Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin free essay sample

Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin are frequently regarded to be two of the most influential figures in early American history. Both men contributed greatly to the founding of the nation and are considered to be two of the forefathers of the new country. While there are great similarities in both their public and political lives as well as within their personal lives. Even with the uncanny similarities with these two men, there are also slight differences as be expected of two different men.However, while their histories Intertwine a great deal and there are many historical roughhouses that the figures share, It is what they do not that Is of greatest interest. This is because each man brought a different set of understanding and skills to the nation. While both were great men and offered tremendous services to the country Individually, it is clear that the United States would be severely hurt without the contributions of both. We will write a custom essay sample on Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Thomas Jefferson is perhaps best known for being the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. He specifically coined the first lines of the second paragraph which laid the foundation for the American Revolution and American necromancy: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their Just powers from the consent of the governed, -That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it Is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish It, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its rowers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Benjamin Franklin, however, led a very different role with regards to the Declaration of Independe nce.In 1775, upon his arrival to Philadelphia, he was chosen as a member of the Continental Congress and assisted in editing the document that had already been forged. However, it is Franklins earlier life that contributed much to the birth of the united States. For most of Franklins early life, he worked as a businessman having started a printing house in 1730 and initiated he Union Fire Company, the first volunteer firefighting company in America, in 1736. In 1748, he retired from printing and created a partnership with his foreman, David Hill, who provided Franklin with half the shops profits for the next 18 years.This business was very lucrative and afforded Franklin the ability for leisure time and study and yielded many of his discoveries that made him famous through Europe and much of France. Of his investigations was his look into electricity, including his Lune 15, 1752 famous kite flight In lightning to test the reactions of electricity. However, Franklin understood the dangers of electricity ? as evident by his later invention of the lightning rod and properly insulated himself before the attempt in 1 OFF major fields of science: electricity and meteorology.In politics he proved very able both as an administrator and as a contro versialists; as an office-holder, he made use of his position to advance his relatives, though doing so was all but expected in a world dominated by political patronage. His most notable service in domestic politics was his reform of the postal system, but his fame s a statesman rests chiefly on his diplomatic services in connection with the relations of the colonies with Great Britain, and later with France. It was during this period that Franklin was involved in the creation of not only the aforementioned first volunteer fire department and free public library, but also many other civic enterprises. In 1754 he headed the Pennsylvania delegation to the Albany Congress. This meeting of several colonies had been requested by the Board of Trade in England to improve relations with the Indians and defense against the French. Franklin proposed a broad Plan of Union for the colonies. While the plan was not adopted, elements of it found their way into the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.In 1757 he was sent to England to protest against the influence of the Penn family in the government of Pennsylvania, and for five years he remained there, striving to enlighten the people and the ministry of the United Kingdom as to colonial conditions. At Oxford University Franklin was awarded an honorary doctorate for his scientific accomplishments and from then on went by Doctor Franklin. He also managed to secure a post for his illegitimate son, William Franklin, as Colonial Governor of New Jersey.In 1756, Franklin became a member of the Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures Commerce whose early meetings took place in coffee shops in Loons Covent Garden district, close to Franklins main London residence in Craven Street. After his return to America, Franklin became the Societys Corresponding Member and remained closely connected with the Society. The RASA instituted a Benjamin Franklin Medal in 1956 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Franklins birth and the 20th anniversary of