Monday, September 2, 2013

Day One -- Ideologies of a Revolution and Nation Building

Prereading (i.e. write before you read!): Clarify in your post which document you are reading. Have you read this document before (be honest)? How long ago? What is the gist of the document from your memory?

 Postreading: What was the author's biggest complaint about his government? What makes you say so?


  Please post your response in the comment section below.

13 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I have never read this piece of work, but it was very clear that during this time period John Locke was against slavery. After reading John Locke on Slavery I agree with what he was saying. He believed that "Man is to be free from any superior power". which means no one should be owned and controlled and have no say about it. This piece really caught my eye because he was talking about being free but you are never really free because you have to obey the set of laws or rules. So technically you can not do as you please. He believes slavery should be some type of punishment for those that have committed some type of crime. Not something you should be born into or forced. Basically this philosopher had alot to say because he felt that slavery was very wrong.

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  3. Pre Reading: I have never read this piece before but I do know that during John Locke's time people were either for or against slavery.

    Post Reading: After reading John Locke on Slavery I now know that he was against slavery, and I agree with him because he talks a lot about how slaves have no free will. I agree that they were treated as nothing but that they also were being punished just for being born into that social class. I also agree with Chandler that this piece really caught my eye because the slaves were not allowed to act on their own free will but they had to do what their owners told them to do because they were owned as though they were property. When Locke says "No body can give more power than he has himself; and he that cannot take away his own life, cannot give another power over it", he means that no one has the right to play God and decide weather or not someone lives. I know now that the owners did not just want to keep their slaves alive but they wanted to have so much power over them that they made the decision who lived and who died. Locke sees it as slaves being trapped with no rights and no say in any part of their lives. Overall the people (pro slavery) are fighting the law to get all the power that they want even if in the end it means killing people.

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  4. Pre-reading: I have never read the declaration of independence of Thomas Jefferson, but I know that it was published on July 4th 1776.

    Post Reading: After reading this piece, I know that Thomas Jefferson was definetely agaisnt his government wich was abusing his power and laws. In fact, he writes this declaration in order to give to citizens the rights that everybody is allowed to have, as he says "life, liberty and poursuit of hapiness". Second reasons are also that the colonies were getting bigger as they extended their territories and he believed that it would all be better if every colonie would turn a state and would have his own governement.

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  5. Pre reading: I have prier knowledge of John Locke before the reading

    Post reading: John Locke's Second Treatise on Civil Government is about the natural right for the people of a country to protect their property and way of life. If a government chooses to infringe on those rights then by any means that government should be replaced with one that the people can bestow trust on. John Locke talks about the inevitability of government in order to protect ones property and resources from others, but also stresses the fact that governments are corrupt and should be policed by the people. John Locke talks about how he is disappointed and angered by blinded people who allow governments to strip them of civil liberties and their property. John Locke's Second Treatise on Civil Government is a excerpt on how people should choose the government that enforces its laws, and why a government that has lost this goal should be replaced for the betterment of all citizens.

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  6. Pre-reading: I am reading an Excerpt from Thomas Paine's "Common Sense". I am some what familiar with Thomas Paine and his ideas because of my Euro class from last year. I remember that he believed America should separate from England, and that Common Sense was a major influencing factory in stirring up the people to rebel against the them.

    Post Reading: Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" began by attacking what was to be considered "right", then he continues to explain that sometimes the wrong thing seems like the right thing because no one is willing to ask questions about it. Then he openly goes against the English government stating that the king has oppressed the people.Paine is clearly is against the English government when he explains how the best form of government is a democracy. Here, he explains using examples of a growing population how there is a need to switch officers and to have many in order to support each other. However, a big give away that he does not like the idea of a king/ monarchy (Which was their form of government was when he stated that, "not the unmeaning name of a king" should be used in a government. He continues to call monarchy " the disgrace of human nature". He states that a monarchy causes tyranny, that the monarch system is so complicated that they never understand the sufferings (or causes of them) of the average person. He also states that the fact that the king has a commons to check on him shows that he is to not be trusted, yet has the ability t reject the common's bills, he also states that the average man does not really have access to know what happens in the government and that the king has way too much problem.

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  7. Pre-reading, I have heard of the name, John Locke but I never knew anything about John Locke and Slavery.

