American Heritage Readings 2

1st Amendment

religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition

2nd Amendment

to keep and bear arms4

3rd Amendment

quartering of soldiers in private homes during peacetime

4th Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures and requires warrants based on probable cause

5th Amendment

Guarantees rights to due process, protects against double jeopardy and self-incrimination, and dictates "just compensation" for seized property (eminent domain)

6th Amendment

right to a speedy, public trial by jury in criminal cases, with the right to counsel and to confront witnesses

7th Amendment

right to a jury trial in certain civil cases($20 or more)

8th Amendment

Prohibits excessive bail, fines, and cruel and unusual punishment

9th Amendment

States that listing specific rights in the Constitution does not mean other rights, retained by the people, do not exist

10th Amendment

Reinforces federalism by stating that powers not delegated to the federal government belong to the states or the people

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States, except as punishment for a crime.

14th Amendment

Granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. (including former enslaved people), prohibited states from denying equal protection or due process, and defined voting rights for male citizens

15th Amendment

Prohibited the federal and state governments from denying the right to vote on the basis of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"

What is eminent domain?

"just compensation" for seized property

What is due process?

fair treatment through the normal judicial system

What aspect of English government does Paine attack as absurd?

Hereditary Monarchy

What types of arguments did Paine offer in support of this attack. What written source did he appeal to? 

He used the Bible, which says monarchs lead to sin.

• Hereditary monarchies cause war and are bad at governing

• Children are different than parents, so even if dad is a good king, it does not ensure his son will be too.

The Declaration states that “all men are created equal” and that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Explain what “consent of the governed” means and why this idea was revolutionary in 1776.

Similar to ideals in the Social Contract, Rousseau, we all give gov’t legitimacy, not genetics, not god, it’s from the citizens.

John Locke listed “life, liberty, and property” as natural rights. How did Jefferson modify this idea in the Declaration, and what might that change suggest about his view of human rights and happiness?

Jefferson said “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. Natural rights aren’t just economic, they also extend to care for human well-being and fulfillment. That is true liberty and freedom.

Both Locke and Jefferson claim that people have the right to overthrow a government. Under what conditions do they believe revolution is justified, and how do they defend that idea?

If people’s individual liberties are being oppressed, they have the right to overthrow a tyrannical government because it is violating its purpose of protecting the rights of the people. Then they can alter/abolish the oppressive government and make a new one that does.

The Declaration combines a philosophical argument about natural rights with a list of specific grievances against King George III. Explain how the list of grievances is connected to the philosophical principles in the preamble.

Preamble = universal rights and principles

Grievances = how King George violated all those principles

The grievances show how the gov’t was acting w/o consent of the governed and went against all that was promised at the close of the English Civil War.

In what sense can the Declaration be seen as both a universal document about human rights and a specific response to the crisis between Britain and its American colonies?

• The preamble lists universal ideals about equality and rights, but also specifically addresses colonial conflict.

• It’s a philosophical statement and a practical breakup with Britain.

There are two great values promulgated in the declaration, freedom and equality.  These two can sometimes be at odds. When it was written was the declaration more about freedom or about equality? Has that changed in the last 250 years? If so, how?

Originally, it was more about freedom because the colonists wanted to rid themselves of tyrannical leadership. Ideas of equality weren’t for everyone. But now it’s more shifted to equality, both abolitionists and suffragists used it to prove their point, and so did LGBTQ.

In what ways does Abigail’s “Remember the Ladies” letter extend the logic of the American Revolution to gender relations?

“No taxation without representation” can be applied to women because they aren’t being represented, and they don’t have a voice to share consent to laws being passed.

How does John Adams’s playful tone both acknowledge and deflect the seriousness of Abigail’s argument?

He’s affectionate but also resists her ideas. He thinks it will bring more social disorder, only to add to that created by the revolution.

Compare Abigail’s conception of power in marriage with Enlightenment or revolutionary ideas about political power and consent. How radical was her view for 1776?

