LAD #10

LAD #10

The Monroe Doctrine:
President Monroe announced this doctrine to congress in 1823. He opened up by saying that the areas in the Americas were no longer allowed to be colonized by European powers. Then, he states that although powers intended to help the people of these lands, they did not meet that anticipation. He then goes on to say that although the US has been interested in colonizing that land, they want to keep the nations of the Americas free. After this, he says that America tries only to interfere with European actions when their rights are violated, but will defend these nations because their rights will be violated if the Europeans imperialize them. However, he does not want to interfere with colonies that have already been planted, as they have not done for their entire existence, and they will continue to stay neutral in the war between Spain and their colonies. He then concludes by once again stating that if the countries colonize in the Americas, we will see it as a threat to our nation.

LAD #9: Jefferson's First Inaugural Address

LAD #9: Jefferson's First Inaugural Address


In Thomas Jefferson's first Inaugural Address, he begins, as many presidents do, by thanking the people of the United States of America for electing him. Furthermore in this part of his speech, he states what a great country the USA is. In the next part, he says that while he will abide by the statements of the Constitution and the will of the majority, the minorities in America will not go unheard. He then addresses some issues that had troubled them in the past and says that they can not let them happen again, like the oppression of certain groups of people or disunity. Continuing, he says that people who do not think that America should stay intact and be a great union should not be hunted because logic will prevail over their ideas, and that people who are patriotic should support the government that helped get them freedom. After that, he states that America is perfectly capable of supporting themselves and will prevail and prosper because of that while still letting people do what they please within the limits of the law. Towards the end of his speech, he begins to state what he thinks will provide for a successful government. These include some of the things that he wrote about in the Declaration of Independence, like equality and the pursuit of happiness, as well as many points straight out of the Constitution. However, he goes deeper than just what they both state to say specifics on things such as a "well-disciplined militia" and "honest payment of our debts." Many of his statements were closely related to amendments of the Constitution. In conclusion, he states that he is aware that he will make some errors as well as doing some things that some people may view as wrong choices, but that he will do the best that he possibly can and is ready for the challenge.

Columbus Blog #8

Columbus Blog #8


Christopher in some ways heroic, but in more ways villainous. Just because a person discovers a new part of the world does not make them a hero. Someone would have discovered it sooner or later had he not. However, it is what the explorer does with the land that he discovers that makes them a hero or not. First of all, he did not even find the land that he was originally looking for, India. Because of this, he called the native people "Indians," a term which is now deemed politically incorrect and offends people of Native American heritage. While he did make friends with the Natives to some extent, he was mainly interested in Europeanizing the people of the Americas. He brutally attempted to weaken the Native culture. Furthermore, he tried to enslave the people who were currently living on the land that he came into and claimed. He and his people were the cause of a great amount of death in the indigenous population because they widely spread diseases from Europe and killed many of the natives themselves. Overall, the few good things he did for his country are undermined greatly by the massive amount of bad things he did to the native people of the New World.

LAD #7: Washington's Farewell Address

LAD #7: Washington's Farewell Address


When George Washington gave his farewell address in 1796, he both set precedents and gave warnings to America. He began this speech by telling the people of the United States that he would not be running in the next election, which set an example to future presidents and ultimately influenced the restriction of the president only being allowed to serve for two terms. However, he did assure the citizens that he did not want them to forget about him or become disinterested with him, and thanks them all for a great time while he was in office as well as expressing his patriotism. After this, he stated that the different regions of America were different from each other in much more than where they were located. Furthermore, he said that if a stronger sense of union and unity was achieved, then there would be no limit to what the United States could do. He went on to say that a "government for the whole is indispensable," and that there cannot be alliances between parts of the government or things are bound to go wrong. Another warning he gave was that the authority of the government and its rules should not be taken about loosely and that they should always be enforced. To add to that, he said that factions that gain a lot of power over another faction are very dangerous and should be prevented from happening. However, he said that spirit for a certain party should not be encouraged in elections. He went on to support the idea of government branches having a set of checks and balances, as to avoid corruption. On an unexpected note, he supports religion and morality, which is unlike many politicians throughout the years. To go along with that he states that the public should let their opinions be heard. Then, he reaffirms his neutrality proclamation and says that people should stay pleasant towards all nations and that particular attachment to a certain nation is dangerous and bad. However, he was not against the people being informed about world issues. Also, he does not support isolation from nations, and tells the citizens that it is important to interact in the world community. Washington ends his speech by stating that he did not intend to make any errors, but he realizes that he is not perfect, and that he anticipates a nice life under the free government of the United States of America. This entire speech essentially summed up what his presidency stood for and restated his thoughts for what works and what does not work in a good nation.

