that the Christian Faith would be carried on. It states that the people of Virginia must remain true to the rules of the religion with concepts such as preservation, virtue, submission, and obedience.
2.) The settlers still considered England, also known as the "Old" world, to be their true home country. They were still loyal to their king, but chose to voyage to the "New" world, or the Americas. They "honored" their king and Europe multiple times in the written document.
3.) The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were the basic political laws in the colony of Connecticut. They laid out rules such as how power was divided among people in their respective areas. The Fundamental Orders said that any elected official must be part of an approved Congregation of some sort, but did not talk a lot about religion. The Mayflower Compact, however, has little else to do with anything besides staying true to the Christian religion, unlike the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
4.) The people of Connecticut all wished to stay united under God, and wanted rules to be written so that they could form a "decent Government...according to God." They wanted these rules to be applicable to everyone residing in the colonies, not just white men, but women and children too. The rules had to be written down so that trials and confusion  could be avoided.
5.) In the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, there are written checks and balances and rules that prevent certain people from gaining too much power and from staying in power for too long. Every member of the General Assemblies had to be nominated and voted in to their position. The number of representatives from each town is limited to four, so that no town has an uneven balance of power.

Presidential Address!

I just finished watching Barack Obama's Presidential Address to Congress. I caught the back end of it, but I'm glad that I actually got to watch some of it. What I was able to get out of it was this: Right now, the Obama Administration isn't so popular, and they know it. Obama addressed credit issues in our country, and talked about how there's only a short 14 months left in his time at office, unless he is voted back into the White House at the 2012 election. Many families in our country are facing house foreclosure, and part of the reason of this is because of the credit issues and debt that has increased over the past few years. Obama talked about how when George Bush was up at the podium, he asked for money to help the banks out of their deep and rising debt to the country, and how Obama himself was infuriated at such a request. He understands now how Bush must have felt, and although he knows that it is the unpopular choice, Obama asked that same question to Congress. Obama, like Bush, wants to help the banks. Thinking ahead though, he also knows that there is not a whole lot that he can do in 14 months, but he said that he is going to try his hardest. Towards the end, he gave a great line that I believe can be very empowering, no matter who says it, or when: "We are stronger than the nation we live in."

first blog entry

Hello world. that is all.