Something that really interested me in the History readings were all the Ordinances that were brought up and considered in America. The first ordinance was the Ordinance of 1784, created by Thomas Jefferson. He wanted to create ten new states in the area where modern day Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin are. He also wanted to have no slavery there. Also, the land was to be FREE to settlers! Personally, I think this idea was pretty good...maybe even my favorite. The second ordinance was the Land Ordinance of 1785. This was more cautious than the first (sadly) and was much more organized, precise, and long-term. The land was sold, not given for free. I think this was a great idea but maybe too structured. The third ordinance was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. This ordinance was more concerned about government than anything else. There was even a long three step process that a region had to go through to become a state! Personally, I think this ordinance was nicely structured and practical but a little complicated. In conclusion, I believe all these different ordinances and ideas really showed how the young America was growing.
In this week's government reading I found the amendments very intriguing. So far, 10,000 amendments have been offered over the last 200 years. Only 33 of these have been proposed and 27 have been ratified. This shows that to pass an amendment is a very laborious process and must be very well proposed and reflect the public views. I also found some of the amendments in the section of "ones summited but never proposed" interesting. In 1933 an amendment was summited that stated, "The wealth of any citizen may not exceed $1 million." I found this one interesting because if this had become ratified, it would have changed the United States of America. If it was passed it would have limited our freedom and people would not have as great an incentive to work hard. I find the failed amendment from 1990 also interesting, it states,"The flag shall be protected by the Constitution from physical desecration." I find this weird because we are still not allowed to burn flags even though it is not an amendment. I am thankful that amendments in the Constitution were thought through and carefully decided.
What I enjoyed reading was in this weeks government text which was the ratified bills. It was fun to read about how someone would go about trying to change or modify our constitution and how difficult this would be. That no one can pass a law without all the three braches of government having a majority vote for the bill. That even if the house and the senate pass it the president can just pocket veto it and it will not pass. This reading showed me how difficult it is to affect or change our constitution.
Something that I found interesting in this weeks text was the discussion of the Constitutional Principles. Despite many of the peoples differences, the government were able to find a "happy medium". This is easier said than done, for the government had to "strike a balance" between liberty and order. For a government to work, there must be order, otherwise bad things would occur. However, without freedom, a human would feel incomplete. The basic principlese they were able to agree on and eventually establish included, limited government, (this principle limits government to only those powers granted by law). The second basic principle includes the Separation of Powers. (this principle separates powers among different branches of governmnet in order to prevent any group or individual from gaining too much control). The third principle is the checks and balance theory, then lastly comes popular sovereignty. It was interesting to see how with the power of compromise, we can do great things.
I think what was interesting in this week history was the state borders. Our country has changed so much over the centuries; it's amazing! For instance, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut claimed what is now Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. Virginia also claimed Kentucky, North Carolina claimed Tennessee, and Georgia claimed part of Louisiana. Another part of Louisiana was disputed between Spain and the US. I wonder wen the states decided to become fifty, and rename themselves.
Something that I found interesting in this weeks U.S. History reading was in the section "Failures of the Confederation". One of the main weaknesses in the American under the Articles of Confederation was in the area of finances.The national government was very weak financially and was almost constantly broke or in debt. The poor finances in America was due to the lack of hard money (silver and gold) which resulted in Congress ordering the mass production of paper money. Unfortunately, because the government printed so much currency, its value dramatically dropped and eventually merchants would not take it. Another factor that contributed to the financial state in America was that each state had its own form of currency. The 14 different types of currency in America did not help to unify the states, but rather it separated them because each state felt like they were their own nation. This is one of the reasons why our Nation did not prosper under the Articles of Confederation.
While listening to the "Hail Columbia" song, there was one stanza which really stood out to me; "Firm, united let us be, Rallying round our liberty As a band of brothers joined Peace and safety we shall find" Our country was founded on this liberty which sets us apart from most other countries in the world. It's so weird how we could go from being bound as brothers and sisters through this distinct honor to become people who argue and do crazy things because we disagree on matters that aren't the most important. We have lost that tightly knit community that was obvious in the time of Martha Ballard. In the end, we are all humans and that is what is really important. We all have to go through this same journey that we call life, I think people need to realize that power wealth and all that is material and it isn't going to help them when they come to the end of this journey. I think that's something that was valued in the time of very early America; those early settlers brought this sense pride with them because of their limitless faith and trust and perseverance. Even though those ideas have faded and become harder to find, I think those values are still lingering in society.
