Blog: Republican Motherhood

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

     The revolutionary war brought woman a whole new role in their society than they had ever had before. Woman were normally just looked at as looking after the house and the children when they really did much more than that and started contributing greatly to the war effort when all of the men were off fighting in the war.  With these new responsibilities the woman of the revolution began their new roles in society and can be seen as the ones who carried the revolution. The Revolution caused this to happen because the woman finally had a chance to step up and contribute something to their societies other than just being around their house. Soon into the revolution the colonial woman had new responsibilities such as becoming educated to allow themselves to contribute to their community and they would have to protect their property while their husbands were off to war. This education also allowed for the woman to pass their knowledge into their sons and teach them of the importance of the government and liberty.

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

                The consequences that woman had to face for trying to become more important and influential in their communities is that many men did not take them seriously. People thought that woman were not apt for doing anything other than being a house wife. The popular belief at that time was that the woman should just take care of the house when they had more things to offer than that. This common belief caused people to not accept the idea of woman having more power in the colonies. If they turned down their responsibilities in the house then they were not as accepted as the woman who did.

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

                The significance of the Republican Motherhood ideology is that it caused the woman during that time and in the future to realize they have opportunities for a role in their societies other than being a housewife. By becoming more educated and wanting to become responsible for more important things in their lives woman began pushing harder and harder to obtain this goal of being important in society. Republican Motherhood was the push that the colonial woman needed to realize that they wanted more responsibility.

               

1. The setting: There is a mother sitting on a couch with her two young sons without her husband. The room also is not very well lit but they all seem to be happy.
2. Who serves as the center of the portrait and why? How does the woman look? How is she “republican” rather than aristocrat? The center of the portrait is the mother because she is holding the two children. The woman looks young and wealthy. What makes her republican is that she is actually with her children and taking care of them rather than having a servant taking care of them like an aristocratic woman might. Also her husband is absent from the photo which might mean that she is more independent than other woman.
3. Her sons exhibit a bond with their mother because they all are very close in the picture and seem close to their mother so she must spend time with them and care for them.
4. The significance of the position of her arm is that she is holding her child close to her because she must have spent more time with her children because they all seem to care for each other and she is showing her motherly instincts by this position.

LAD #7: Washington's Farewell Address

When Washington’s second term as President to the United States was almost completed, he decided that he did not want to continue with the unlimited term that he was presented with. Washington in his address tries to assure the people that they will be left in the good hands of the Government and that he is giving a chance to other men to have the presidency title. He still had ideas of how he thought the government should be run and shared them in his address. Such as having a central government and having the states come together as one yet still be able to run themselves. He also still held on to his belief of neutrality and wanted the best for the United States and its people. Even in his farewell address Washington wanted to give the people what he thought was best and thank them for their loyalty to him and their country.

LAD #6: Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality

What Washington is saying in his Proclamation of Neutrality is that he does not want the American people under his power to partake in these wars that other countries are fighting in. No person is to take sides or aide the war in Europe in any way. He also states that if any person goes against this proclamation they will no longer be under America’s protection. They will also be persecuted if they take such actions and will be punished if they go against the proclamation because Washington really does not want America to become wrapped up in any more war related conflicts.

LAD #5: Federalist #10

1. Why are factions so difficult to eliminate?
            Factions are difficult to eliminate because they are made up of the citizens of a country who have banded together in a common interest that may go against what other people believe but is still their opinion. It is a normal and reoccurring thing for people to have one common belief and band together with others who share that same feeling. These people feel like they need to band together because if they are a minority or a majority they still want to be around others that feel the same way as they do and have people to fight beside for their beliefs. These factions are so hard to eliminate because the government cannot control the opinion of the people, it would go against their rights as human beings. It would also go against the ideals of the American government.
2.  If factions cannot be removed then how can they be controlled?
            Factions can not be stopped unless the people’s rights and sense of opinions are taken away but they still can be controlled or stopped from getting more popular. Factions can be more easily controlled when the government uses republican approaches. If the faction is small then the majority can vote them out or if the faction is a majority the government gives them the choice to surrender their faction for the good of the people. The only way to really control a faction is to either prevent it from happening or controlling the effects of the faction.

Blog #4: "Rethinking the Revolution" by John Ferling

 

Five things I learned after reading “Rethinking the Revolution” by John Ferling:

1. I learned while reading this article that the Civil War was known to some historians as the first modern war. This is because this war was the first war where cameras were available to take pictures and record events that happened in the war by the pictures that were taken which gave historians a much better look into this war than the previous ones. Although in Newspapers they still sketched out scenes from the battles to illustrate the paper.
2. Another reason why the Revolution is not as well remembered as the Civil war is because the all the army generals and every member of the revolutionary generation was gone from Congress so the important memories of the American Revolution were left to those who did not live through it to remember.
3. The civilian leaders of the American Revolution are much better remembered for the Revolution than the actual soldiers and generals that fought the battles which is opposite from the Civil War because the great war generals were greatly remembered for that war.
4. The Revolutionary War soldiers did not have as advanced weapons as those in the Civil War but the fighting styles were still very brutal because of this. The soldiers had to get so close to each other when they were fighting that sometimes the battles ended up in the soldiers having to resort to hand to hand combat as their weapon.
5. The conditions the American soldiers had to endure during the winter of the Revolutionary War, before the attack on Trenton, was so brutal that the soldiers had to resort to eating their shoes and melted candles along with bark and even dogs. The British barely ever had to face conditions as terrible as that.

