Readings

Question 1

John Winthrop’s “Little Speech on Liberty”

Answer 1

Freedom is submitting to God through covenants, not freedom where
“individuals” could do as they please.
2 forms of liberty civil and natural liberty
civil liberty assumes there is a covenant between God and man
a real civil society is not possible without covenant relationships must include God

Question 2

A few of Sandel’s main arguments

Answer 2

Sandel identifies 3 key values of human society freedom virtue welfare
Queues treat us as equals markets favor rich over the poor
morality in society matters, we are bound to ties we have obligations beyond consent
Need morality in making decisions as a society and creating a good life.
we can’t talk about justice without talking about the good life

Question 3

Sandels 3 obligations / duties

Answer 3

1. natural duties: universal don’t require consent
2. voluntary obligations: particular require consent
3. obligations of solidarity: particular don’t require consent

Question 4

Main arguments of Brennan and Jaworski

Answer 4

If you can do it for free you can do it for money
not in favor of queues, think you should be able to pay someone to stand in a queue for you
let the market rule

Question 5

James Madison: “The Vices of the Political System of the United States”

Answer 5

written to prepare for the Philadelphia constitutional convention, made a list of vices
examples include:
failure of states to comply with constitutional requisitions, states encroaching on federal authority, violations of the law of nation and treaties, states trespassing on each other, etc.

concerned about state gov. taking rights/liberties of the people
basically, he was upset at the way the states were acting and wanted a stronger federal government and a uniformity of law for states,

Question 6

James Madison and Thomas Jefferson “Correspondence on a Bill of Rights”

Answer 6

Jefferson - wanted a bill of rights (some is better than none) people need to be protected from the strong gov. they were creating, people are entitled to it, what the general gov. doesn’t give it will reserve

Madison: argues rights are already implied, and states give people these rights already, you can’t list them all and you don’t want to leave any out, already limited power of federal gov.

Question 7

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments

Answer 7

first important gathering for womens rights
argued men and women are created equal, self evident truths, (uses the declaration of independence to argue her point) women should have all the rights given to men, women are being denied lots of rights they are civilly dead they have no property or wages, aren’t morally responsible, can’t divorce, no authority in church etc.

Question 8

Susan B. Anthony “Is it a crime for a citizen of the US to vote?

Answer 8

feminist and anti slavery person
she tried to vote and was fined for it
We the people = not just men
the only question to be answered now is are women persons?
asks for people to exercise their long neglected right and to go and vote and for the people at voting stands to let them vote

Question 9

Frederick Douglas “What to the slave is the fourth of July?”

Answer 9

Constitution is an antislavery document, americans are hypocrites, slavery is an enemy to improvement and a lie to christianism, constitution NEVER says anything about slavery and was meant to end it.

Question 10

Henry David Thoreau “Civil Disobedience”

Answer 10

was thrown in jail for failing to pay taxes
argues that gov. that governs least is the best, wanted a better gov.
Argues gov. are based on majorities that decide whats right and wrong but that it should be left to the conscience to decide that
argues minorities are powerless

Question 11

John C. Calhoun “A disquisition on government”

Answer 11

argued for states rights

argued that north and south BOTH had to agree before any changes were made Need to keep gov. from abusing power

Question 12

George Fitzhugh “Cannibals all or slaves without masters”

Answer 12

argued slavery was the natural condition of most of mankind

the north industrial workers were better off than the slaves who are “free” when the day is over

Question 13

APT Frederick Jackson Turner, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” (pp. 379-382).

Answer 13

Turner argues it is the western frontier that develops social america and produces individualism. (closer to east coast = more european further west = american) could compare it to jeffersons yeoman farmer
west pushed for suffrage

Question 14

Gene Sperling, Economic Dignity, Chapter 2

Answer 14

dignity seems to be tied to the notion of equality
the definition of dignity has changed from elevated status of a few persons, to being part of being human connected to capacity for self determination, modern definition is that each of us has universal value and should be respected and defended
Most of civil rights and economic justice arguments stem from this idea of creating dignity

Need to prevent states from trampling on economic dignity ex: min wage

Teddy Roosevelt protected negative dignity: ex: labor unions, rights of the laborer
negative dignity: involves protection from gov. and market abuse

FDR promoted positive dignity: requires the affirmitive use of public resources to ensure that basic elements of economic security / opportunity that are key to dignity ex: social security

Question 15

CR: The Economist, “Segregation Still Blights the Lives of African-Americans”

Answer 15

During the civil rights movement Colored people were still being treated unfairly, MLK argued that something needed to be done soon
This article explores even further the wealth gap that continues to exist and household income gap
Argues that addressing segregation is of key importance because most of the other problems such as exposure to violence, segregated schooling, stereotyping are traced back to it

Question 16

CR: Richard V. Reeves, “Saving Horatio Alger”

Answer 16

Article that talks about the “rags to riches” stories and how those are becoming more and more impossible statistically as the income gap increases which is also tied to a race gap. these gap lead to gaps in education, community activism, volunteering sports, etc.

