Writing Assignment #1
Natural rights are rights obtained through natural law. They are the right to life, liberty and property and the pursuit of happiness. This means they are not given by any kind of government power or being. Therefore it's safe to say they cannot be defined. It is more or less the ability to make moral judgments, and differentiate between good and evil. Agency is vital when determining what is perceived as natural rights. By definition natural laws are the moral standards that govern our human behavior.
In our day to day activities, we are faced with making decisions that shapes who we end up becoming. For example choosing to steal from the gas station instead of just paying for it shows huge deficiencies in any moral
The Rule of Law promotes personal freedom and accountability.
Along with the Rule of Law, there is also the Rule of Will. This is when one’s power outweighs that of the other. For example, this would be, if the government decided to create laws that restricted our natural rights..they are many types of government but because of this discussion we going to concentrate on monarchies and democracies.
There are a lot of differences between a monarchy and democracy. In a monarchy there is really only one leader who makes all the decisions for the people.No doubt it is a good system if only your leader is a righteous leader. This system though has its downside in a sense that the fate of everyone in the community is based off what one individual tells you to do. What if that one leader wants you to pay a high tax that you don't want to pay, or he asks you to go to war over something that you don't even agree with? Then what do you do? In a monarchy the leader can misuse his power for personal gain. He can make himself rich and deprive the poor of their goods and possessions. These are some of the major flaws in having a monarchy control
Yet this form of government did come back to bite them in their back. Hence there is a need that democracy is practiced. One thing both “Common Sense” and “The Declaration of Independence” frowned upon was the autocratic rule of leaders without consulting their subjects to know their needs and problems. The will of the king is as much as the laws of the land which is handed to the people under a more formidable shape of an act of parliament. (Paine) Hence a bad king can declare war among his people and that makes him impeachable due to the system of monarchy. “And this is due to the pride of kings.” (Paine) Then this leader must be taken out. Even if it meant with force. Throughout history the people have always risen against tyrannical leaders who decided to use their power and position to their benefits alone. Remember King Noah and his wicked judges…..(Mosiah) Indeed “The cause of America was a great measure the cause of all mankind” Paine's common sense puts it. The British then were the powerhouses. They ruled large parts of Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East. The king of England was in substantial, king of the world. Yet when the citizens of the new world rose up and demanded for certain basic rights such as; to be part of the
Paine believed that America needed to break free of the British clutches. He spoke out against slavery and joined the army to help fight the war. He did not agree with hereditary monarchy and wrote another paper to argue this point (Franklin 321). Paine was very aware of his criticizers, and worked very hard to persuade them toward his way of thinking. In his pamphlet Common Sense he writes: "I have heard it asserted by some, that as America has flourished under her former connection with Great Britain, the same connection is necessary towards her future happiness, and will always have the same effect"(Paine 323). Paine states the following argument: ."..for I answer roundly, that America would have flourished as much, and proba...
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson appeals to patriotism. Jefferson ensures this by persuading the colonists to become self-governing. He tries to let all of the people of the New World understand that they have protested and defended themselves against the British for all of the corrupt acts the British have committed upon the colonists. Jefferson’s tone in the Declaration of Independence portrays how tiresome he has grown of the British rule after all of the deception towards Americans. Included within the idea of patriotism, is the idea of loyalty to the fundamental values and principles underlying American democracy. Thomas Paine also provides patriotism to get advocates for the movement to separate from the British forces. Correspondingly, Paine persuades Americans that they will prosper in numerous areas without the control of the British saying, “Is the power who is jealous of our prosperity, a proper power to govern us? Whoever says No to this question is an independent, for independency means no more, than, whether we shall make our own laws…” (Paine). Paine uses a demanding tone to convince Americans that if they should accept the ties with Britain, it will bring ruin and distress to the
Overall, Paine’s argument of what he believes the government of the American colonists should be underlines many principles of the Classical Christian Anthropology such as duality, a limited government, consensus and moral deliberation, decentralized government and reasonable expectations. He also uses principles from Rousseau’s Modern Anthropology when chastising Britain’s tyrannical government form, using examples such as the principle of unity, and an unlimited and centralized form of government. He is an advocate of the freedom of the American colonists, and a critic of Britain’s hypocritical and manipulative monarchy system, and in the end wants them both to just be free of each other, which is simply “Common Sense.”
a government in which all power belongs to one person : the rule or authority of a tyrant
As said in Thomas Paine?s 50- page pamphlet ?Common Sense? written in those times as a successful attempt to convince many Americans that independence from Great Britain was the only course of action possible, some people would argue that British government over America protected and defended them but as Thomas Paine put it, it was only for the sake of trade and domination. The reality is that wars between foreign powers caused by the British would not have started in the first place if Britain wasn?t there. The British did not protect America from any enemies but their own and whenever a war broke out between Britain and any other foreign power, the trade, and therefore the allowance to grow economically was ruined because of America?s connection to the British. Similarly, the French were driven into war against England to help Americas revolt with no reason but that of that the king feared and hated England. Because of this war, France sank into complete bankruptcy. Although the specific ways that the two nations were suppressed are obviously different, in general, both nations were drawn into o...
