Origins of American Government - Our Declaration Reading Questions

6. Have you ever been involved in an effort at "democratic writing" or anything like it? What did you find to be the pros and cons of that type of writing? What does the author think the pros and cons are? Explain.

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2. What are the five sections of the Declaration of Independence? How is the Declaration similar to a divorce? What four actions were necessary for the Declaration to be seccessful? What parts of the list are being fulfilled in the Introduction?

-5 sections -introduction -preamble -indicement of george 111 -denuncitaion of british people -conclustion -4 Actions -declare reasons for actions -submit facts to witness -formally declares independence (new state of affair) -concludes with a pledge +like a marriage - is what brides and grooms do when they marry +this is like a divorce becasue they absolve their allegiance from the crown, connection dissolved - in a way they are breaking up with Britan (compare to prince charles of whales and princess diana divorce) +DOI says colonies declare themselve divorced from GB then confirm that divorce, then remarry one another +consent was all focused on the colonists +trying to win worldwide consent +appealed to supreme judge of the world or GOD +King and GB only consent after war +discussion about what to pledge is just as important as exchange of vows First 2 things are fulfilled in intro

10. What changes did the second Continental Congress make to the Declaration? What were the most important?

- "sacred and undeniable" to "self-evident" - took out passage about slavery that blamed the king and said slave trade was wrong - added references to divinity "Creator"

1. According to the author what is a memo? In what way is the Declaration like a memo? What are the basic tools of the Declaration?

- memo: announces and thereby brings about a change while also explaining it - something that needs to be remembered - basic tool of human social organization - an informal message that summarizes the state of a question, justifies a decision, or reccomends a course of action -seek to justify particular actions to broad audiences - the DOI is like a memo cause it helps organize a group of people - it is practical. claims to know about GB. criticises GB. Announces separation and new political system -organized joint group project, revolting from GB - Basic tools: principles, facts, judgements

1. What is the second facet of ideal equality presented in the Constitution?

- to secure our futures we all need an equal opportunity to use the instrument of government

4. One of the most important concepts discussed in the first section of the text is democratic writing. Explain what the author means by the concept.

-"group writing" -it is difficult -pools capacities of multitudes of people -entails understanding how to contribute to the collective mind to produced shared vocab that all citizens use and can understand -everyone might not agree -compromise -respects audiences judement

7. What did Adams and Lee discuss prior to the writing of the Constitution? Why was it important?

-"riddle of independence" -NH's Governor who was loyal to the king was under siege and ran to British troops for protection -NH now had no government because the Governor ran everything -What should NH do about gov? -MAKE ITS OWN -How will they justify it -How will they set it up 1) Forced them into independence by the king saying they were no longer under his protection and invalidating is own gov in the colonies 2) balance legislative, executive, and judicial powers - full and free rep in house of commons, house choose counsil, counisl choose governor "thoughts on government" ADAMS -then king say no peace fam -ALL COLONIES WILL HAVE OWN GOVS "thoughts on government" ADAMS -VIRGINIA GO FIRST -Preamble a lot like declaration laying out purpose of gov -cause new govs INDEPENDENCE IN ALL COLONIES

9. Why was Jefferson chosen to write the first draft of the declaration? Who were the others on the committee? What roles did they play? Jefferson is often thought of as the author of the Declaration. Would the author agree with this characterization?

-Adams wanted him too -was a virginian -wasnt obnoxious like Adams -was 10X better writer Jefferson said group chose him but that convo could have happened in a group setting Jefferson - draftsman of the first draft Adams - busy and wanted adams to write it Franklin - sick and busy Rodger Sherman - not well known jeff. and busy robert livingston-not well known jeff. and busy

8. What "sources" did Jefferson have to draw upon in writing the the Declaration? Be specific. What do you think he got from each?

-Virgina DoRights by Mason - got 3 part structure and purpose of gov as well as right of revolution based on human equality - Inspiried by Locke or Schottish Enlightenment (scots emphasized equality) - Adams "thoughts on Government" emphasis of importance of happiness - List of colonial grieviences by jefferson and other delegates complaints he compiled

11. What were the important events leading up to the writing of the Declaration? Which do you think was most important?

-battles at lexington and concord -NH gov wentworth seiged causing lee and adams to discuss and decide that NH should create its own gov -king declaring colonies in rebellion and refused to read olive brance petition -adams publishing thoughts on government -george mason drafting VDoRights

5. Explain why the author uses a river as an analogy for what is happening in the American Colonies. What do the colonists have to do which is similar to what those on a boat have to do. Could you do what the colonists needed to do and what is done in the Declaration? Look at today's society and see if you can.