Question 17

CR: Brennan and Jaworski, “If You May Do It for Free, You May Do It for Money”

Answer 17

Anything you can do for free you can do for money except:
if its inherently wrong to even have in the first place
if there are incidental limits (ex: promised not to sell it) or inherent limits to markets some things people normally allowed to possess but should not be for sale

Question 18

Russell H. Conwell, “Acres of Diamonds” (pp. 350-351)

Answer 18

speech designed to justify and encourage the common man to pursue a path of wealth
a motivational speaker that told people anyone can be wealthy, its your duty to get rich to make money is to preach the gospel money is power, and you can do more good with it than without it, if you wish to be great begin where you are and what you are

Question 19

William Graham Sumner, “What Social Classes Owe to Each Other” (pp. 398-404)

Answer 19

Argues that social classes owe each other.
article about the “forgotten man” philanthropists and government thinks that the rich owe the poor and the forgotten man is caught in the middle forced to help others.
argued for laissez faire economic, your dudty is to take care of yourself, people do not owe each other,

Question 20

Theodore Roosevelt, “The New Nationalism” (pp. 432-435)

Answer 20

Focus on taking power from large corperations, was a progressive, argued that political machines take away popular will and that everyone should have the opportunity for advancement
solutions for this are to have corporate activity be publicized, create laws against using corporate funds for politics, stopping monopolies, argued for a strong national gov. ruled by the voice of the people

Question 21

Woodrow Wilson, “The New Freedom” (pp. 436-439)

Answer 21

promised a limited gov. and an anti-trust agreement to shrink the size of corporations, argued that problems of today are not what they used to be, and the old ways of gov. won’t work anymore, wants to protect individuals and monitor corporations

Question 22

Herbert Croly, “The Promise of American Life” (pp. 474-480)

Answer 22

writer during progressive period, argue for abondoning jeffersonian tradition and embracing hamiltonian theory of big gov.
an individual should be able to exercise his rights and be provided a fair playing field where he has opportunity for success
doesn’t mean uniformity of wealth but there should be conditions imposed on economic leaders that forces them to have responsibility attached to their power
use democratic organization for the joint benefit of individual distinction and social improvement

Question 23

APT: Herbert Hoover, “Rugged Individualism Speech” (pp. 505-507)

Answer 23

wanted to balance traditional rights of individuals and responsibility to society

gov. is responsible to lessen inequalities for industries and individuals

business progressiveness is dependent on competition

task of gov. is to determine to what extent gov. should regulate and control commerce and industry and how much to leave it alone

Question 24

APT: Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Commonwealth Club Address” (pp. 508-512)

Answer 24

pledged a New deal for the people
Roosevelt favored active gov. involvement to improve the economy, and argues america is on the path to economic oligarchy man should have a right to make a comfortable living, to property and the pursuit of happiness and industrial business have an obligation to make sure men have the opportunity to these rights

Question 25

CR: Franklin D. Roosevelt, “The Second Bill of Rights”

Answer 25

freedom from want and freedom from fear
Argues that the nation was founded on individual rights but the nation has grown and these rights aren’t enough to ensure equality in the pursuit of happiness
protection from economic fear, right to a good job, ability to provide adequate food, securtiy

Question 26

Herbert Hoover, “The Fifth Freedom”

Answer 26

Fifth freedom = economic freedom
We seek for the four freedoms, speech, religion from fear from want

There is a fifth: economic freedom
this freedom is crucial for all others to be realized

Question 27

Albert Jay Nock, “Life, Liberty, and …” (pp. 513-514)

Answer 27

critic of the new deal drew from jeffersonian thinking
wants a smaller gov. jefferson argued gov. should mind its own business
the only responsiblity of gov. is to protect against trespasses of neighbors and leave people alone
Americans need to wake up to what the state is doing do they want to live in servitude and be slaves, give up their happiness?