One of Paine’s argument and quite possibly the most important topic of his article is that the king of Britain and being under the monarchy is of no help to the colonies. Paine says that “Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil.” What Paine means by this is that is that have a having a set society and rules is a good thing but he feels as though having a strong set government and having a king rule over a nation like a dictatorship is evil and not something that should have control over all people. There were so many issues with how the king was chosen and who could become king such as there was no age limit, there
Six months before the Declaration of Independence is written in 1776, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense is published, causing a substantial amount of colonists to rebel against the British once and for all. This radical document doesn’t just sell 120,000 in a few months, it changes colonists’ thoughts and outlook regarding the British monarchy, and ultimately pushes the colonies towards independence from Great Britain. His pamphlet starts with a more hypothetical approach about government and religion, then transforms into the detailed problems between Britain and its colonies.
America’s history changed when the 13 colonies decided to become independent from Great Britain. Many incidents took place for America to achieve its independence from Great Britain. A revolution had to occur before Great Britain saw that its power over America was no longer accepted. The people in America suffered because of the way parliament was applying its laws and taxation over the colonies. The colonists had to make a choice to live in a society where the King could decide their future without knowing their issues, or to represent themselves as an independent colony and release their ties from Great Britain. There were three major causes of action in history that lead America toward revolution and independence against Great Britain. These were the Stamp Act, the Coercive Act, and the pamphlet Common Sense by Thomas Paine.
Monarchy is a method where a single person oversees the government. This head of state reigns within bounds of a constitution but still creates a single entity with extreme power. Personal beliefs often override best practices.
From the beginning, the United States has been a country at least somewhat divided by political differences. Even in the late 1700s when the Colonists began to consider becoming an independent nation, there were many citizens who were vehemently aghast at the idea of breaking away from their mother country. These two opposing forces were known as the Colonists and the Loyalists. Colonists, such as Thomas Paine, were massive supporters of American independence. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense used biblical references to appeal to the common people and convince them that becoming independent of Britain was the right choice. Paine wrote that the King of Britain was a “brute” and there should be no such leader of a free country such as America. Paine also wrote that in free countries such as America, the Law should be the ultimate King, and no other ruler should go before the Law. Paine also stated that it is a natural right for the colonists to create and uphold their own government. Finally, Paine implored h...
Thomas Paine anonymously wrote “Common Sense”, a pamphlet discussing the ideas of independence from Britain. This helped the colonists put their frustrations with their government into words. Paine wrote it so simply that anyone could understand his ideas, and it was quite persuasive. He says, “The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth.” (Baym 326) Essentially, Thomas Paine explains how independence from the monarchy would be a really wonderful thing, and he ultimately explains that this independence is inevitable. He talks about how Britain is the parent of America. He compares America to a child growing independent of its parents. Although at one point, America was “flourish[ing] under her former connection with Great Britain”, he says that now it is time for America to grow independent. He uses the example of a child who has been raised on milk never moving on to eating meat. Although the child grew a lot on milk, that doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t continue to grow by eating meat, by gaining more independence. (Baym 326) And he says that while Britain is their parent country, parents shouldn’t “devour their young,” or “make war upon their families.” (Baym 327) He’s using this extended parent example to show that America really doesn’t need a parent country anymore. This idea of total independence from Britain put a lot in perspective for Americans at the time. They became empowered and confident in this idea of
John Locke’s Natural Rights stated that all men have three rights they are born with: life, liberty, and property. The first right is life. When a person is created, they are given life. They have the freedom to do what they want with themselves. The next right is liberty. People are given liberty. When someone is born they are automatically given the liberty to move, breathe, talk, etc.; however, some liberty must be earned. The last right is property. While having property would make most people happy, some people may not be as satisfied. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson pulled these three main ideas from Locke and incorporated them into the document. While the life and liberty rights stayed the same, he altered the idea of
The Revolutionary War was one of America’s earliest battles and one of many. Although, many came to America to gain independence from Great Britain many still had loyalty for the King and their laws. Others believed that America needs to be separated from Great Britain and control their own fate and government. I will analyze the arguments of Thomas Paine and James Chalmers. Should America be sustained by Great Britain or find their own passage?
In his essay “Anarchical Fallacies,” Jeremy Bentham argues that “Natural rights is simple nonsense: natural and imprescriptible [i.e. inalienable] rights, rhetorical nonsense,—nonsense upon stilts” Bentham supports his conclusion that not only that these ideas are meaningless, but are also quite dangerous and that natural law is simply nonsense by stating the following reasons:
Law is one of the most important elements that transform humans from mere beasts into intelligent and special beings. Law tells us what is right and wrong and how we, humans, should act to achieve a peaceful society while enjoying individual freedoms. The key to a successful nation is a firm, strong, and fair code of high laws that provides equal and just freedom to all citizens of the country. A strong government is as important as a firm code of law as a government is a backbone of a country and of the laws. A government is a system that executes and determines its laws. As much as fair laws are important, a capable government that will not go corrupt and provide fair services holds a vital role in building and maintaining a strong country.