Take a look at our Constitution, specifically Article One, Section Eight, which describe the powers granted to Congress, our national legislative branch.
Based upon these 18 powers/responsibilities please share what qualifications or experience do you believe members of our legislative branch should have in order to carry out these powers well.
As is our practice, comment below and then reply to the comments of two others.
This is the time of year that our Frosh overnight trip usually occurs! I WILL find a way to recreate that experience, somehow, some way : )
In the meantime, I'd like to hear about school excursions that you participated in that were more memorable than not. You may share:
No need to reply to others on this blogger entry...
I look forward to reading through your responses!
Respond to the following question/prompt in the comment section below.
Why may the Preamble (introduction) of the Constitution be important to understanding the direction our nation will take?
As is our practice we will reply to two of your classmates.
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
With the American Revolution over and the Proclamation Line of 1763 now removed, Americans wish to begin encroaching upon the western lands that belong to First Nations' people. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set up a number of guidelines for territories to have in place before they can qualify as actual states. Look at those requirements mentioned in our readings and respond to this prompt in the comments section. If our notes missed this, feel free to look back at the textbook itself:
Which requirement to become a state that was placed upon a territory do you see as important, maybe even the most important?
Tell us why you think that requirement mattered.
As is our practice, we will reply to the comments of two others.
During the American Revolution our nation governed itself using the Articles of Confederation. Take a moment to look over our readings and follow these instructions when commenting in the section below:
Identify a specific flaw or shortcoming in the Articles of Confederation that kept the government from being efficient (This will be your opinion). Then offer a guess at why they included that shortcoming in their government. What was their priority?
As is our practice we will reply and give feedback to two other commenters. It is totally expected that we will have similar ideas, don't worry about that at all. Simply we wish to attempt to offer as many unique perspectives on this topic.
With the Continental Army's victory at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, the American Revolution ends with a British withdrawal. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 grants the new nation a significant claim to territories in the Americas. Governing this large nation is a real challenge with not many models to follow.
The First Nations' empire of the Iroquois will be the first model that the new nation looks to and that Confederation style of government is attempted by the United States.
The key issue is of course is not replacing British Rule with something that is just as oppressive.
Answer this question in the comments and is our practice, reply to two others:
What is the
easiest way to guarantee that a new national government can never become
oppressive? What choices can be made in its design? (Name One and defend your point)
Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence will undergo several dozen deletions and edits before it was agreed upon unanimously in 1776. The portion that we were given that begins "He has waged cruel war..." was the one change Jefferson fought against harder than any other suggestion made by his colleagues in the Second Continental Congress.
Share in the comments why you believe that Thomas Jefferson, a captor of enslaved Americans himself, fought to keep this alleged grievance against the King of England in the Declaration of Independence.
As is our practice well will respond to at least two of our classmates.
As we read in the Autumn, 1619 is the year that the first kidnapped men, women and children, abducted from Africa, arrived in the English colony of Virginia. To acknowledge the 400th anniversary of this violent act that would be followed by the enslavement of millions, the New York Times played a role in creating The 1619 Project.
Look through the titles of the articles that appear at this link and choose one to read. Then share as a comment one thing that you did not know before reading the piece that you learned from the article that you chose.
As is our practice... reply to the comments others, minimally twice.
Share in an event in your recent memory that had an unifying effect on your community. Offer a brief description and focus on how the event that you recall brought people together. We may define community anyway that we wish, from our city, neighborhood, our block to a camp or school group that we belonged. The event could have been planned or "just happened".
We will not reply to one another this time... make your entry as personal or as general as you wish...
Over the last two weeks we may have caught wind of a number of developments in our nation's current events. Take a moment to share a link of a news story that you wish others to know about. The only criteria I ask for is that it be something that appears credible. : )
The first permanent English American settlement, Jamestown, was only a success if we compare it to Roanoke, which as we recall disappeared. The popular theory is that maybe the colonials at Jamestown were completely unprepared and thus the colony failed. The attached links in google classroom offer an alternative theory.
As we roll back into our rhythm this week it is worth our time to reflect upon the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday. Especially since the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620 overlaps with our current readings. The day after Thanksgiving is officially designated as Native American Heritage Day, though few Americans are aware of this fact. Looking at how the millions of First Nations' people in the United States today view this portion of our story is vital.