Question 28

APT: Andrew Carnegie, “The Gospel of Wealth” (pp. 405-407)

Answer 28

Argues that the rich are trustees for the poor. Argues it is not bad to have an income or wealth gap but that men should become rich and then give to the poor. It is better that some are well off than none, people are way better off today than their ancestors

Question 29

APT: Emma Goldman, “Anarchism” (pp. 470-473)

Answer 29

argues in favor of anarchism, anarchism stands for violence and destruction it is the only philosophy that brings a man to sonciousness of himself maintaining that God the state and society are nonexistent,
gov. only takes away liberty
human laws are invalid because they are contrary to the laws of nature, no real social change comes without a revolution

Question 30

APT: Betty Friedan, “The Feminine Mystique” (pp. 610-612)

Answer 30

helped jumpstart feminist movement
question of: “is this it” women are told to seek fulfillment in roles as wives and mothers and in their femininity, discouraged from having careers, women thought that if she had a problem something was wrong with herself,
Women have this search for identity and they need this to become fully human and grow and fulfill potentialities as human beings

Question 31

Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham City Jail” (pp. 597-601)

Answer 31

Luthers responses to southern ministers expressing concern about civil unrest

Luther argues for peaceful protest
4 steps to a nonviolent campaign
1 - collection of facts to determine if injustice exists
2 - negotiation
3 - self purification
4 - direct action 

Argues that people should be able to break unjust laws but should be willing to be accountable to those actions
laws are unjust when they are used to maintain segregation or when they are not in harmony with the moral law

Question 32

Malcolm X, “The Ballot or the Bullet” (pp. 605-609)

Answer 32

violence is necessary in lifting yourselves out of oppression, liberty or death, they have waited for too long, and freedom won’t come without action

Question 33

CR: William A. Darity, Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen, From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-first Century, Chapter 2, “The Myth of Equality”???

Answer 33

argues that there is still a huge economic gap and discrimination
argue 3 key errors that must be corrected 1 racism and discrimination no longer exist 2 - no longer economic disparities between black and whites 3 - no residual racial economic disparities

Question 34

Young Americans for Freedom “The Sharon Statement” (p. 584)

Answer 34

most important thing is individuals use of God given free will, free from restrictions of arbitrary force, the only purpose of gov. is to protect those freedoms, political freedom can’t exist without economic freedom, market economy should rule when gov. interferes it reduces the moral and physical strength of the nation, foreign policy should be judged by wheter it serves the just interests of the US

Question 35

APT: Students for a Democratic Society, “The Port Huron Statement” (pp. 585-589)

Answer 35

anti war (vietnam)

men are full of unfulfilled capacity for freedom and love
people are interdependent on each other
individual should share in social decisions determining quality and direction of life
political life should be an instrument for people to express grievances and where opposing views are brought to light
economic principles should be based on idea that work should be self directed, creative, educative,

institutions should be organized with the well being of man in mind

Question 36

Jerry Rubin, “A Yippie Manifesto”

Answer 36

We protest \_\_\_\_
rebel against everything
war, 
long hair is a symbol that they are against gov.
for anarchy
don't like the education system

Question 37

APT: Ronald Reagan, “First Inaugural Address” (pp. 640-642)

Answer 37

argued gov. is not the solution but the problem, if people can’t govern themselves who has the capacity to govern someone else, wanted to pull back on spending nation can’t live beyond their means

Gov. only has power granted by the people

wanted to put america back to work and make the gov. work better and foster productivity
remove roadblocks that have slowed the economy

Question 38

APT: Michael Walzer, “What Does It Mean to Be an American?” (pp. 656-659)

Answer 38

the idea of manyness in oneness, example of eagle holding all of the arrows,
people allow each other to be who they are,
hyphenated americans
they can be attentive conscientious citizens based on liberal not republican model
- ethnic and religious groups can intervene in political life to defend themselves and advance the common interest
2- the primary political commitment of individual citizens is to protect a democratic framework where they are free to pursue their own activities

Question 39

CR: Barack Obama, “Eulogy at the Funeral Service in Honor of Reverend Clementa Pinckney” (pp. 673-767)

Answer 39

argues that we do need to bring morals into gov.
pickney was a reverend who was murdered,
can’t be blinded to past injustices anymore, america needs to do something, we need to realize that racial bias can infect us even hen we don’t realize it,
need to recognize common humanity

Question 40

CR: President Spencer W. Kimball, “The False Gods We Worship”

Answer 40

the Lord expects righteousness and obedience to commandments,
people are worshiping idols, money and things, need to have a focus on the kingdom of God