his membership of the RASA.In 1758, he year in which he ceased writing for the Almanac, he printed Father Abrahams Sermon, one of the most famous pieces of literature produced in Colonial America. Jefferson early political history seems to stem from entirely different roots than did Franklins. Ata young age, Jefferson inherited about 5,000 acres of land and dozens of slaves from his father, out of which he created his home which would eventually be known as Monticello. He practiced law in Virginia and in 1772 Jefferson married a widow, Martha Walleyes Skeleton. Jefferson served in the Virginia House of Burgesses.In 1774, he wrote A Summary View of the Rights of British America which was intended as instructions for the Virginia delegates to a national congress. The summary was considered to be towards the radical side at the time in terms of the view of the colonies towards the British government. It was not followed by the Virginia delegates, but it was published nationally and won Jefferson some national admirers who agreed with his ideas and who were impressed by his writing ability. Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, and a source of many there contributions to American political and civil culture.The Continental Congress delegated the task of writing the Declaration to a committee which included Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. The Declaration alone. In his public life and on matters of religion, Jefferson was sometimes accused by his political opponents of being an atheist; however, he is generally regarded as a believer in Deism, a philosophy shared by many other notable intellectuals of his time (in contrast with Franklin who rebelled quite readily against his parents Christian teachings).Jefferson repeatedly stated his belief in a creator, and in the United States Declaration of Independence uses the terms Creator, Natures God, and Divine Providence. Jefferson believed, furthermore, it was this Creator that endowed humanity with a number of inalienable rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He was raised Episcopalian at a time when the Episcopal Church was the state religion in Virginia. Before the American Revolution, when the Episcopal Church was the American branch of the AnglicanChurch of England, Jefferson was a vestryman in his local church, a lay position that w as part of political office at the time. He later removed his name from those available to become godparents, because his beliefs opposed Trinitarian theology. Jefferson later expressed general agreement with his friend Joseph Priestley Unitarianism and wrote that he would have liked to have been a member of a Unitarian church, but there were no Unitarian churches in Virginia. While it may seem that Franklin and Jefferson shared different roots, their differences in religion loud be made up for with similarities in religious philosophy.Both men supported what Jefferson called a wall of separation between Church and State, which he believed was a principle expressed within the First Amendment: Because religious belief, or non-belief, is such an important part of every persons life, freedom of religion affects every individual. State churches that use government power to support themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of the church tends to make he c lergy unresponsive to the people and leads to corruption within religion.Erecting the wall of separation between church and state, therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society. This particular point about the two founding fathers is of note, as it is representative of a number of their other political philosophies. As can be seen from the above paragraphs, the early personal and political lives of Franklin and Jefferson differed greatly, especially in the areas of their upbringing. Contrast Jefferson early wealth with the fact that Franklins early life yielded birth in Boston, Massachusetts on January 17, 1706.Rather than being born to a wealthy landowner, Franklins father, Josiah Franklin, was a tallow chandler, a maker of candles, who married twice. Franklin also was one of seventeen children and was the tenth and youngest son. His schooling ended at ten and at 12 he became an apprentice to his brother James, a printer who published the New England Currant. And while Franklins early printing life was of interest: while a printing apprentice he wrote under the pseudonym of Silence Dogwood who was ostensibly a middle-aged widow. His brother and the Currants readers did not initially know the real author.His brother was not impressed when he discovered his popular correspondent was his younger, precocious brother. He left his apprenticeship without permission and in so doing became a fugitive. After this, Franklin did not really see wealth or success until he became self-made through his printing companies. So it is these a hand in shaping the nation, especially in their work on the Declaration of Independence, and believed very similar philosophies with regards to individual freedoms, political agendas, and religious practices.