Abigail said that the power of a husband was “arbitrary… very liable to be broken”. This relates to Enlightenment ideals about natural rights and legitimate authority. If we all have equal natural rights, eventually it will stop the illegitimate exercise of power.

What do these letters suggest about the limits of revolutionary rhetoric concerning equality and natural rights?

It shows a contradiction because slaves and women were not extended the same equal rights.

Why does the Slovak Declaration say that Slovakia should be independent?

The ethnic group of Slovaks has been oppressed long enough, and they need to not “ignore the natural right of the Slovak nation.”

Both Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and the Slovak Declaration of Sovereignty justify the creation of a new political state by appealing to rights, but they justify it in different ways.  What is fundamentally different about their appeals?

SD

• Natural rights of a community of people

DoI

• The English government imposed its view on American natural rights, so they must create a new government to secure universal rights and one that will respect these rights. Rights based on political equality of humans, NOT group membership

What does Madison identify as the chief danger to popular governments in Federalist 10?

Fac10ns motivated by self-interest and not community interest.

Why does Madison say that liberty is to faction what air is to fire?

Liberty allows fac10ns to exist and grow, but to take it away destroys liberty.

How does Madison believe the structure of the Union (the large republic) provides a “republican remedy” for the problem of faction?

There are so many competing fac10ns, not one can rise to the top.

Explain what Madison means by the phrase, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

Humans are flawed by self-interest. Government is necessary to maintain order, but that system must be limited in its pursuits so its powers are not abused.

What does Madison mean when he writes, “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition”?

People’s ambitions in other branches will make them want to check other branches, so no one gains too much power.

How does Madison’s idea of checks and balances reflect his view of human nature?

People’s ambition and self-interest can be used to check each other’s ambitions. The constitution channels human nature into preserving liberty.

Analogy: Adam Smith’s belief that markets channel individual self-interest to serve the good of society.

What was Madison advocating for in Federalist 51?

5epera1on of Powers!

What is the Rule of Law?

Everyone, including leaders, must obey the law

Why were the Federalist Papers written?

To persuade New Yorkers to ratify the newly proposed U.S. Constitution

What are the five divinely inspired principles in the Constitution identified by President Oaks?

1. Sovereignty from the people

2. Division of power between nat’l and state gov’t (federalism)

3. Separation of Powers

4. Individual rights and limits on gov’t (Bill of Rights)

5. Rule of Law

According to President Oaks, what divine purpose does the U.S. Constitution serve? 

Protect human agency and create an environment of religious freedom

What responsibilities does President Oaks say citizens have to preserve constitutional principles?

• Learn about the Constitution

• Support good and wise leaders

• Engage peacefully in civic life

• Uphold the Rule of Law and respect differing opinions

List Brutus’s main concerns with elements of the Constitution. What effects does he think these elements will ultimately have?

• Necessary and Proper Clause

  • Congress can shoot down any state laws

• Nat’l power to tax will drain states of their resources

• Large republic will lead to tyranny

Why does Brutus consider the Constitution a threat to liberty?

• Will create a government too powerful and distant from the people

• Abolish state sovereignty

• Citizens can’t monitor or replace corrupt leaders

• Federal leaders will expand power and corrupt liberty

How does Brutus’s view of a republic directly oppose Madison’s argument in Federalist No. 10?

Brutus = a small, local republic preserves freedom and accountability

Madison = a large republic protects liberty from factions through diversity and representation

Why does Smith trust that representatives in Congress will not abuse their power?

They will be watched and held accountable by the people

How does Smith describe the effects of anarchy in Massachusetts, and what lesson does he draw from it?

He describes uprisings, neighbors threatening each other, and families torn apart(aka: Shay’s Rebellion). Without a stable gov’t society collapses and liberty is lost!

What does Smith mean when he says, “Better to have one tyrant than so many at once”?

The chaos of mob rule is worse than being ruled by a single oppressive leader.

Both Jonathan Smith and Brutus I feared different outcomes of what we have called the human predicament.  How did that directly lead to their differences of opinion about the Constitution.