LAD #3: Declaration of Independence

 Summarize the Declaration of Independence in three parts: Democratic principles, List of a handful of greivencs and a conclusion.

The Declaration of Independence consists of many new ideas for the time it was being written, 1776, to help benefit the people by giving them the liberty to do what they please while still maintaining boundaries. Many of these ideas and principles were democratic in nature to allow the people their freedoms. The democratic principles in the Declaration of Independence are that all men are created equal which includes the poor, the wealthy and blacks. Also that every person deserves a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and that the government is obligated to make sure the people are not denied their human rights. Another democratic principle is that if the government goes against their obligations the people have the right to decide whether or not they are to leave office. The democratic ideals are apparent because the Declaration of Independence was written for the people.

            The Declaration of Independence then goes on to list out America’s grievances from being under Britain’s rule to remind the people that the new laws that are being enforced will protect them from any unfair treatment by the government. Some of the grievances that the people of America are protected against that the King did to the colonists are dismissing the house of representatives whenever they disagree with his decisions, depriving the people from innocence until proven guilty by a jury, creating taxes without consent, sending out officers to harass the people without consent, cutting off trade with other countries and almost all together depriving the people from their human born rights.

            The Declaration of Independence was created for the American people and their rights as humans, making sure they are protected from the government. It officially separated the colonies from Britain’s rule and from the unfair treatment of the King. Containing many democratic ideals the Declaration of Independence is a secure document making sure that the people of America, in being independent from Britain, would never again be subjected to a government that controls them unfairly and gives the people the power to decide on how they are governed. This document is very important because it finally allows the people to partially govern themselves and gain control of their own lives instead of the government fully ruling over them.

LAD #2: Zenger

1. Who was John Peter Zenger?
        John Peter Zenger was a printer and editor for the New York Weekly Journal, hired by an opposition group against Colonial Governor William Cosby who was very controversial in his prosecution of the interim Governor of the time along with removing and replacing the Chief justice from court which angered many people.


   2. What was the controversy over his charges? Talk about Hamilton's defense.
         The prosecutors stated that Zenger was writing false information in his journals against Cosby but this was controversial because as Hamilton stated what Zenger was writing was actually true and  he could not be convicted of writing about facts in his journal.


3. What influence did his case have on American governmental tradition?
         This trial influences freedom of the press if what is being printed by the press is factual. From this case an example was also set against any unfair legal oppression in the courts.


4. What is the lasting significance of his trial? Explain.
        This trial holds lasting significance because Zenger was not unfairly charged because of his criticisms of Governor Cosby which therefore confirmed the freedom of the press in America and stopped the allowance of any unfair charges in the courts with the new defense of truth against any offense.
         

LAD #1: Mayflower Compact & Fundamental Orders of CT

1) What concepts are included in the Mayflower Compact? 
      The concepts of the Mayflower Compact include that all of the settlers coming to the New World are to follow a set of laws to allow their newly developing civilization to be orderly and be well preserved to honor their King and to provide the best for their colony.


2) How does the Mayflower Compact reflect and attachment to both the "Old" and "New" worlds? 
       The Mayflower Compact states that the colonists are coming to the New World for the honor of their King and their religion so they still respect the Old World but they are also beginning to make their own civilization away from their Mother Country, becoming more independent in the New World by establishing their own set of laws.

3) How did the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut differ from the Mayflower Compact? 
      The Fundamental Orders go into much more detail of the laws that are being established and more government positions are being created which allows the colonists to vote for their leaders (Governor, Secretary, etc.), committees and courts are also being established. Unlike the Mayflower Compact these Fundamental orders do not mention anything about maintaining the honor of the King because the colonists are becoming much more independent with creating these set of laws.

4) What prompted the colonists of Connecticut to take this approach to government, i.e.: use of a written Constitution? 
       The colonists wanted to maintain their civilization which was still developing in the New World and the way for them to do so was to create a set of laws and ways to choose their leaders who would do what was best for the people and the preservation of their colony. This more detailed and organized set of laws also helped the colonists of Connecticut become more independent from the Old World.   

 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?
     The Fundamental Orders reflects the colonies fear of an uprising by sending a deputy from every town into a meeting to discuss the complaints or problems of a town and gives the deputies the power to fine or seclude any member who is not following rules so if one member is angered by a decision of the meeting and does something that the rest of the members dislike the whole town could be cut off from adding to the meetings so no uprising could begin. Courts were allowed to call in anyone who is even in question of wrongdoing to make sure their colony stays unharmed from any destruction an uprising can cause which was constantly a worry in a newly developing civilization.