The Causes of the American Civil War

The Causes of the American Civil War The causes of the Civil War may be traced to a complex mix of factors, some of which can be traced back to the earliest years of American colonization. Principal among the issues were the following: Slavery Slavery in the United States first began in Virginia in 1619. By the end of the American Revolution, most northern states had abandoned the institution and it was made illegal in many parts of the North in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Conversely, slavery continued to grow and flourish in the plantation economy of the South where the cultivation of cotton, a lucrative but labor intensive crop, was on the rise. Possessing a more stratified social structure than the North, the Souths slaves were largely held by a small percentage of the population though the institution enjoyed broad support across class lines. In 1850, the population of the South was around 6 million of which approximately 350,000 owned slaves. In the years prior to the Civil War almost all sectional conflicts revolved around the slave issue. This began with the debates over the three-fifths clause at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 which dealt with how slaves would be counted when determining a states population and as a result, its representation in Congress.   It continued with the Compromise of 1820 (Missouri Compromise) which established the practice of admitting a free state (Maine) and slave state (Missouri) to the union around the same time to maintain regional balance in the Senate. Subsequent clashes occurred involving the Nullification Crisis of 1832, the anti-slavery Gag Rule, and the Compromise of 1850. The implementation of the Gag Rule, passed part of the 1836 Pinckney Resolutions, effectively stated that Congress would take no action on petitions or similar relating to the limiting or abolition of slavery. Two Regions on Separate Paths Throughout the first half of the 19th century, Southern politicians sought to defend slavery by retaining control of the federal government. While they benefited from most presidents being from the South, they were particularly concerned about retaining a balance of power within in the Senate. As new states were added to the Union, a series of compromises were arrived at to maintain an equal number of free and slave states. Begun in 1820 with the admission of Missouri and Maine, this approach saw Arkansas, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Iowa, and Wisconsin join the union. The balance was finally disrupted in 1850, when Southerners permitted California to enter as a free state in exchange for laws strengthening slavery such as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This balance was further upset with the additions of free Minnesota (1858) and Oregon (1859). The widening of the gap between slave and free states was symbolic of the changes occurring in each region. While the South was devoted to an agrarian plantation economy with a slow growth in population, the North had embraced industrialization, large urban areas, infrastructure growth, as well as was experiencing high birth rates and a large influx of European immigrants. In the period before the war, seven of eight immigrants to the United States settled in the North and the majority brought with them negative viewpoints regarding slavery. This boost in population doomed Southern efforts to maintain balance in the government as it meant the future addition of more free states and the election of a Northern, potentially anti-slavery, president. Slavery in the Territories The political issue that finally moved the nation towards conflict was that of slavery in the western territories won during the Mexican-American War. These lands comprised all or parts of the present-day states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. A similar issue had been dealt with earlier, in 1820, when, as part of the Missouri Compromise, slavery was permitted in the Louisiana Purchase south of 36 °30N latitude (the southern border of Missouri). Representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania attempted to prevent slavery in the new territories in 1846, when he introduced the Wilmot Proviso in Congress. After extensive debate it was defeated. In 1850, an attempt was made to resolve the issue. A part of the Compromise of 1850, which also admitted California as a free state, called for slavery in the unorganized lands (largely Arizona New Mexico) received from Mexico to be decided by popular sovereignty. This meant that the local people and their territorial legislatures would decide for themselves whether slavery would be permitted. Many thought that this decision had solved the issue until it was raised again in 1854 with the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Bleeding Kansas Proposed by Sen. Stephen Douglas of Illinois, the Kansas-Nebraska Act essentially repealed the line imposed by the Missouri Compromise. Douglas, an ardent believer in grassroots democracy, felt that all the territories should be subject to popular sovereignty. Seen as a concession to the South, the act led to an influx of pro- and anti-slavery forces into Kansas. Operating from rival territorial capitals, the Free Staters and Border Ruffians engaged in open violence for three years. Though pro-slavery forces from Missouri had openly and improperly influenced elections in the territory, President James Buchanan accepted their Lecompton Constitution, and offered it to Congress for statehood. This was turned down by Congress which ordered a new election. In 1859, the anti-slavery