Last week we read the first hand account of William Bradford (1620) as he recounted the arrival of his community in Plymouth. We also saw an animated depiction based upon Bradford's writings. We of course make an error as young historians if we assume that any primary source document is ever the whole story.
Below is a link to a speech that Wamsutta James, a Wampanoag, was banned from delivering at a Plymouth Thanksgiving commemoration in 1970. Hearing his voice as a descendant of the people the Pilgrims encountered and contrasting it with that of Bradford's voice is a minimum requirement of any historian.
Like Bradford's account, Wamsutta's words are from his perspective.
Read the article at this link and then comment below.
TASK: Share why you believe that this speech was banned by the organizers of the event. Offer a brief quote to support your argument. (as is our practice reply to two others.)
Note: We are not sharing whether we agree with Bradford or Wamsutta. We are only guessing why it was that his speech was banned.
The document written by the Pilgrim leader William Bradford that we read and the animated video that we watched offer an introduction to the very small group of migrants that in 1620 built one of the few lasting English American settlements, Plymouth Plantation.
Below, share a detail that you learned from the video and/or document that was previously unknown to you. There will be something : )
Richard Hakluyt appealed to Queen Elizabeth I (the 1st) to begin financing more exploration and even an immediate English migration to the Americas. The English had not really explored earlier as they were torn by a religious schism for decades. When Queen Elizabeth I consolidated her kingdom with a new Church of England, she created a United Kingdom. Now Great Britain was finally in a position to consider overseas settlements.
Read over the reasons offered by Richard Hakluyt attached in the link. Then choose one reason that you believe was probably going to be the most persuasive of them all and offer a brief complete response as a comment as to why you chose that reason.
There is no correct response, we just need to substantiate our responses with evidence from our Chapter One readings. As is our pattern, reply to two others and offer feedback to those classmates.
Question: Which of Richard Hakluyt's reasons to begin English expansion appears to be the most persuasive in getting England to want to support exploration and colonization of the Americas?
After the collapse of the western Roman Empire in the 400s, most of the conquered European peoples retained the version of the Middle Eastern religion, Christianity, that the Romans had imposed upon them. They called it Roman Catholicism. Following the Renaissance and with the printing press making religious books more accessible, a questioning of this 1500 year old version of the religion began throughout parts of Western Europe.
We have read about reformers like Martin Luther & John Calvin who challenged the Roman Catholic version of Christianity. Look over your readings and answer the following question in the "comments" section. As is our practice, reply to two of your classmates with a statement or a clarifying question.
Does Martin Luther or John Calvin have a more significant impact?
The continent of Africa remains home to much of the planet's wealth and in the 1400s significant African kingdoms and empires were built upon that immense wealth. Increasing our knowledge of these nations as they were before the devastating effects of the European initiated Trans Atlantic enslavement system is vital if we are going to understand our nation's early history.
After watching the video posted in google classroom, take a moment to list four details about these African kingdoms from the film that you were unaware of before viewing the film. One detail must come from the piece about Zimbabwe.
The landing of Christopher Columbus in the densely populated Taino Kingdom in 1492 initiates a series of catastrophic global events. It also ends a 10,000 year period of isolation of one half of the planet's population from the other.
We've read excerpts from Columbus's writings. Based upon these brief pieces answer this question in the comment section below:
What can we predict about the future of the relationship between the Taino people and the Europeans from these writings by Columbus?
(give a complete response and use quotes with your analysis)
The peoples of Europe are largely provincial in the centuries following the collapse of their conquerors, the Roman Empire. The European people have held onto much of the cultural identity that was forced upon them by the Roman regime including their alphabet, the Middle Eastern religion of Christianity and even the imperial way of organizing a society which empowered a few to rule, and often oppress, the many.
Why and how these rather unsophisticated conquered people will come to build overseas empires that rival the largest ever in human history needs to be well understood if we are to know our own story.
Take a moment to consider what is needed by any people
who wish to create an overseas empire.
In the Blogger space below write a comment that argues for one thing that a people will need to begin this process, defending your choice.
Then, as is our pattern, reply to two of your classmates offering feedback. Write your comment before reading the comments of others. This will increase the likelihood of a wide variety of responses. Be as "obvious" or as "subtle" as you like, all responses that are defended will be given full credit.
“The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave.” - Thomas Jefferson The retired Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to his frien...