When learning about the founding of our country, I realize that the preliminary problems are never mentioned. It seems like the Declaration always coms directly after the war; but so many steps, stumbles, and bruises that had to happen before the Constitution or Declaration were set in place. From 1776, to 1789 the Articles of Confederation were in action. During this time states acted as their own, disregarding the National government. Riots and conspiracies sprang up, such as the Newburgh Conspiracy and Shay's Rebellion. In 1885 the people took action, many were realizing that the Confederation was not working as planned. The Articles were written at a time when Americas thirst for freedom was blocking their sense of reality. A country needs limits to its liberties, and the new American government was not doing this. So a group of men convened, they sorted through the problems, and produced a series of compromises and laws that made up our Constitution. This convention was named the Annapolis Convention. While reading about the struggles our founding fathers endured for the strong government we enjoy, I realize that these men deserve so much respect and honor from the nation they formed.
Something I found fascinating in this week’s government reading is the growing National Debt. Since 2011, our national debt has more than doubled in value. In 2011, it was around seven trillion dollars. Now it is more than sixteen trillion dollars! Man’s selfish desire to tax us when it is the governments fault is unbelievable. The more in debt we go, the more we get taxed. Even now, the debt keeps rising. It rose so much that the government shut down! The whole government, every little system, national park, monument, and more were completely stopped because of the amount of debt we are in. All because of irresponsible spending. What are we gaining from this spending?
The thirteen battles (1787) were not actually “battles” like I thought they would be from the title of the section but were instead “battles” to ratify the Constitution in the thirteen states. What really made this section my favorite part from chapter 7 was reading when each state actually ratified or rejected the Constitution. The first state that ratified the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, and the last one was Rhode Island on May 29, 1790. It’s amazing to me that it took three years to actually ratify our Constitution
Something that really interested me in the History readings were all the Ordinances that were brought up and considered in America. The first ordinance was the Ordinance of 1784, created by Thomas Jefferson. He wanted to create ten new states in the area where modern day Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin are. He also wanted to have no slavery there. Also, the land was to be FREE to settlers! Personally, I think this idea was pretty good...maybe even my favorite.
ReplyDeleteThe second ordinance was the Land Ordinance of 1785. This was more cautious than the first (sadly) and was much more organized, precise, and long-term. The land was sold, not given for free. I think this was a great idea but maybe too structured.
The third ordinance was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. This ordinance was more concerned about government than anything else. There was even a long three step process that a region had to go through to become a state! Personally, I think this ordinance was nicely structured and practical but a little complicated.
In conclusion, I believe all these different ordinances and ideas really showed how the young America was growing.
In this week's government reading I found the amendments very intriguing. So far, 10,000 amendments have been offered over the last 200 years. Only 33 of these have been proposed and 27 have been ratified. This shows that to pass an amendment is a very laborious process and must be very well proposed and reflect the public views. I also found some of the amendments in the section of "ones summited but never proposed" interesting. In 1933 an amendment was summited that stated, "The wealth of any citizen may not exceed $1 million." I found this one interesting because if this had become ratified, it would have changed the United States of America. If it was passed it would have limited our freedom and people would not have as great an incentive to work hard. I find the failed amendment from 1990 also interesting, it states,"The flag shall be protected by the Constitution from physical desecration." I find this weird because we are still not allowed to burn flags even though it is not an amendment. I am thankful that amendments in the Constitution were thought through and carefully decided.
ReplyDeleteWhat I enjoyed reading was in this weeks government text which was the ratified bills. It was fun to read about how someone would go about trying to change or modify our constitution and how difficult this would be. That no one can pass a law without all the three braches of government having a majority vote for the bill. That even if the house and the senate pass it the president can just pocket veto it and it will not pass. This reading showed me how difficult it is to affect or change our constitution.
ReplyDeleteWhen checking our quiz, do our answers have to include all the underlined words to be considered correct?
ReplyDeleteHi Grace,
DeleteYour quiz should have something VERY similar, at least.
Something that I found interesting in this weeks text was the discussion of the Constitutional Principles. Despite many of the peoples differences, the government were able to find a "happy medium". This is easier said than done, for the government had to "strike a balance" between liberty and order. For a government to work, there must be order, otherwise bad things would occur. However, without freedom, a human would feel incomplete.