Wyandotte Constitution was accepted by Congress. The fighting in Kansas further heightened tensions between North and South. States Rights As the South recognized that control of the government was slipping away, it turned to a states rights argument to protect slavery. Southerners claimed that the federal government was prohibited by the Tenth Amendment from impinging upon the right of slaveholders take their property into a new territory. They also stated that the federal government was not permitted to interfere with slavery in those states where it already existed. They felt that this type of strict constructionist interpretation of the Constitution coupled with nullification, or perhaps secession would protect their way of life. Abolitionism The issue of slavery was further heightened by the rise of the Abolitionist movement in the 1820s and 1830s. Beginning in the North, adherents believed that slavery was morally wrong rather than simply a social evil. Abolitionists ranged in their beliefs from those who thought that all slaves should be freed immediately (William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglas) to those calling for gradual emancipation (Theodore Weld, Arthur Tappan), to those who simply wanted to stop the spread of slavery and its influence (Abraham Lincoln). Abolitionists campaigned for the end of the peculiar institution and supported anti-slavery causes such as the Free State movement in Kansas. Upon the rise of the Abolitionists, an ideological debate arose with the Southerners regarding the morality of slavery with both sides frequently citing Biblical sources. In 1852, the Abolitionist cause received increased attention following the publication of the anti-slavery novel Uncle Toms Cabin. Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the book aided in turning the public against the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Causes of the Civil War: John Browns Raid John Brown first made a name for himself during the Bleeding Kansas crisis. A fervent abolitionist, Brown, along with his sons, fought with anti-slavery forces and were best known for the Pottawatomie Massacre where they killed five pro-slavery farmers. While most abolitionists were pacifists, Brown advocated violence and insurrection to end the evils of slavery. In October 1859, financed by the extreme wing of the Abolitionist movement, Brown and eighteen men attempted to raid the government armory at Harpers Ferry, VA. Believing that the nations slaves were ready to rise up, Brown attacked with the goal of obtaining weapons for the insurrection. After initial success, the raiders were cornered in the armorys engine house by local militia. Shortly thereafter, US Marines under Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee arrived and captured Brown. Tried for treason, Brown was hanged that December. Before his death, he predicted that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away; but with Blood. Causes of the Civil War: The Collapse of the Two-Party System The tensions between North and South were mirrored in a growing schism in the nations political parties. Following the compromise of 1850 and the crisis in Kansas, the nations two major parties, the Whigs and Democrats, began to fracture along regional lines. In the North, the Whigs largely blended into a new party: the Republicans. Formed in 1854, as an anti-slavery party, the Republicans offered a progressive vision for the future that included an emphasis on industrialization, education, and homesteading. Though their presidential candidate, John C. Frà ©mont, was defeated in 1856, the party polled strongly in the North and showed that it was the Northern party of the future. In the South, the Republican Party was viewed as a divisive element and one that could lead to conflict. Causes of the Civil War: Election of 1860 With the division of the Democrats, there was much apprehension as the election 1860 approached. The lack of a candidate with national appeal signaled that change was coming. Representing the Republicans was Abraham Lincoln, while Stephen Douglas stood for the Northern Democrats. Their counterparts in the South nominated John C. Breckinridge. Looking to find a compromise, former Whigs in the border states created the Constitutional Union Party and nominated John C. Bell. Balloting unfolded along precise sectional lines as Lincoln won the North, Breckinridge won the South, and Bell won the border states. Douglas claimed Missouri and part of New Jersey. The North, with its growing population and increased electoral power had accomplished what the South had always feared: complete control of the government by the free states. Causes of the Civil War: Secession Begins In response to Lincolns victory, South Carolina opened a convention to discuss seceding from the Union. On December 24, 1860, it adopted a declaration of secession and left the Union. Through the Secession Winter of 1861, it was followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. As states departed, local forces took control of federal forts and installations without any resistance from the Buchanan Administration. The most egregious act took place in Texas, where Gen. David E. Twiggs surrendered one-quarter of the entire standing US Army without a shot fired. When Lincoln finally entered office on March 4, 1861, he inherited a collapsing nation. Election of 1860 Candidate Party Electoral Vote Popular Vote Abraham Lincoln Republican 180 1,866,452 Stephen Douglas Northern Democrat 12 1,375,157 John C. Breckinridge Southern Democrat 72 847,953 John Bell Constitutional Union 39 590,631 The Causes of the American Civil