LAD #6: Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality

LAD #6: Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality


Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality in 1793 is his statement that the United States would be impartial and friendly to all countries regardless of who they were fighting at the time. He also warns the citizens of America not to show any disposition towards any of these countries through their actions, and that they would be punished if they chose to do so. In essence, the whole proclamation was saying that the United States of America would remain neutral to all countries and not show any partiality.

Republican Motherhood Blog

Republican Motherhood Blog

1. What role did the Revolutionary War play in the transformation of housewifery to Republican Motherhood?

After the Revolutionary War, people began to respect the role that women played in society much more. They realized that women were a necessity to a strong republic and that they were the ones that trained the good citizens of tomorrow. Even the women thought this. As is written in From The Sentiments of an American Woman, women embraced the fact that they needed to "distribut[e] the mental nourishment to the fond smiling circle" (Doc C). Both genders agreed that women were crucial to creating a great society with virtuous people.

2. What were the consequences of Republican Motherhood on women?

While women were looked upon more fondly in American culture, they did not gain many more freedoms in society. She still did not have the right to vote after the revolution. Also, it took a very long time for women to grow out of this stereotype of being housewives. Even today, there is still discrimination against them. It was not until much after the revolution that women began to break out of gender roles and get jobs outside the home. Even in 1841, more than 50 years after the revolution began, people still viewed them as the trainers of good citizens (Doc A).

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

This was very significant in that it lead to great strides forward for women, ultimately leading them to be equal in basically every way politically to men. It encouraged women to become more educated, including them being exposed to many pieces of literature (Doc B). This eventually led to women that were so educated that they began to think "We should be more equal to men." That led to the feminist movement being started. However, this also set a stereotype for women that would last for years to come that they were supposed to be faithful housewives that raised the family's children to be good adults.



1. Describe the setting.

This portrait clearly was drawn of the woman and her two sons while they were in what appears to be the living room of their home. It is not a fancy house, but it is not a dirty one either. It appears to be the house of an average American at the time that it was drawn.

2. Who serves at the center of the portrait and why? How does the woman look? How is she "republican" rather than aristocratic.

The mother serves as the center of the portrait because she was the center of family life. She is dressed fairly nicely and has a smile on her face, as opposed to being upset or sad. One can tell that she is "republican" and not aristocrat because she is not wearing any over-the-top gown or jewelry, but she is fairly plain-looking.

3. What values do her sons exhibit?

Her sons exhibit loyalty for they are both depicted as being kind to their mother and not as upset or misbehaving. They also represent the care that the mother clearly has given them through their childhood because of how tidy and happy they appear.

4. Is there a significance to the position of Mrs. Tilghman's arm?

Mrs. Tilghman's arm represents her role as a mother. The boy that is in her arms in much younger than the boy that is not. This shows that the mother is caring for the children to build them into virtuous people that are ready for the real world. The younger child is still being taught how to be independent, but the older one has already been taught and seems to be doing quite well.

LAD #5: Federalist #10

LAD #5: Federalist #10

1. Why are factions so difficult to eliminate?

Factions are so difficult to eliminate because it is very difficult to do so without going against democracy. The only sure ways to destroy a faction is to take away liberties that are bestowed upon the people, which would go directly against what the Americans fought for in the American Revolution. The other way would be to make it so all people have the same goals and interests, which is not only very difficult, but would lead to a completely different form of government.

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

To control them, the government can remove the causes of the faction, which can be done by eliminating the freedom that allows it to exist. However, this would be the opposing the goals of democracy so the United States would not want to do this. The causes can also be removed by giving every single person the same opinions, passions, and interests, which would also not be smart and would be unfair. A better way to control the factions themselves are to control their effects and the extent of them. This is easy if the faction is in a minority because they can be outvoted. If it is in a majority, however, it is much more difficult to control. The goal would be to catch a minority faction early so that it does not turn into a majority ever. If a majority faction does rise though, the existence of a similar widespread goal should be prevented or the faction should be rendered unable to act upon its cause.