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fandomhigh2006-01-18 01:07 pm
professor-lyman.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2006-01-18 01:07 pm
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US Government (Wednesday, January 18, 4th period)
Josh stopped his totally grown-up coloring project when his US government class came into the room. Putting the maps of Montana away, he stood up and reached for his notes.
"I could tell from the glazed looks on your faces--and in the case of Clarence, a certain degree of drooling--that you might not have picked up just how important the work of Enlightenment philosophers was to the thinking of the men who eventually founded the modern democracy of the United States."
"Let's back it up a bit. The 1500s and the first half of the 1600s in Europe were pretty much non-stop religious wars. After the political situation stabilized, there was a growing thought that maybe listening to only the churches--which were still very busy damning the other side to hell for their beliefs--to discover and understand, you know, all human knowledge was a bit of a bad idea. The Enlightenment began as a belief in a rational, orderly and comprehensible universe. And then the philosophers began wondering if the universe could be comprehensible, why couldn't governments make sense, too?"
He continued talking about the Enlightenment for another half-hour.
Finally he looked up from his notes. "Everyone still awake? Or mostly? Great. In John Locke's Second Treatise on Government, he claims that by the 'law of nature', every individual has the right to punish those who cause wrongful injury to their life, liberty or property." He looked up. "This might sound terribly familiar for any of you who have ever heard the line in the Declaration of Independence that claims, among other self-evident truths, our unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
He put his hands on his desk and looked around the room. "My question to you is, why do you think that Jefferson changed 'property' to 'pursuit of happiness' in the Declaration?"
He looked around. "Your homework for today is to find a copy of the Declaration of Independence and read it. Understanding it would be a bonus, but reading it is required. See you all on Friday, where we will be talking about the Declaration in excruciating detail."
"I could tell from the glazed looks on your faces--and in the case of Clarence, a certain degree of drooling--that you might not have picked up just how important the work of Enlightenment philosophers was to the thinking of the men who eventually founded the modern democracy of the United States."
"Let's back it up a bit. The 1500s and the first half of the 1600s in Europe were pretty much non-stop religious wars. After the political situation stabilized, there was a growing thought that maybe listening to only the churches--which were still very busy damning the other side to hell for their beliefs--to discover and understand, you know, all human knowledge was a bit of a bad idea. The Enlightenment began as a belief in a rational, orderly and comprehensible universe. And then the philosophers began wondering if the universe could be comprehensible, why couldn't governments make sense, too?"
He continued talking about the Enlightenment for another half-hour.
Finally he looked up from his notes. "Everyone still awake? Or mostly? Great. In John Locke's Second Treatise on Government, he claims that by the 'law of nature', every individual has the right to punish those who cause wrongful injury to their life, liberty or property." He looked up. "This might sound terribly familiar for any of you who have ever heard the line in the Declaration of Independence that claims, among other self-evident truths, our unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
He put his hands on his desk and looked around the room. "My question to you is, why do you think that Jefferson changed 'property' to 'pursuit of happiness' in the Declaration?"
He looked around. "Your homework for today is to find a copy of the Declaration of Independence and read it. Understanding it would be a bonus, but reading it is required. See you all on Friday, where we will be talking about the Declaration in excruciating detail."
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