1. Factions are difficult to eliminate because either liberty has to be destroyed or to force or give the same opinion to every citizen. This makes things very difficult because liberty is what allows a faction to form and so without it the faction means nothing, destroying liberty would be contradicting everything the United States Government stands for. At the same time it's just as difficult to instill the identical opinion on every citizen because people have their own opinions and views and so its almost impossbile to successfully have every citizen agree or think the same way. Also, liberty and individual opinion go hand in hand so if theres liberty, you cannot force opinion.
2. Although factions cannot be removed, they can still be controlled in a number of ways. One way is to prevent the existence of similar ideas or beliefs through a majority of people, this way religion will not be able to control factions. Republican laws like having a representative for a certain region also helps because then one faction will "control" a certain region but it won't affect other factions because they'll have different representatives and ideas to go with them. The idea of majority rules also works in controlling a faction, yet this only works if the faction is a minority. If this is the case then "majority rules" can override the faction in a democratic way.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Lad 4
1. I learned that the camera which was availabe by 1861 was able to capture battle pictures which made the war seem more modern. Furthermore, many historians have proclaimed it the first modern war.
2. Another thing I learned was that George Washington had his former aide-in-camp, Lt. Col. David Humphrey, write a biography on Washington. George Washington aided Humphrey by recalling his role in the French and Indian war.
3. Another thing I found interesting was that the general American public has the impression that the REvolutionary War wasn't very bad, with low casualties and all together misery didn't exist.
4. By 1836 all the members of the revolutionary war and revolution were gone and so since then, history and memories about the war has all come from people who had not lived through the actual events.
5. I was surprised to read that the most popular paintings of the American Revolution give a rather different view of events. These paintings depict various famous battle themes yet none actually depict battle scenes. The paintings have a "sanitized image" of the revolutionary war greatly differ compared to photographs of Civil War battlefields which show mangled corpes and worn out soldiers.
2. Another thing I learned was that George Washington had his former aide-in-camp, Lt. Col. David Humphrey, write a biography on Washington. George Washington aided Humphrey by recalling his role in the French and Indian war.
3. Another thing I found interesting was that the general American public has the impression that the REvolutionary War wasn't very bad, with low casualties and all together misery didn't exist.
4. By 1836 all the members of the revolutionary war and revolution were gone and so since then, history and memories about the war has all come from people who had not lived through the actual events.
5. I was surprised to read that the most popular paintings of the American Revolution give a rather different view of events. These paintings depict various famous battle themes yet none actually depict battle scenes. The paintings have a "sanitized image" of the revolutionary war greatly differ compared to photographs of Civil War battlefields which show mangled corpes and worn out soldiers.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Lad #3
The Declaration of Independence was the document that officially declared that the American Colonies were independent from Britain. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he included several Democratic elements and naturally a list of grievances. "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness," were the three fundamental democratic rights stated in the Declaration. Thomas Jefferson and the American people firmly believed that it was necessary for citizens to have these three unalienable rights. Thomas Jefferson was influenced by the ideas of Rousseau who claimed that once a Government ignores the rights or consent of the citizens, then the citizens have the right to alter or overthrow the government. Jefferson included this statement to the Declaration because he knew that in a Democracy, the powers government came from the people and so if the people were dissatisfied with it, they could do something about it.
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson included a list of grievances or complaints inwhich the American people felt towards the British Government. Included was the King's refusal to alter laws which would benefit the people, King's refusal to pass laws which would accomadate a large group not just the select few, the dissolving of Representative Bodies which invades the right of the people, the King's obstruction of justice by refusing his assent to laws to establish judiciary powers and finally the King's order to keep standing armies in times of peace. Jefferson included these greivances and more, to give reasons to the king why the colonies were breaking away.
July 4th is known as Independence day for it is on July 4th, 1776, that the Americans signed the Declaration of Independence which officially declared the American colonies independent from British control. This officially made America an independent nation which had it's own government which could declare war, trade and ally with other countries and from then take action without the approval of the British Government. Although America still needed to fight the British after July 4th to gain there real independence, America was ideologically free after the Declaration of Independence.
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson included a list of grievances or complaints inwhich the American people felt towards the British Government. Included was the King's refusal to alter laws which would benefit the people, King's refusal to pass laws which would accomadate a large group not just the select few, the dissolving of Representative Bodies which invades the right of the people, the King's obstruction of justice by refusing his assent to laws to establish judiciary powers and finally the King's order to keep standing armies in times of peace. Jefferson included these greivances and more, to give reasons to the king why the colonies were breaking away.
July 4th is known as Independence day for it is on July 4th, 1776, that the Americans signed the Declaration of Independence which officially declared the American colonies independent from British control. This officially made America an independent nation which had it's own government which could declare war, trade and ally with other countries and from then take action without the approval of the British Government. Although America still needed to fight the British after July 4th to gain there real independence, America was ideologically free after the Declaration of Independence.