    Post-reading, evidently, Locke somehow disagree on the idea of slavery in his nation. He said that all men should not live under legislative power nor the dominion, no any restraint but only the law of nature. He also thought a man did not have the power to enslave himself to another person nor suicide but when the person did some act of suicide, he should be enslaved and let his master draw him to death as he desired later on. Basically, John Locke was trying to say no man can have any power to own anyone nor sell himself others.

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  8. Pre-reading: I only heard of Thomas's name and his Common Sense last year, but I did not really pay attention to the detail of it. Therefore, this is brand new to me. And I have never read this pamphlet before.

    Post-reading: In Paine's writing, he first states clearly that the english government is "evil" and "an intolerable one". In contrast to the english government, he praises democratic society as a "blessing". Then he hypothesizes a small group of people eventually grow up to a large society. By describing the growth of this group, Paine points out advantages of a fair society with a non-monarchy government. Paine further argues that the english government as absurdity. He finds that the king and the commons do not work well as a combined government because of their power overlap. He describes the composition of the monarchy "exceedingly ridiculous". He states his opinion at the end of the chapter by describing America as "a man, who is attached to a prostitute, is unfitted to choose or judge a wife." This conspicuous analogy emphasizes his idea on getting rid of the english government and start a good one that demonstrates fairness, and enable people to speak for their own voices.

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  9. Yo yo yo. I haven't read this before, but I've learned a little about Locke last year.

    In this excerpt, John Locke talks highly of King William and justifies his rule. He says that the natural rights saved England from slavery and disaster. Locke strongly believes that many some governments fail to truly help the people, so the people should have the right to choose a new government.If the government does not satisfy or meet the people's needs, then the government should be "openly shewed" of their authority. Locke also goes against Sir Robert's writings.

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  10. I have never read Common Sense before. However, I do recall Thomas Paine and Common Sense being mentioned in a history class I took prior to this one. Common Sense was credited with being very influential on The People's opinions of democracy and independence from Britain.

    Thomas Paine's biggest complaint about the current government was it's dependence on Great Britain. He describes "society" (democracy) to be a promoter of happiness, unity, and communication, and a blessing (pg 1, Chapter 1). Paine describes "government" (a system run solely by authorities) as being evil and unclean, a "disgrace of human nature (pg 2, Chapter 1)", and a cause of restraint and distancing (pg 1, Chapter 1). He states that the English government is so incredibly complex that the country could suffer for years until the variable at fault is discovered and taken care of (pg 3, Chapter 1). He also argues that the commons is not a check upon the king, because that implies that the king cannot rule without supervision, and that the king is wiser than those who are supposed to be wiser than him (pg 3, Chapter 1). Paine sees 'government' as much more unjust, complex, contradictory compared to 'society'.

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  11. Pre-Reading:I have not yet read John Locke's views on slavery, but we learned about him last year in AP Euro.

    Post-Reading: When Locke was alive, slavery was legal and thriving in the English economy, therefore, his biggest complaint to his government, as evidenced in this passage, is that no man can have absolute power over someone else. In other words, the natural rights of humans are to be free from any superior power; free from enslavement. He also said that people in society should be governed "under no other legislative power, but that established, by consent, in the commonwealth." Which means that people can only be administered by a government that has their consent, and that people cannot be controlled without consent as in enslavement.

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  12. I am very familiar with John Locke’s second treatise on civil government because it came up a lot last year in ap euro. I recall that John Locke was sort of a catalyst for liberalist ideologies throughout the enlightenment. I also remember that this specific work of his focuses on the civil rights, the people and how the government effects vs how it should effect them.

    Although Locke is voicing his opinions on the ideal government he supports the present king because his rule is against slavery. He believes that everyone should be an advocate for their own natural and just rights because in a society that’s really all a citizen has. Outlawing slavery goes hand in hand with allowing people to have their natural rights because forcing someone into slavery is forcing them to give up their natural rights. From the text it is obvious that Locke is against the writing of Sir Robert, which I’m guessing are for slavery. Locke goes a step further to even condemn his works as propaganda. He also bashes those who blindly follow and support governments because that’s basically giving yourself up to them. Locke is basically trying to say that it should be an axiomatic truth to everyone to stand up for their rights as a person.

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