-human events flow forward and cohere like water droplets they have shape and direction -colonists past events and recent experiences that the flow was leading to the king becoming a tyrant -need to know what direction the river is flowing -have to know where you want to go -need to know where you start

3. What is the story of James Madison the writer? Why do you think the author tells the story?

-james madion talking to himself -wrote federalist papers -after GW was elected wrote his inaugral address -wrote congressional response -wrote GW's reply to congress shows how our country's early history consists of a tight cluster of mostly virginaians who knew how to work with words, which was a crucial source of power for this country Madison was a figure devoted to collective conversation and democratic writing

9. What does Jefferson mean by the laws of nature? What are the two ways of the source of political rights? Does the author think one of the two ways is more important? Is the declaration sacred or not? Does it matter?

-natural instinct -god wrote the laws of nature so we are obligated to respect them - all people naturally want to survive so in any given group finds a way to survive that does not endanger the survival of anyone else we should respect their right to organize their survival for themselves we ought to respect these forces of nature because we try to fight them you will generally do ourselves more harm than good if we do not respect the right of others to organize their survival for themselves we will bring Warren ourselves and so jeopardize our own projects of survival - Jefferson wanted his readers to understand that Necessities Flo from nature and that nature is sacred and something meriting reverence and protection the signers agreed however they saw in nature as sacred through association with a divinity by arresting the principles in the Stockman on God the signers aspired to bring their readers to share the strongest possible moral commitment to those principles -doesn't matter if it's sacred or not

2. Why do we need to be able to pack and unpack sound bites? What is a sound bite? Who needs each skill?

-often contain or hint to world views - like a suitcase Riders Pac into those sound bites some core principles as well as some instructions to their readers on how to apply those principles to real world examples -short small carried around easily to be thought about. travel easily -unpacking allows ass to see the full principal implicit in that sound bite as well as its supporting arguments

5. In what sense does the Declaration of Independence qualify as "democratic writing". Be specific in answering the question..

-pools the capacity of multitudes of people -entails understanding how to contribute to the collective mind to produced shared vocab that all citizens use and can understand that citizens will use to live together -was written by a committee of 5 -as well as all the delegates in the committee that discussed the topics in it and revised it and made changes when writing

6. What does it mean for something to be self-evident? Name something that you think is self-evident. Be able to defend your choice.

-self evidence from perception, observing things with the senses - if you look into the proposition if you entertain it if you reflect upon it you will inevitably come to affirm it all the evidence that you need in order to believe the proposition exist exists within the proposition itself -self evidence from logic and language, stating beliefs based on the definitions of objects

5. Why did people including Jefferson, often fail as judges? Why do you think habit is often more powerful than abstract reflection?

-self interest -abstract reflection is not the only way we come to believe things -we aquire a lot of what we believe through habit -habit is emotional and emotion is easier -habits are harder and take longer to change -principle are only a starting point

8. What does separate and equal mean in the Declaration? In what ways within the US has it been misused?

-separate but equal used for discrimination -separate and equal -separation meat freedom from domination and therefore equality -misused by segregations who sought internal separation "separate but equal" -separation in this context would not bring equality -segregated people would not be having own govs and independent -used to keep them down -but contrasts -but shows segregationist property naturally opposes equality - slavery race treatment of Native Americans

4. How are equal and same different? What are the aspects of the ideal equality that the Declaration argues for? Explain what each if them means.

-to be the same is to be identical -to be equal is to have an equivalent degree of some specific quality or attribute -can be equal in height even though you arent the same person 1. kind of equality where neither can dominate one another 2. importance to humankind having equal access to the tool of gov 3. egalitarian approaches to the development of collective intelligence 4. eglatarian practive of reprocity 5. equality and ownership of gov p participation

3. How many self-evident truths are in the Declaration of Independence? Why does the author argue for a smaller number? How does it demonstrate Jefferson's reliance on George Mason's Declaration of Rights?