Friday, September 7, 2007
LAD 2
1. Peter Zenger was a newspaper publisher in New York, who voiced opposition towards the policies of newly appointed colonial Governor William Crosby. As a result of these publications in his newspaper, Peter Zenger was arrested and charged with seditious libel.
2. The controversy over the charges was that Peter Zenger was wrongly convicted. To defend Zenger, Hamilton proved to the court that Zenger could not be convicted with libel because the offending stories about Cosby that Zenger published were all based on fact, they were not made up. In conclusion, Zenger was set free because his offending stories about Cosby were true and since they were true, Zenger couldn't be convicted of libel.
3. The significance of Zenger's trial was that Lawyers could now defend clients by proving that if a statement is true, than it's not libel. After the trial, Judges also saw Libel cases in a new way, leading to better outcomes for people convicted of libel.
4. The lasting signifcance of Zenger's trail was the further advancement of freedom of the press. Furthermore, newspapers were now able to publish offending articles and stories as long as they were true. This is all because Zenger's trial proved that if statements were true, persons could not be convicted of libel. Libel cases, now also had better outcomes for the defense.
2. The controversy over the charges was that Peter Zenger was wrongly convicted. To defend Zenger, Hamilton proved to the court that Zenger could not be convicted with libel because the offending stories about Cosby that Zenger published were all based on fact, they were not made up. In conclusion, Zenger was set free because his offending stories about Cosby were true and since they were true, Zenger couldn't be convicted of libel.
3. The significance of Zenger's trial was that Lawyers could now defend clients by proving that if a statement is true, than it's not libel. After the trial, Judges also saw Libel cases in a new way, leading to better outcomes for people convicted of libel.
4. The lasting signifcance of Zenger's trail was the further advancement of freedom of the press. Furthermore, newspapers were now able to publish offending articles and stories as long as they were true. This is all because Zenger's trial proved that if statements were true, persons could not be convicted of libel. Libel cases, now also had better outcomes for the defense.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
LAD 1
1. Passing just and equal laws, acts and ordinances are just some of the multiple concepts included in the May Flower Compact of 1620. Other concepts include the promise to create a unified, democratic-like government. The general or basic concept of the Mayflower Compact was to show that several actions were taking place for the general good of the colony.
2. The May Flower Compact reflects an attachment to both the old and new worlds in multiple ways. The compact states multiple times that a government will be set up in the name of the king of England which shows loyalty to the mother country. The compact also shows an attachment to the new world as the new government is established primarily for the good of the colony in the New World. The government is also slightly different from the government in England as the May Flower Compact takes a more democratic approach, which is different from the old world.
3. The fundamental orders of Connecticut differ from the Mayflower Compact in the sense that the Fundamental orders of Connecticut is a document of acts that goes in depth, stating specific laws and situations which must be followed. The Mayflower Compact isn’t a set of laws but instead a basic outline or set of ideas on how the government will be run. The Mayflower Compact is also different because it is a “Civil Body Politick” while the Fundamental orders of Connecticut will be run as a commonwealth.
4.The Fundamental orders of Connecticut were established because colonists living in Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield were fighting. Yet the colonist’s religion required them to live in peace and union and so a government was set up to ensure order and peace.
5.The orders reflect fear against superior power by an individual or group in several ways. The first decree includes a section that says that no magistrate can be chosen for more than one year. Later on in the orders, it states that person can be chosen for governor more that one time in two years. Both orders show that the colonists felt more secure if people’s time in power was limited. This is because as stated earlier, the colonists greatly feared the supreme power of one individual in government. Basically the orders worked towards maintaining fair and equal power in the common wealth.
2. The May Flower Compact reflects an attachment to both the old and new worlds in multiple ways. The compact states multiple times that a government will be set up in the name of the king of England which shows loyalty to the mother country. The compact also shows an attachment to the new world as the new government is established primarily for the good of the colony in the New World. The government is also slightly different from the government in England as the May Flower Compact takes a more democratic approach, which is different from the old world.
3. The fundamental orders of Connecticut differ from the Mayflower Compact in the sense that the Fundamental orders of Connecticut is a document of acts that goes in depth, stating specific laws and situations which must be followed. The Mayflower Compact isn’t a set of laws but instead a basic outline or set of ideas on how the government will be run. The Mayflower Compact is also different because it is a “Civil Body Politick” while the Fundamental orders of Connecticut will be run as a commonwealth.
4.The Fundamental orders of Connecticut were established because colonists living in Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield were fighting. Yet the colonist’s religion required them to live in peace and union and so a government was set up to ensure order and peace.
5.The orders reflect fear against superior power by an individual or group in several ways. The first decree includes a section that says that no magistrate can be chosen for more than one year. Later on in the orders, it states that person can be chosen for governor more that one time in two years. Both orders show that the colonists felt more secure if people’s time in power was limited. This is because as stated earlier, the colonists greatly feared the supreme power of one individual in government. Basically the orders worked towards maintaining fair and equal power in the common wealth.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
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