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Radical ideas during the american revolution
Radical ideas during the american revolution
Essay on American independence
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Charles Brockden Brown’s Edgar Huntly is an American novel that deals with fundamental questions that Americans faced in the decades following the creation of a new nation. Central to the question of American liberty was, and still is, the extent to which laws can infringe upon the individual’s right to act as they please. Thomas Paine, in his “Common Sense,” explored these ideas of justice and freedom while he explains the need for liberty in the “present state of America;” in which “Nothing is criminal; there is no such thing as treason; wherefore, every one thinks himself at liberty to act as he pleases...The first [English soldiers] are prisoners, but the latter [American patriots] traitors. The one forfeits his liberty, the other his …show more content…
Edgar Huntly, at the beginning of the novel, has not achieved this balance. Clithero points out, “You, like others, are blind to the most momentous consequences of your own actions” (35). Edgar, however, realizes that he needs to achieve this balance. He writes, “If forbearance be the dictate of wisdom, cannot it be so deeply engraven on my mind as to defy all temptation, and be proof against the most abrupt surprise” (15). His desire to use “wisdom” to “defy all temptation” describes the fundamental goal of natural law an inherent justice: to prioritize enlightenment ideas of reason over passions. Edgar achieves his own balance of natural law over his passions through analyzing Clithero’s behavior. He writes, “Reason was no less an antidote to the illusions of insanity like his, than to the illusions of error” (91). Here, Edgar describes how reason can counteract insanity. This is Brown arguing in favor of natural law; if Clithero properly used his reason, natural law would curb his passions and be a solution to his problems. Brown employs the language of duality and unity to describe insanity and natural law: Edgar asks, “Was it possible to bring them together; to win the maniac from his solitude, wrest from him his …show more content…
Paine’s situation is different, because the law at his time of writing was the in flux between monarchy and democracy, whereas Brown was writing in the early years of the republic. They both, however, are in favor of letting natural law dictate the laws of the government. The figure that most embodies this is Mrs. Lorimer. Brown writes “her justice was inflexible: She knew full well the incurableness of his depravity; that banishment was the mildest destiny that would befall him; that estrangement from ancient haunts and associates was the condition from which his true friends had least to fear” (46). Mrs. Lorimer’s “inflexible” ideas justice counteracts natural law and results in the estrangement of her beloved brother. Justice as dictated by the state is similarly inflexible and often needlessly punitive, in Paine and Brown’s beliefs. The primary criticism of the use of governmental law over natural law comes when Edgar learns of Clithero’s murder. The former asks, “Shall we impute guilt where there is no design? ...Shall we deem ourselves criminal because we do not enjoy the attributes of deity?” (87). Here, he is questioning if governmental law and natural law should judge the acts themselves or the intent behind them. Edgar believes that Clithero is a good man, and struggles with how to address the acts he’s committed. Another instance of
...his seemingly routine case of fornication and premarital pregnancy proved to be significant for early American legal history. The unfolding of this story and the legal changes that it brought about makes evident that by the end of the seventeenth century, The Eastern Shore had shaped a distinct legal culture. The characters involved in each case also revealed the extent the powerful players were able to shape the law to their own self-interests. The goal of the powers to be was to protect property interests, protect personal reputation and liberty, and to maintain social order.
Holton, Woody. Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution. New York: Hill and Wang, 2007.
When it comes to the topic of the American Revolution, most of us will readily agree that it influenced essentially every code of ethics in today’s society. Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine address an identical topic. That is, they both provided inspiration to the American Revolution cause. Patrick henry on one point of view, speaks of the harshness of the British rule over the American colonies. In his statement, Patrick Henry addresses the oppressive British rule and emphasis grounds to maintain basic human rights. “Common Sense”, on the other hand stresses on the trials and tribulations of the American colonies under the British rule. With the use of persuasion in their writings, both Henry and Paine support the war against the Great Britain.
People begin to think and form an opinion at an early age. Some of our opinions may be immature at first; however over the years, one’s opinions tend to grow and develop. As people become more mature, we stop listening and following our parent’s beliefs and start to form and follow our own. When one sits, and ponders, questions such as: how did the world come into existence, how long did it take, was it our twenty-four hour six days compared to the time before Christ? Although we may not realize it at the time, we are actually forming our own world-view upon answering these questions. In The Age of Reason, Thomas Paine stands for his own world-view and his belief system. Although I may not agree with everything he stands for, he gives a clear explanation as to why he believes what he does.
In Eric Foner’s book, The Story of American Freedom, he writes a historical monograph about how liberty came to be. In the book, his argument does not focus on one fixed definition of freedom like others are tempted to do. Unlike others, Foner describes liberty as an ever changing entity; its definition is fluid and does not change in a linear progress. While others portray liberty as a pre-determined concept and gradually getting better, Foner argues the very history of liberty is constantly reshaping the definition of liberty, itself. Essentially, the multiple and conflicting views on liberty has always been a “terrain of conflict” and has changed in time (Foner xv).
