LAD #7: Washington's Farewell Address

Washington, after his second term as President of the United States, decides to step down from his title and return to a calmer lifestyle. Although the public had voted for him to stay another term, he humbly declines the offer. He urges the American people to make a decision based off of the other promising candidates and wants them to do him the justice of maintaining the importance in leadership of the United States of America. He also states that he wants them to be careful of the emerging political parties in fear of them dividing the united America. He believed that in order for the nation to be as successful as it possibly could be, it would have to stay in agreement and therefore united together no matter what. He stated that maintaining a neutral stance when it came to outside wars was important so they wouldn't make enemies that may hurt them in the future. Washington wanted the American people to abide by the rules of the Constitution and thanked them for the opportunities they'd given him over the past two terms as President of the United States.

LAD #6: Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality

War has been initiated between Austria, Prussia, Sardinia, Great Britain, and the United Netherlands, America is to stay neutral during the war. America will not become involved in the conflict and will instead watch from a distance while the feud is settled outside of their power. All citizens of the United States are to avoid breaking the agreement to stay out of the war (neutral). If any citizens go against staying neutral and do aid other countries in their fight against another in the war, they will no longer be allowed protection under the United States of America. Persecutions among people who break neutrality have already been set in place, so this is simply a warning to the citizens to truly stay out of the matter. They must respect that this is not their battle to fight, and therefore will be punished if they forget that simple fact. Washington has already signed off on the agreement to remain neutral during the war, a document he signed in Philadelphia on April 22nd, 1793.

LAD #5: Federalist

1.  Why are factions so difficult to eliminate?

Factions were difficult to eliminate because by taking them away, liberty would also be eliminated. All people have their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Government cannot take away a person's liberty. Also factions are formed from people's opinions. Passion is very difficult to erase, especially if it resides in a large number of people. The government would have trouble containing that many people who feel so strongly about their factions. Eliminating them would be a challenge greater than they could handle.

2.  If factions cannot be removed then how can they be controlled?

In order for factions to be controlled, the point of what they're trying to protest needs to be contained. If the government has control over the issue, than the faction can't change anything over their disagreeing problem. Or if everybody has the same opinion over the matter, than everyone would agree and there would be no need for a faction.

Republican Motherhood Blog

(1) What role did the Revolutionary War play in the transformation of housewifery to Republican Motherhood?
Women served their country now by training good citizens and enlightened legislators. She shows the young and those in need of guidance knowledge to use throughout their lives (doc. A). Families were left in the hands of the women to train and better the young minds of tomorrow. Women were now actually impacting the future of America, being given the task after the Revolutionary War secured America's independence from Britain. They teach their sons about liberty and government (doc. B).


(2) What were the consequences of Republican Motherhood on women?
Although women were given the responsibility of educating their sons (doc. B), they were still stuck on staying in their homes and not interfering with everyday life like men did. Even though their jobs were a lot more important in the long run, their education and chances of learning came with a price. They couldn't leave their homes and became the ladies of the house. They were to watch their husbands and other men go out and practice their rights as men while the women were doomed to stay indoors and teach their sons all they needed to know about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They were given more opportunist in society by teaching their sons, but what was the point if they were still, in a sense, typical housewives?

(3) What is the significance of the ideology of the Republican Motherhood as a stage in the process of women's socialization?

Women were finally given a real role in society by becoming part of the Republican Motherhood. Before they were only housewives, but now they were something more. They were important. Being a Republican Mother meant bettering the "generous youth, just ripening into manhood," with Republican knowledge (doc. C). They became important pieces of the puzzle that was society, despite still being trapped in a solely male-dominant world. Women were brought together and were given hope that change was coming for the better.

(1) Describe the setting.

Just after the American Revolution. The portrait was painted by Charles Willson Peale in 1789 and depicts a mother and her children. The piece's official name was Mary Gibson Tilghman and her sons. The mother, judging by her clothes and ability to afford a portrait in the first place, appears to be of middle class descent.

(2) Who serves at the center of the portrait and why? How does the woman look? How is she "republican" rather than aristocratic?
In the center of the portrait is Mary Gibson. She looks strong, yet conserved. She had her hands protectively over her child as if to show that she's going to protect the two of them no matter what. She's not dressed completely wealthy or over the top and is around middle class stature, as stated in the question before. It shows that she is a conserved Republican rather than an aristocrat who would gladly show off her wealth for all to see.


(3) What values do her sons exhibit?
Their sons seem to listen to their mother because she's got them on her lap, which seems exceptionally hard for children that young. Especially since painting a portrait could take hours as opposed to taking a simple picture with a camera or cell phone like we do in modern times. Her sons seem to respect their mother and obey her wishes.

(4) Is there a significance to the position of Mrs. Tilgham's arm?

She's holding her child delicately with her arm, keeping him protected from the rest of the world. It shows that she's a force to be recognized and that her son should understand how strong his mother is. She shows her children that she's the one in charge as both a Republican Mother and his teacher. She teaches him to understand society and the world he's going to one day be a part of.

Blog #4 - Revolution Article

(1) I had no idea George "I cannot tell a lie" Washington actually lied about/hid information that was embarrassing to him and his image when writing about his part in the French and Indian War. I always considered Washington a man with little to hide or be ashamed of.