War The Causes of the American Civil War Free Online Research Papers The Civil War was the bloodiest conflict ever fought in U.S. History. This war had divided the American Nation between the North (which was designated ‘The Union’) and South (which was ‘the Confederacy’). The causes of this war are very wide ranged and debatable. However, the most debated, relevant, and obvious causes would include: Conflicts of slavery, the election of President Abraham Lincoln, and the secession of southern states. The conflict of slavery has been the most debated cause of the entire conflict of the American Civil War. The north and south had many contradicting perspectives on the way a lifestyle should be. The north put forth an immense effort to push their beliefs of the immorality of slavery in order to get the forced servitude of human beings outlawed in all parts of the United States. The south, inverse to the northern principle, believed slavery was a necessity for the production of cotton that largely contributed to the economic growth of U.S. The standard southern ideology was that slaves were personal property of their owners, which was a southern principle that was protected under the Constitution of the United States. This disagreement was the first main stepping stone to the War Between the States. The election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the U.S. was the last straw, so to speak, for the south. As a result of Lincoln’s proposal of compensation emancipation and being referred to as the leader of a Black Republican party during his clash with Stephen Douglas, he was basically dubbed as an anti-slavery supporter. The south believed that, with Abraham Lincoln as president, they had no chance to gain the representation in the Senate and House that they believed they deserved. Due to Lincoln’s election, a month afterwards, South Carolina seceded the United States. South Carolina was later followed by Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and then Texas. As a consequence of Lincoln’s beliefs of preserving the Union, he privately attempted to persuade the seceded southern states to return. It was established the secession was illegal, though the constitution gave no power to stop it. So, as a result, the south drafted its own constitution and formed the Confederacy. Then shortly after, the Confederacy believed it was unnecessary for the Union forts to be in Confederate territory. When the Union ignored this claim, the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter. The attack on a Union Fort began the Civil War. So, to put it briefly, it was mainly the disagreements between two different ways of life that created the conflicts that lead to the bloodiest war in America’s history. Once the south lost hope in maintaining control in the Senate and House when Lincoln was elected, they alleged that their way of life was then threatened. So accordingly, the south revolted to preserve their lifestyle and become independent from Unites States, which was under the control of the faction (the Union) that had a contradictory way of life from the south. Research Papers on The Causes of the American Civil War19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceQuebec and CanadaThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationPETSTEL analysis of IndiaTwilight of the UAWAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Capital PunishmentAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeBringing Democracy to Africa

The Montessori pedagogy. Why has it become so popular in Norway when Essay

The Montessori pedagogy. Why has it become so popular in Norway when private schools are being established - Essay Example ities have had a strong influence on education policies concerning both the content of teaching and the management of schools (Darnell & Hoem, 1996; Lauglo, 1998). Operating parallel to this decentralized process, however, has been the states effort to exert more management and control over the schools in order to protect a democratic popular education. Such control is considered necessary for maintaining equality in education. In 1997, Norway developed a new national curriculum plan for primary and lower secondary schools. The 343-page plan (Laereplanen, 1997) is ideologically based on nationalism, is oriented both to children and to the community, and focuses on projecting methods and integrative strategies for teaching. The plan also stresses subject knowledge and explains, in detail, "what should be learned." Today, not only public schools but also private schools receive almost all of their funding from the state, and they must follow an overall state policy for education. The vast majority of students attend public schools. At the university and college level, only about 10 percent of students attend private institutions. At the upper secondary level, 4 percent are in private education. More than 98 percent of primary and lower secondary education students attend public state schools. Only a very few children are home schooled. For all intents and purposes, the state has a say in almost all school matters in Norway, and its reach is extending toward such alternative education methods as home schooling. As a result of the special geography and history of Norway, there is no historically rooted national upper class. While some children have learned from private tutors, or at Christian schools or other private schools, Norway does not have a strong tradition of private, upper-class schools. Some alternative schools at the primary and lower secondary levels were established by special interest groups for religious or other ideological