ReplyDeleteThe basic principlese they were able to agree on and eventually establish included, limited government, (this principle limits government to only those powers granted by law). The second basic principle includes the Separation of Powers. (this principle separates powers among different branches of governmnet in order to prevent any group or individual from gaining too much control). The third principle is the checks and balance theory, then lastly comes popular sovereignty. It was interesting to see how with the power of compromise, we can do great things.
I think what was interesting in this week history was the state borders. Our country has changed so much over the centuries; it's amazing! For instance, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut claimed what is now Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. Virginia also claimed Kentucky, North Carolina claimed Tennessee, and Georgia claimed part of Louisiana. Another part of Louisiana was disputed between Spain and the US. I wonder wen the states decided to become fifty, and rename themselves.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry. *when
DeleteSomething that I found interesting in this weeks U.S. History reading was in the section "Failures of the Confederation". One of the main weaknesses in the American under the Articles of Confederation was in the area of finances.The national government was very weak financially and was almost constantly broke or in debt. The poor finances in America was due to the lack of hard money (silver and gold) which resulted in Congress ordering the mass production of paper money. Unfortunately, because the government printed so much currency, its value dramatically dropped and eventually merchants would not take it. Another factor that contributed to the financial state in America was that each state had its own form of currency. The 14 different types of currency in America did not help to unify the states, but rather it separated them because each state felt like they were their own nation. This is one of the reasons why our Nation did not prosper under the Articles of Confederation.
ReplyDeleteWhile listening to the "Hail Columbia" song, there was one stanza which really stood out to me;
ReplyDelete"Firm, united let us be,
Rallying round our liberty
As a band of brothers joined
Peace and safety we shall find"
Our country was founded on this liberty which sets us apart from most other countries in the world. It's so weird how we could go from being bound as brothers and sisters through this distinct honor to become people who argue and do crazy things because we disagree on matters that aren't the most important.
We have lost that tightly knit community that was obvious in the time of Martha Ballard. In the end, we are all humans and that is what is really important. We all have to go through this same journey that we call life, I think people need to realize that power wealth and all that is material and it isn't going to help them when they come to the end of this journey. I think that's something that was valued in the time of very early America; those early settlers brought this sense pride with them because of their limitless faith and trust and perseverance. Even though those ideas have faded and become harder to find, I think those values are still lingering in society.
When learning about the founding of our country, I realize that the preliminary problems are never mentioned. It seems like the Declaration always coms directly after the war; but so many steps, stumbles, and bruises that had to happen before the Constitution or Declaration were set in place. From 1776, to 1789 the Articles of Confederation were in action. During this time states acted as their own, disregarding the National government. Riots and conspiracies sprang up, such as the Newburgh Conspiracy and Shay's Rebellion. In 1885 the people took action, many were realizing that the Confederation was not working as planned. The Articles were written at a time when Americas thirst for freedom was blocking their sense of reality. A country needs limits to its liberties, and the new American government was not doing this. So a group of men convened, they sorted through the problems, and produced a series of compromises and laws that made up our Constitution. This convention was named the Annapolis Convention.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading about the struggles our founding fathers endured for the strong government we enjoy, I realize that these men deserve so much respect and honor from the nation they formed.
Something I found fascinating in this week’s government reading is the growing National Debt. Since 2011, our national debt has more than doubled in value. In 2011, it was around seven trillion dollars. Now it is more than sixteen trillion dollars! Man’s selfish desire to tax us when it is the governments fault is unbelievable. The more in debt we go, the more we get taxed. Even now, the debt keeps rising. It rose so much that the government shut down! The whole government, every little system, national park, monument, and more were completely stopped because of the amount of debt we are in. All because of irresponsible spending. What are we gaining from this spending?
ReplyDeleteThe thirteen battles (1787) were not actually “battles” like I thought they would be from the title of the section but were instead “battles” to ratify the Constitution in the thirteen states. What really made this section my favorite part from chapter 7 was reading when each state actually ratified or rejected the Constitution. The first state that ratified the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, and the last one was Rhode Island on May 29, 1790. It’s amazing to me that it took three years to actually ratify our Constitution
ReplyDelete