Breaking Up is Hard to Do Breaking Up is Hard to Do The Declaration of Independence and How a Laundry List of Grievances became the United States of America Three Steps to America’s Social Contract...

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Breaking Up is Hard to Do Breaking Up is Hard to Do The Declaration of Independence and How a Laundry List of Grievances became the United States of America Three Steps to America’s Social Contract (two drafts and a final version :0) Declaration of Independence (1776) Articles of Confederation (1777) U.S. Constitution (9/17/1787) Ratified 1789 after a LONG PR campaign including the “Federalist Papers” 13 Colonies Under British Rule What is a “colony”? Who was George III? (spoiler alert: He was an a-hole who Hobbes would have loved). George III needed $$ (lots of Wars) 1764 Sugar & Currency Acts 1765 Mutiny and Stamp Acts 1767 Townsend Act (taxed TEA) 1773 Tea Act forced colonies to buy British Tea. Following Boston Tea ”Party”, the Colonists had ENOUGH!!!! Americans have a genetic predisposition to suspicion of Government Taxation. How much was ENOUGH? After nearly 10 years of constant taxation by the King, the Colonies said NO MORE….. No Taxation Without Represenation From Colonies to STATES Colonies were largely, sovereign but answered to the Mother Country, Britain. They must now unite to reject British Tyranny First Continental Congress 1774 (Weak) Prepare for War with Britain April 1775 at Lexington & Concord “shots heard round the world” – REVOLUTIONARY WAR May 1775 – Second Continental Congress issues the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE – laying out formal justification for breaking up with Britain The Declaration of Independence- A not-so-love letter Dear King George: When….it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have Connected them to another…they should Declare the causes which impel them to The Separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident: ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL… endowed with unalienable Rights including Life, Liberty and the pursit of HAPPINESS That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, derive their powers from the CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED You have a Long train of abuses and usurpations (26 to be Exact !!) “YOU ARE A TYRANT UNFIT TO RULE A FREE PEOPLE” “…THESE UNITED COLONIES ARE NOW….FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES. Hugs and Kisses, THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA “All Men are CREATED Equal….” “In June 1776 delegates of the Second Continental Congress decided to draft An independence document…. That task fell to thirty-three year old .. Thomas Jefferson. At the beginning of the document, Jefferson paraphrased the Virginia constitution, indelibly Penning…. ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL…. It is impossible to know for sure whether Jefferson meant to include his enslaved laborers (or Women) in his “all Men.” Was he merely emphasizing the quality of White Americans and the English?..Jefferson continued that “Men” were endowed by “their Creator with certain inalienable rights.. Including “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” What did it mean for Jefferson to call “liberty” an “inalienable right” when he enslaved over 200 people? From Ibram X. Kendi - Stamped from the Beginning – The Definitive History of Racist Ideas In America, pp. 104-105 Democracy Hypocrisy Slavery as America’s “original sin” Slavery was a British Colonial institution that provided enormous amounts of money and resources for the Crown. Thus, it preceded the New United States. Jefferson tried to include language in the DOI that blamed Britain for the institution of Slavery…. That language was cut from the final document and thus, the new United States of American cemented its own fate. “He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither.” And, yet, the new United States kept, legalized, and strengthened Slavery What next? A Social Contract with a HUGE problem……. There was a glaring contradiction: Many of the colonists who sought freedom from British tyranny themselves bought and sold human beings. By underpinning America’s new economy with the brutal institution of chattel slavery, they deprived roughly one-fifth of the population of their own “inalienable” right to liberty. (History.com). Turner Ch. 1 The Constitution Turner Ch. 1 The Constitution The Road to Nationhood Declaration of Independence List of Complaints Denial of state laws (9th & 10th Amendments) Unilateral dissolution of state legislatures (checks and balances of 3 branches) Ordering no new migration to US (Congress now has this power) Sent armies to harass us (Civilian President) Kept armies on our streets in peacetime (3rd Amendment) IMPOSTED CRAZY-ASS TAXES without our consent (Congressional power – House ) No trials with juries (6th and 7th amendments) You “incited domestic insurrection” against your own people !!! We “petitioned for redress” and you arrested us without charge! King or No King ? Ummmmm.. Duh.. No King ! Our Founders constructed our Social Contract (the Constitution) in REACTION to tyranny They wanted to divide and share power AMONG three branches Executive (president) Legislative Judicial In place of a king, they wanted the PEOPLE to govern themselves ( thank you Locke and Rousseau). So, the agreed to be governed by THE RULE OF LAW ! The Rule of Law are written laws of acceptable/unacceptable behavior debated and agreed upon by the PEOPLE – how THEY will collectively be governed. (THE COMMUNITY BECOMES THE UMPIRE)! ”I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind.. as new discoveries are made, opinions change and with change, institutions must advance and keep pace with the times. If not, we might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when He was a boy….” - Thomas jefferson What is Our “Constitution”? * It is a LIVING document. What does it do? It OUTLINES the organization of government. It GRANTS government the power to act It Serves as a SYMBOL of the nation How “We” Got