(2) I learned that some people/historians believe the Civil War was the most important battle of the United States rather than the Revolutionary War. I always considered the Revolutionary War more important, even if not as many people died as in the Civil War. Without the Revolutionary War, the Civil War would never have been fought (or at least not for years and years).


(3) Soldiers taken captive were occasionally killed on the walk to the prison to avoid killing them there when they were officially considered prisoners of war. That plan seems to bizarre to me. Either way the people are going to get killed, so it was interesting hearing that some were cut down before reaching their destination to avoid slaughtering the prisoners. It's almost ironic.


(4) Colonel Henry Lee attacked enemy soldiers by surprise, killing ninety loyalists and wounding the remainders all without losing a single soldier on his side.


(5) The Americans, when they attempted to invade Canada, ran short on food and were left with nothing to eat except dogs and soup made of shoes and candles.

LAD #3: Declaration of Independence

In America all men are considered equal and each have their own rights and liberties. If the government fails to allow people their certain unalienable rights, the people have the option to recreate governmental figures where the rights of the people are represented. No government is perfect and not everyone will agree with them at times, but if there is a steady stream of abuses by the government than the people have the power to overthrow them and start anew.




The government has preformed a grievance if they attempt to make the military directly under their control, take away the people's right to a trial by jury, making judges under their power by controlling their pay and who they take orders from, refusing to pass laws that amount to the overall good of the people, and for taxing the public without their consent.




America is now completely independent from Britain and are therefore allowed to wage war if the time comes. Britain has no control over them anymore and they are free. They are officially relieved of their tyrannical rule beneath King George III and any connection between the two nations is to be severed (dissolved). They can now create contracts with other nations, establish commerce, and carry on as an independent nation in whichever way they see fit.

LAD #2: John Peter Zenger

(1) Who was John Peter Zenger?
He was a German immigrant who created and published the New York Weekly Journal. He was placed on trial because of what some of the articles in the journal stated about their corrupt government, despite only being the publisher and not the one who actually wrote the material.




(2) What was the controversy over his charges? Talk about Hamilton's defense.
Zenger was said to have published negative things about the government, specifically the royal governor. Even though Zenger hadn't actually been the one writing the material, he published it and was held responsible. Zenger refused to give up the names of the people who wrote the articles and was brought to trial. Andrew Hamilton, the most famous attorney of the time, stated that Zenger was the one responsible for printing the articles about the government, but asked the prosecution to prove what was written wrong. He stated that Zenger shouldn't be imprisoned if what was published was actually true.


(3) What influence did his case have on American governmental tradition?
It got the snowball rolling for people to being accepting the freedom of the press. Of course it would still be years before it actually became a real thing, but people began writing and publishing the truth about the government and politically powerful figureheads. Because of the  Zenger trial people felt safer being able to write the truth since it was what got Zenger out of his charges.


(4) What is the lasting significance of his trial? Explain.
As I said before, the trial became something bigger than Zenger had ever expected. It took the first step in freedom of the press where they wouldn't be charged and brought to trial every time they wrote a negative viewpoint on the government or powerful figures at the time. It wouldn't be years until freedom of the press became a real thing, but it started after the Zenger trial when writers and publishers began stating their viewpoints freely without as big a fear of persecution. It was a big trial at the time and so most of the colonists had heard about it and the verdict, spreading the news and the hope of there one day being such a thing as freedom of the press.

LAD #1: Mayflower Compact & Fundamental Orders of Connecticut:

(1) What concepts are included in the Mayflower Compact?
It states that the colonists coming over from the Old World would remain loyal to King James I. They would form a new Colony in the northern parts of Virginia, and the colonists would abide by the same rules and regulations while practicing the Christian fate.


(2) How does the Mayflower Compact reflect and attachment to both the "Old" and "New" worlds?
The colonists were bringing over laws and religion from the Old World to the New World. The Mayflower Compact allowed them to keep practicing the same things they did back in the Old World in the Americans where they could start a new life.


(3) How did the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut differ from the Mayflower Compact?
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was much longer and more detailed than the Mayflower Compact. It was more strict when it came to government and left very little room for interpretation. The Mayflower Compact got right to the point and was a little more loose than the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut where it wrote exactly what days meetings would be held on and exactly what the government was expected to do. All the Mayflower Compact stated was that that government should do whatever they thought was best for the Colony overall.


(4) What prompted the colonists of Connecticut to take this approach to government, i.e.: use of a written Constitution?
The colonists could then show exactly what they expected of the government by having it written down in a Constitution. They wanted to make sure that they wouldn't make a mistake by entrusting either a single person or people with this power. If it was abused than they would have to suffer the consequences of not trying to prevent it, so by creating a strict written document of exactly how governmental duties should be carried out, it put them at ease.


(5) In what significant way(s) does the Fundamental Orders reflect a fear of and safeguard against the usurping of power by one person or a chosen few?
Remember to include a related photo for each document.
It was strict and made sure that the people involved in the government wouldn't have too much power if they ever attempted to abuse it. The document was incredibly detailed and stated exactly how voting would take place and the circumstances involving more powerful voting figures. In nearly every beginning sentence it states "It is Ordered, sentenced, and decreed . . ." meaning it's already set in stone. There was no going around it. Most of the document talks about power and shows that it was a big deal for the colonists. If it wasn't, they wouldn't have included it that many times throughout the Fundamental Orders. They feared a single person or persons taking control and abusing their powers, so they marked off exactly what people could an couldn't do to prevent the matter from ever happening.

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