“Common Sense” by Thomas Paine

1.) "In short, monarchy and succession have laid (not this or that kingdom only) but the world in blood and ashes. 'Tis a form of government which the word of God bears testimony against, and blood will attend it. "

-This quote influenced the American colonists for several reasons. In this quote, Paine speaks of how the English monarchy feels toward the colonies. The monarchy does not care for the new colonies and leaves them in the "ashes", but nevertheless, they tax the colonists heavily. When Pain mentions blood, it is implied that he believes the only way to end the English monarchy’s rule is war.

http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/text.html


2.) "First.- The remains of monarchical tyranny in the person of the king. Secondly.- The remains of aristocratical tyranny in the persons of the peers. Thirdly.- The new republican materials, in the persons of the commons, on whose virtue depends the freedom of England."

-This quote affected the American colonists for the reason that it established the idea that the English monarchy did not care for the American colonists. It is made clear that the colonists are not free because of their ruler who is thousands of miles away, England.

http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/text.html

3.) "Let each colony be divided into six, eight, or ten, convenient districts, each district to send a proper number of delegates to congress, so that each colony send at least thirty. The whole number in congress will be at least three hundred ninety. Each congress to sit..... and to choose a president by the following method. When the delegates are met, let a colony be taken from the whole thirteen colonies by lot, after which let the whole congress choose (by ballot) a president from out of the delegates of that province. I the next Congress, let a colony be taken by lot from twelve only, omitting that colony from which the president was taken in the former congress, and so proceeding on till the whole thirteen shall have had their proper rotation. And in order that nothing may pass into a law but what is satisfactorily just, not less than three fifths of the congress to be called a majority. He that will promote discord, under a government so equally formed as this, would join Lucifer in his revolt."

-In this quote, Paine states that colonists should have a certain number of delegates for each district of land. The delegates would then vote for a president and that the laws of the land will pass through the delegates. Through this passage, Paine writes of a government system that the colonists should have. This quote impacted the colonists because the government they established is very similar to Paine’s ideas.

http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/text.html

What is Englightenment?

1. When Kant speaks of "Freedom" he means that one can only reach it when one is able to choose one's own decisions. He states that one will be free when one is not following the commands of another.


2.He feels that freedom is essential to enlightenment because one must be allowed to make one's own choices. One must free one's mind, free oneself from immaturity, and pursue one's path. Enlightenment requires freedom because one "must make public use of his reason in all matters".


3. People can become enlightened when they are no longer immature. People must not depend on others and people follow their own paths.


4. Kant relates enlightenment to politics by stating this is the "age is the age of enlightenment, the century of Frederick."

Pericles Funeral Oration

1. Pericles felt that Athens was great because of their form of government, a Democracy. He states that the Democracy put power in the hands of the whole people rather than a few.
2. Pericles states that Athens's Democracy serves as a model for other city states.
3. In Pericles's description of Athens, Pericles only speaks of Athens's greatness. He does not even mention any flaws that Athens has.

Offices of the Roman Republic

Consuls were the leaders of Roman provinces. There were two in power at a time, a plebian and a patrician. They had power of the senate and therefore they had authority over laws and Roman life. Consuls were also in control over the military. The American president is head of the state and is military in chief. There is only one president in power at a time. The president appoints ambassadors and meets with foreign leaders. The president also has power to veto any bills.

The Questors of the Roman Republic differ to the House of Representatives in many ways. First off, the Questors were originally appointed to look into criminal acts while the House of Representatives have sole power of impeachment. The House of Representatives gather evidence of any wrong doing in any of the three branches and turn information to the Senate. Questors were elected yearly by Comitia Tributa while members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years by the state they represent. By 276 BC, there were four Questers and there are currently 435 members in the House of Representatives.

The Roman Republic’s Senate was very different to America’s current Senate. There are 100 total members in the American Senate while there were 600 in the Roman Republic’s. Another huge difference in both is that the Rome’s Senate was solely made of males whereas America’s Senate is consisted of men and women.

Plato & Aristotle Notes

PLATO
-very well educated
-forefathers=kings
-aristocrat(rich/wealthy)
- mother married Pericles
-well educated
-teacher=Socrates
-created 1st university(Athens Academy)
-wrote dialogues
-invent concept of Hell, it was adapted by Christians
-come up with the story of Atlantis
-Write Symposium (love),The Laws(laws of humans), Apolgy(Socrates death speech), Atlantis(lost city)
-Socrates believed people were in control of their own destiny, not the Gods
-heavily influenced by Socrates
-3 class:
1. rational(upper class)
2. spirited(not rational/happy)
3. lower class(desiring)
-all 3 classes balanced each other out
-upper class got education because they could afford it
-upper class ruled
-classes defined by education

Aristotle
-philosoperher
-father= king's doctor
-enrolled at Athen's Academy at 17
-became a teacher there
-couldnt go home after Plato's death because his hometown was trashed by Mesadonians
-After Plato's death, he went to minor Asia and mrried the king's niece
-after the king died, he went to Pella
-he made close friends with the Macedonian king and the king asked him to tutor his son Alexander the Great
-he started his own school Lyceum
-spent his last years away from school in a private estate
-his idea that earth was the center of the universe was wrong
-Copernicuse then revealed that the sun was the center
-5 elemens= earth/wind/fire/ air/water
-he thought that the denser object fell first(wrong)
-Galileo prove that objects any size both fall at the same rate
-believed there was no evolution
-virtuous
-moral
-intellectual