There! The evolution of “U.S.” First Continental Congress (1775) Second Continental Congress (1776) DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE Articles of Confederation (Very Weak, but Why?) Not enough central authority – NO SWORD No power to tax No standing army (only state militias) Shay’s Rebellion (June 1787) was a WAKE UP CALL !!! The Constitutional Convention: The Making of America 55 white, land and slave owning men Met in Philadelphia from May – Sept. 1787 What They wanted: REPRESENTATION (but what about slave population?) Virgina Plan vs. New Jersey Plan The Great Compromise (Connecticuit) Three-Fifths Compromise Ratification (passage) = first two parties: FEDERALIST vs. ANTI-FEDERALIST Our Social Contract OVERVIEW ART. 1 – Establishes the LEGLISLATIVE branch ART. II- Established the EXECUTIVE branch ART. III – Establishes the JUDICIAL branch ART. IV – Relationship between states and federal government ART. V – Amending; equal representation for states in the Senate ART. VI – SUPREMACY CLAUSE, No religious test for office ART. VII – Ratification of Constitution Three Branches one American tree Legislative branch = MAKES the laws Executive branch = ENFORCES the laws Judicial branch = INTERPRETS the laws What is JUDICIAL REVIEW? Marbury v. Madison (1803) – Supreme Court case establishing the Court’s power to review and nullify acts of Congress (laws) if they are in violation of the Constitution. What “We” Value Re(public)anism Direct v. Representative Democracy Deriving powers from consent of the governed Divided Powers Checks & Balances Horizontal and Vertical Federalism HOBBES AT WORK!! Single Independent Executive all the power of a King without the ability to mess it up too badly Adaptability Necessary and Proper Clause (Art. 1:8) Express vs. Implied Powers Ability to AMEND (Bill of Rights) “Eighteenth-century men with eighteenth- century experiences wrote the Constitution for an obscure and fragile eighteenth-century nation” The Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the constitution) 1. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of RELIGION or prohibiting the FREE EXERCISE thereof, or abridging FREE SPEECH or of the PRESS or the right to PEACEABLY ASSEMBLE or PETITION the government. .. The right of the People to KEEP AND BEAR ARMS shall not be infringed. No Soldier shall be QUARTERED in any house in peacetime No UNREASONSABLE SEARCH AND SEIZURE No DOUBLE JEOPARDY, no TESTIFYING AGAINST YOURSELF, no EMINENT DOMAIN Right to a SPEEDY TRIAL and by a JURY OF YOUR PEERS right to confront WITNESSES and right to an ATTORNEY Right to jury trial for disputes over $20 (not really an issue any more) NO CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT This might not be a complete list, all else RETAINED BY THE PEOPLE Powers not given to the Federal Government are reserved for the States or People The 14th Amendment one step closer to real equality All persons born or naturalized in the United States…are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States. Nor, shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. When you are done with all of the above, please give some consideration to and write a 3-4 page essay addressing the following: 1. What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence?        (a)  Please choose one quote from the Declaration that resonates with you and explain why it matters?       (b).  Where do you find Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau in the Declaration? Please give at least one example of each author. 2. Chapter 1 states that a constitution does three things; what are they and, specifically, how does our Constitution fit into each of the three categories? 3. How is our Constitution a "living" document? 4. What is the Bill of Rights and why did many of our founding fathers demand its inclusion before the Constitution could be ratified?  Do you see any of these "rights" as a remedy to the abuses outlined in the Declaration of Independence? If so, where? 5. What role does slavery play in our Constitution? Where, specifically, is it addressed in the document?   What do you believe the legacy(ies) of slavery are today? 6. Finally, the Constitution opens with this line: "We the People, in order to form a more perfect union..."  What does this mean to you? Please comment on the very loaded language in these few, but powerful words.
Answered 4 days AfterSep 25, 2022

Answer To: Breaking Up is Hard to Do Breaking Up is Hard to Do The Declaration of Independence and How a...

Shubham answered on Sep 30 2022
54 Votes
Question 1
The purpose of the declaration of Independence is that it is important to dissolve political bands and this will help in connecting with e
ach other. It ensures that all men are equal and it will empower with unalienable rights that includes happiness, life and liberty (Armitage, 2021). This will secure rights and government can be instituted between men and it will derive power from the consent to be governed. People have rights to stay free and the king is not fit to rule people. It will help in ending usurpation and abuses.
Question a
“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” is the quote that resonates with me. It is relatable as it shows the unalienable rights that are in the declaration of independence. It provides humans with rights and governments are created to protect the rights of people. Liberty is related with life that ensures that all people are free of unnecessary restrictions and it can help in being free for making choices along with being free of experience in life. It is openness in the heart and it allows a sense of freedom and joy.
Question b
In the Declaration of Independence, Locke is notable for providing the statement that all men should have equal rights to pursue within the frame of law of nature along with limits of government authority. In the Declaration of Independence, Hobbes believes that wrong and right do not exist in the work while Rousseau believed that government should rely on the general population of citizens and work...
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