It is believed that Thomas Jefferson once stated “We want to populate the nation with a thousand generations of Americans.” Perhaps it is safe to assume that Jefferson was only referring to Anglo Americans in this statement, however it would be wrong to assume that all the founding fathers and Americans shared this view.
America has always been divided whether it be driven by geographic location or socio economic differences. The push for assimilation has always had its detractors whether it be in reference to manifest destiny or a desire for a greater sense of nationalism, An example of this dissention can be viewed in this letter written to Henry Clay in 1837 by William Channing.
"Did this county know itself, or were it disposed to profit by self-knowledge, it would feel the necessity of laying an immediate curb on its passion for extended territory.... We are a restless people, prone to encroachment, impatient of the ordinary laws of progress... We boast of our rapid growth, forgetting that, throughout nature, noble growths are slow..... It is full time that we should lay on ourselves serious, resolute restraint. Possessed of a domain, vast enough for the growth of ages, it is time for us to stop in the career of acquisition and conquest. Already endangered by our greatness, we cannot advance without imminent peril to our institutions, union, prosperity, virtue, and peace..... It is sometimes said, that nations are swayed by laws, as unfailing as those which govern matter; that they have their destinies; that their character and position carry them forward irresistibly to their goal;....that ... the Indians have melted before the white man, and the mixed, degraded race of Mexico must melt before the Anglo-Saxon. Away with this vile sophistry! There is no necessity for crime. There is no fate to justify rapacious nations, any more than to justify gamblers and robbers, in plunder. We boast of the progress of society, and this progress consists in the substitution of reason and moral principle for the sway of brute force....We talk of accomplishing our destiny. So did the late conqueror of Europe (Napoleon) ; and destiny consigned him to a lonely rock in the ocean, the prey of ambition which destroyed no peace but his own.” (Blum 276)
This quest for assimilation has grown throughout history except now it has evolved into a quest for global governance. However, much like with manifest destiny there will be a bold few who will resist for as Thomas Jefferson said “It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case of others: or their case may, by change of circumstances, become his own.”
Sources
• Blum, Schlesinger, Jr. et al. The National Experience: A History Of The United States. 6th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace Hovanovich, 1985
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Module 5
On a Strong National Government
Alexander Hamilton was a staunch defender of a strong national government. Hamilton believed that only through a strong national (centralized) government could the prosperity of the people exist.(1) Some would argue that perhaps the economically poor and minority populations would benefit the most under the rule of a strong centralized government. A strong national government would have great power and would have the ability to redistribute wealth and provide for equal representation of all citizens, theoretically ensuring prosperity for all. However, when we look throughout history and observe current events, we know this to not be the case. Only a power elite (“those political, economic, and military circles, which as an intricate set of overlapping small but dominate groups share decisions having at least national consequences. Insofar as national events are decided, the power elite are those who decide them.”)(2) prosper under a strong centralized government.
The power elite will use the power of a strong national government to ensure their power and security. This is easily achieved through both indoctrination and the buying of votes. The power elite will manipulate the poor and uneducated getting them to surrender their liberties in exchange for government provided services or through promises to redistribute wealth. Thus, the power elite ensure the subjugation of the poor and minorities by directly tying their prosperity to the security of the elite.
It is only through a confederate minarchsist style of government that a majority of the people will see prosperity. Smaller states can address the specific needs of its citizens faster and more efficiently than a strong national could. The smaller size of a confederacy ensures more minority representation and individual liberty through smaller districting. A greater number of people would prosper under a confederacy as opposed to only the few elite that prosper under a strong federal government.
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(1) The Works of Alexander Hamilton, ed. Henry Cabot Lodge ( New York: GP Putnam’s Sons, 1904)
(2) Mills, Charles W., The Power Elite (pg.18) 1956, print
Alexander Hamilton was a staunch defender of a strong national government. Hamilton believed that only through a strong national (centralized) government could the prosperity of the people exist.(1) Some would argue that perhaps the economically poor and minority populations would benefit the most under the rule of a strong centralized government. A strong national government would have great power and would have the ability to redistribute wealth and provide for equal representation of all citizens, theoretically ensuring prosperity for all. However, when we look throughout history and observe current events, we know this to not be the case. Only a power elite (“those political, economic, and military circles, which as an intricate set of overlapping small but dominate groups share decisions having at least national consequences. Insofar as national events are decided, the power elite are those who decide them.”)(2) prosper under a strong centralized government.