1. all men are created equal 2. they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights 3. those rights include life liberty and persuit of happiness 4. governments have been instituted among men based on the consent of the governed to secure those rights 5. when governments fail to secure these rights the people have the right to change their government and set up a new one that will do a better job of securing their safety and happiness - the dash is added by the Dunlap broadside and then the matlacks parchment emphasize that Jefferson Jefferson's list of five choose can also be divided into a list of three truths "after persuit of happiness and consent of governed" George masons was also 3 parts that are separated by being about human beings, government, then right to revolution 1. all people are equal and being endowed by their creator with the rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness among others 2. humans build governments to secure these rights and political legitimacy rests on the consent of the governed 3. when governments fail to protect these rights people have a right to revolt

3. What experiences in her life led her to believe in the importance of equality. Explain. Have you ever had a similar experience?

Dad's side of the family -were slaves -wanted freedom -made NAACP chapters Mom's side of the family -were white suffragists Family -valued education -read bible -instilled personal independence at 18 -talked about equality and freedom Grandmother -mothers side -mean to Danielle cause she half black -said mean things to her (she would be alcoholic, she should cut off her hair if she ever wanted anything or job or love, that she was NOTHING) that really affected her -brother said it will only bother you if you let it, just ignore it -so she ignored her gmaw and was free of her emotional power -also Hebrew story of Joseph the slave - no matter how successful he was he was still a servant -through this she wanted release for all people as she was freed from her gmaw

moral sense

General moral ideas in mind and spirit, ideas and feelings about what is right and wrong

Unamity

One spirit or soul, people agreeing with whole spirits and not just minds, spirirt converys the idea of life force, group bond committed its energies to a common goal

2. In fact, the author goes as far as to argue that without equality, freedom cannot exist. Why and how does she make this argument? Do you think it would be true to argue that without freedom, equality cannot exist? What do you think the author believes?

The author claims that freedom can only be obtained if people have protection collectively, and individually from domination. Equality (1) empowers individual citizens and gives them sufficient control over their lives to protect themselves from domination, (2) and engages all members of a community equally in the work of creating and constantly recreating that community. It is only when political equality creates these communities that brings about freedom and allows for human flourishing.

1. One of the arguments the author makes is that the Declaration of Independence is as much about equality as it is freedom. Why does she think this is an important argument to make about the Declaration?

The author thinks that this is such an important argument because we, as a nation, are forgetting about equality and focusing on liberty. The author claims that political philosophers have long told us that there is an inherent tension between equality and liberty Therefore, we as a people feel we must choose between the two. And in recent years we have been choosing to focus on liberty. She claims that if we abandon equality, we will lose the single bond that makes us a community and that makes us a people with the capacity to be free collectively and individually in the first place. -- She makes this argument because the declaration begins and ends with equality: "separate and equal" representatives of states mutually pleading to each other lives, property, and honor. "we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal/

7. In what ways are the colonies unequal to Great Britain? In what important ways are they equal?

Unequal -bigger population -bigger capacity to borrow -bigger capacity to tax -better capacity for financing war -better army and navy Equal -capacity to organize collective lives without help from others

6. What are the usual ways in which a group of people can be thi if the of as different from another group? What criteria does the author suggest that Jefferson uses?

Usual ways -differences in language, religion, race -group bound by language, location, relation, religion, or ethnicity -the poor in contrast to the well to do Jefferson meant -a multitude that is politically organized -ability to organize gov

Candid World

honest, unstained - judge fairly people that connect fact with principles in order to make judgements

self-evident

if you look into the proposition if you entertain it and reflect on it you will inevitably come to confirm it - all the evidence you need to judge the proposition for yourself is in the proposition itself

4. How does Jefferson's passage on the slave trade (removed from the final draft) relate to his statement of natural rights?

in the statement of natural rights Jefferson says that all men are created equal it is not specified whether Jefferson is talking just about white property-owning men or all people in Jefferson's passage on the slave trade Jefferson talks about markets where men which he capitalizes are bought and sold in other words he is calling slaves men when he does this he can't mean males only because those markets were for men women and children so in the second sentence he writes all men are created equal then he must mean all people whatever color sex age or status

syllogism

method for structuring logical argument

colony

organized by someone else

state

organizes it own afairs