In this paper I will explain and discuss the historical events that took place in a small rural town in early Massachusetts. The setting for which is Irene Quenzler Brown's and Richard D. Brown's, The Hanging of Ephraim Wheeler. I will explain the actions and motives of Hannah and Betsy Wheeler in seeking legal retribution of husband and father Ephraim Wheeler. I will also discuss the large scope of patriarchal power allowed by the law and that given to husbands and masters of households. Of course, this will also lead to discussions of what was considered abuse of these powers by society and the motivation for upholding the Supreme Court's decision to hang Ephraim Wheeler.
“Give me liberty or give me death!” This statement from Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention,” delivered to the House of Burgesses, has been quoted by many, becoming almost cliché. However, the declaration is truly understood by a select few. The unjust Stamp Act passed by the British crown in 1765, brought fame and notoriety to Henry as he spoke out against the unjust taxation without representation. Ten years later on the eve of revolution, Henry calls upon the Colonial government of which he is part, to act for the betterment of the people.
As more immigrants immigrated to the colonies and established lives in colonial America, the colonist began to incorporate their ideas of freedoms, rights and tolerance in legal documents. Some legal documents, such as Maryland’s Toleration Act, illustrate the colonists’ belief in freedom and rights often connected to democracy. Other official documents, for...
Foner, Eric. "Chapter 9." Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Brief Third ed. Vol. One. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. N. pag. Print.
In Henry Thoreau’s essay, Resistance to Civil Government, the harmless actions he takes to rebel against the government are considered acts of civil disobedience. He talks about how the government acts wrongful such as, slavery and the Mexican-American war. This writing persuades Nathaniel Heatwole, a twenty-year-old college student studying at Guildford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, to take matters into his own hands, by smuggling illegal items on multiple Southwest airplanes. The reason in that being, is to show the people that our nation is unsafe and dangerous. In doing this, he takes his rebellion one step too far, by not only jeopardizing his life, but as well as many other innocent lives.
However, the author 's interpretations of Jefferson 's decisions and their connection to modern politics are intriguing, to say the least. In 1774, Jefferson penned A Summary View of the Rights of British America and, later, in 1775, drafted the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (Ellis 32-44). According to Ellis, the documents act as proof that Jefferson was insensitive to the constitutional complexities a Revolution held as his interpretation of otherwise important matters revolved around his “pattern of juvenile romanticism” (38). Evidently, the American colonies’ desire for independence from the mother country was a momentous decision that affected all thirteen colonies. However, in Ellis’ arguments, Thomas Jefferson’s writing at the time showed either his failure to acknowledge the severity of the situation or his disregard of the same. Accordingly, as written in the American Sphinx, Jefferson’s mannerisms in the first Continental Congress and Virginia evokes the picture of an adolescent instead of the thirty-year-old man he was at the time (Ellis 38). It is no wonder Ellis observes Thomas Jefferson as a founding father who was not only “wildly idealistic” but also possessed “extraordinary naivete” while advocating the notions of a Jeffersonian utopia that unrestrained
Reynolds, Larry. “Patriot and Criminals, Criminal and Patriots.” South Central Review. Vol 9, No. 1.
Human nature is a conglomerate perception which is the dominant liable expressed in the short story of “A Tell-Tale Heart”. Directly related, Edgar Allan Poe displays the ramifications of guilt and how it can consume oneself, as well as disclosing the nature of human defense mechanisms, all the while continuing on with displaying the labyrinth of passion and fears of humans which make a blind appearance throughout the story. A guilty conscience of one’s self is a pertinent facet of human nature that Edgar Allan Poe continually stresses throughout the story. The emotion that causes a person to choose right from wrong, good over bad is guilt, which consequently is one of the most ethically moral and methodically powerful emotion known to human nature. Throughout the story, Edgar Allan Poe displays the narrator to be rather complacent and pompous, however, the narrator establishes what one could define as apprehension and remorse after committing murder of an innocent man. It is to believe that the narrator will never confess but as his heightened senses blur the lines between real and ...
John Stuart Mill discusses the concept of liberty in many ways. I’d like to focus on his ideas of the harm principle and touch a little on his thoughts about the freedom of action. The harm principle and freedom of action are just two subtopics of Mill’s extensive thoughts on the concept of liberty. Not only do I plan to discuss and explain each of these parts of the conception of liberty, but I also plan to discuss my thoughts and feelings. I have a few disagreements with Mill on the harm principle; they will be stated and explained.
... reason. When the character remains reasonable, they face an inner pain, whether it be guilt, passion or confusion. Rather than suffer with this pain, the characters abandon reason and succumb to the overbearing strength of emotion. Ophelia, reasonable despite being unforgiven, loses her sanity to emotional melancholy and ends her life with poison. Harriot, who was just before owner her virtue, gave her life away to passion thinking that reason is unable to aid suffering in patience. And Harrington, who makes no attempt to reclaim his clear mind, is driven to death because he fails to direct his thoughts elsewhere, even when urged to. The sentimental forces in this novel initiate a thought of suicide. The characters develop the thoughts individually, yet all give in to the powers of passion due to their lost sense of reason and overbearing sentimental thoughts.