The power elite will use the power of a strong national government to ensure their power and security. This is easily achieved through both indoctrination and the buying of votes. The power elite will manipulate the poor and uneducated getting them to surrender their liberties in exchange for government provided services or through promises to redistribute wealth. Thus, the power elite ensure the subjugation of the poor and minorities by directly tying their prosperity to the security of the elite.
It is only through a confederate minarchsist style of government that a majority of the people will see prosperity. Smaller states can address the specific needs of its citizens faster and more efficiently than a strong national could. The smaller size of a confederacy ensures more minority representation and individual liberty through smaller districting. A greater number of people would prosper under a confederacy as opposed to only the few elite that prosper under a strong federal government.
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(1) The Works of Alexander Hamilton, ed. Henry Cabot Lodge ( New York: GP Putnam’s Sons, 1904)
(2) Mills, Charles W., The Power Elite (pg.18) 1956, print
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Module 4 - On the Constitution and Democracy
On the Constitution and Democracy
When analyzing the Constitution of The United States of America, it is important to realize that it was not the intent of the founding fathers to establish a democracy. Even at this early juncture in American history the framers of the constitution were well aware of the evils of democracy and the dangers that a true democratic government presented.
Alexander Hamilton stated that we are a republican government, and while giving a speech on June 21st 1788 in New York urging for the ratification of the constitution stated, “Real liberty is never found in despotism or in the extremes of democracy. It has been observed that if a pure democracy, if it were practical, would be the most perfect government. Experience has proved that no position is more false than this. The ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated never possessed one good feature of government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity.”(1)
A democratic government is not possible in an economically polarized society and it is a fundamentality flawed form of government. Individual liberty can not exist under a true democracy as there is no rule of law and no virtue. Thomas Jefferson viewed democracy as being nothing more than mob rule, where 51% of the people may take away the rights of the other 49%. There exist no minority rights under democracy but only certain privileges granted by a condescending majority.
The Constitution of the United States guarantees to every state a republican form of government and no state may enter the union unless it is a republic.(2) It is in this way that the constitution ensures Individual liberty for all, as individual liberty can only be protected under a republican form of government. When reading the constitution it was clearly the intent of the founders to form a republic and not a pure democracy.
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(1)Alexander Hamilton. Writings (Library of Congress). September 27, 2001.
(2)Constitution – Article 4, Section 4.
When analyzing the Constitution of The United States of America, it is important to realize that it was not the intent of the founding fathers to establish a democracy. Even at this early juncture in American history the framers of the constitution were well aware of the evils of democracy and the dangers that a true democratic government presented.
Alexander Hamilton stated that we are a republican government, and while giving a speech on June 21st 1788 in New York urging for the ratification of the constitution stated, “Real liberty is never found in despotism or in the extremes of democracy. It has been observed that if a pure democracy, if it were practical, would be the most perfect government. Experience has proved that no position is more false than this. The ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated never possessed one good feature of government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity.”(1)
A democratic government is not possible in an economically polarized society and it is a fundamentality flawed form of government. Individual liberty can not exist under a true democracy as there is no rule of law and no virtue. Thomas Jefferson viewed democracy as being nothing more than mob rule, where 51% of the people may take away the rights of the other 49%. There exist no minority rights under democracy but only certain privileges granted by a condescending majority.
The Constitution of the United States guarantees to every state a republican form of government and no state may enter the union unless it is a republic.(2) It is in this way that the constitution ensures Individual liberty for all, as individual liberty can only be protected under a republican form of government. When reading the constitution it was clearly the intent of the founders to form a republic and not a pure democracy.
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(1)Alexander Hamilton. Writings (Library of Congress). September 27, 2001.
(2)Constitution – Article 4, Section 4.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Introduction
Greetings all, my name is Steve and I am a Sports Medicine student here at DVC. I am taking History 120 online in order to fulfill my general education requirement and for transfer to UNLV where I am currently taking summer classes in sports injury management. My interests include political philosophy, kinesiology and sports. I’m looking forward to this semester with you.
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