Brutus

• Feared tyranny

• The central government will crush state and local liberty

• Limit nat’l govt!

• Did NOT support the Constitution

Smith

• Feared anarchy(chaos and rebellion)

  • which will come from a weak gov’t

• Strengthen and centralize power in gov’t

• Supported the Constitution

How do Smith and Brutus differ in their level of trust in the people’s representatives?

Brutus

• distrusted distant leaders

• Small, local republics are held accountable to serve people’s true interests

• Likely agrees with natural liberty more because government exists to protect pre-existing rights

Smith

• educated leaders will act responsibly because they run the risk of not being reelected

  • which requires frequent elections to hold leaders accountable

• Likely agrees with civil liberty, liberty is secured through proper legal and political institutions. He wants safeguards.

How did Montesquieu’s and the American Founders’ ideas about the separation of powers differ from earlier notions of “mixed government”?

• Distinct powers to each group, ambition leads to checks

• Not class based but rather an extension of sovereignty of representatives of all social classes.

What does Levy mean when he says that modern democracies have “a fragile separation of powers”?

Branches of government are less likely to check each other when controlled by the same party, so partisan loyalty overrides the power to check the government branch(they’ll turn a blind eye).

Why does Levy describe the alliance between populism and executive power as a “crisis” for constitutional democracy?

Populist leaders reject accountability using their popularity and making them demagogic appeals to “nat’l unity” to undermine restraints on their actions.

They override courts, break the rule of law, and endanger liberty.

What values does Levy argue are essential to maintaining constitutional democracy?

• Pluralism

  • Separation of powers and diversity in gov’t

• Independent courts

  • Free from the control of any singular branch of gov’t

• Free opposition

  • Right to criticize those in power

• Rule of Law

According to Douglass, how does he as a former slave view America’s Fourth of July celebrations?

Hypocrisy. The ideals celebrated in this day of freedom are not yet extended to all.

What is Douglass opinion of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution?

He loves it!

• “glorious document”

• “great principles of political freedom and natural justice”

  • It can be interpreted to support freedom and equality for all.

What argument does Douglass make to his audience that their toleration of slavery is wrong?

• Black men = men

  • All men deserve liberty.

• Slavery contradicts true Christianity

  • Inhuman

  • Not divine

  • Churches that support slavery are blasphemous!!

What key idea does James Oakes highlight about Abraham Lincoln’s view of the Constitution?

It contained principles that could be used to end slavery

What did Lincoln mean when he said slavery was on a “course of ultimate extinction”?

Slavery would die out naturally over time if restricted(that’s why he tried to do it once he had executive power).

What connection did Lincoln see between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution?

DoI and Constitution share the same foundation(“All men are created equal…”). The Constitution was built to preserve and extend the ideals in the Declaration.

How did Lincoln’s “Antislavery Project” influence his actions during the Civil War?

Lincoln used his constitutional powers to contain and weaken slavery. By:

• Limiting expansion

• Pressuring border states to abolish it

• Issuing emancipation proclamation

• Supporting the 13th Amendment.

How does the Declaration of Sentiments apply the ideas of the Declaration of Independence to the struggle for women’s rights?

DoS and DoI are similar but DoS replaces men with women, arguing that women’s equality is a part of the same natural rights principle that justified the American Revolution,.

What injustices against women does the Declaration list, and how do they illustrate “absolute tyranny”?

• Denial of suffrage

• Property rights

• Education

• Legal standing

These abuses show men’s unjust dominion(Tyranny) over women like a monarch over subjects.

 How do Stanton’s arguments about women’s rights resemble Frederick Douglass’s claims in “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”

Both expose hypocrisy in American freedom and demand that the nation fulfill its founding ideals.

What does Lincoln say the living must do to honor those who died at Gettysburg?

We will resolve the problems these men fought for.

What does the phrase “government of the people, by the people, for the people” express about Lincoln’s vision of democracy?

Government derives its power through the consent of the governed. (Thomas Jefferson-Declaration of Independence and John Locke- Two Treatises of Government would agree).