SSH101 Exam2 Takehome

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PART III:
A.
The emergence of the first two political parties in the US started as a disagreement between two of President George Washington’s secretaries. Alexander Hamilton, Treasury Secretary, set out to develop an economic structure in the US meant to improve public confidence on various government financial affairs. His proposal of assuming both the individual states and confederations debts was a sense of loyalty and gratitude to the US citizens. However, his idea of establishing a national bank that would regulate the country’s financial affairs was met with hostility by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State. Jefferson had a digressing view on the interpretation of the constitution. He believed that that which was not included in the Constitution was unlawful while Hamilton still held on the belief that any act that is constitutionally forbidden is allowed. Jefferson believed in a strict interpretation of the law unlike Hamilton’s loose emphasis on how the constitution should be interpreted. Due to their strong political influence in the US, there was divided public perception which later led to emerging political parties. The Whiskey rebellion in West Pennsylvania was driven by Hamilton who later became the father of the Federalists. Jefferson, on the other hand, lead the Democrat-Republicans who believed that the state government should be stronger than the federal government.
B.
The society still clings on the perception that a woman’s work is to procreate and tender to the new souls while the mandate of the husband is to provide for all the needs of the family.

However, this was not the case for Martha whose work doubled day after day. We expected her to assume few tasks as she grew old and her children grew up. Instead, she complained of being tired and feeling unwell but still soldiered on in her calling of a midwife. Despite her midwifery job, Martha had to battle predisposition from male physicians, loneliness when her husband was imprisoned, issue of armed settlers and several religious rows. She always hoped for that moment that her grandchildren would grow old enough to assist her, but all was in vain since the number of deliveries she was supposed to attend to increased gradually. Ulrich’s description of traditional marriages is a clear proof of what ensued during the late 18th and early 19th century. The unions were simple and worked intensive, and couples were only supposed to move in when they have a permanent residential household. The female economic subsystem limited the number of roles and tasks that women would assume during the late 18th century and the early 19th century. This can be attributed to the gender-based division of labor. However, the midwife career is flexible and time-unbound. The relocation of Martha upon the arrival of the original owner of the mill her husband managed did not affect her career. Consequently, her experience in the midwife career improved as she grew older denoting an added advantage. Despite numerous hurdles in life, the midwife career proves to be the best role a woman could assume during the late 18th century and the early 19th century.
G.
The French Revolution was among the most significant events during the late 1700s as it shaped and defined modern ideals of liberty, society, and equality to the modern society. Napoleon climbed through ranks to lead the French armies and participate in a coup d’état that saw him rise to Emperor Napoleon I. He was criticized by the preservation or betrayal of the revolution ideals. Napoleon was the savior as he ensured the equality of all by abolishing the monarchy and putting the Napoleon code in place giving each man equal opportunity to be fruitful and own property. He also solved the economic problems of France by making the Franc the currency at the time. By fighting alongside his generals and his army plus his genius strategic military knowledge, Napoleon bred loyalty and respect which helped him run his territory successfully. He also promoted religious freedom by reinstating the Catholics to France but under his rule.
Napoleon was perceived as a betrayer of some of the critical ideals of the revolution that were universally fought by the people. He was also associated with his self-crowning as the monarch despite his push to abolish monarchies. Napoleon installed himself as Emperor and, made the title hereditary so that it only belongs to his family. This was through the 1802 constitution that made him a lifetime dictator. The centralization of power in France ensured that all the power came from him and all leaders reported to him. He also put into law equality for all men in France while disregarding the women. Despite Napoleon’s controversial reign, he managed to improve the status of his country from its lowest to one of the strongest empires where all the citizens had equal rights.
Washington’s farewell address was instrumental in maintaining the spirit and unity of the American people when he was soon to be a free man. He openly addressed his concerns to the people. He encouraged them to avoid dividing into parties or groups that served personal interests but to first consider themselves as American citizens first for them to fight off the enemies united. By foreign policy, he advised that no meaningful benefit can be found on political alliances, and thus pushed for neutrality to distance the US from the European wars. This was also to give the US an opportunity to mature and enable them to handle its internal matters.
PART IV: PD #33. Jefferson’s Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom (1799).
Thomas Jefferson drafted the Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom bill which was endorsed by the general assembly on 16th January 1786 and later signed into law. The law permitted individuals to choose their religious stands without fear of the state laws and policies. Emphasis was placed on the assembly laws and the need to push for the freedom of conscience. Jefferson argued that religion is a personal choice that should be excluded from any form of government intrusion. He claimed that the government should not control its citizens on what to believe in and neither should anyone be taxed to support religion. It was during an era where states and nations were supposed to contribute towards the upkeep of the church. There were also limitations that forced parents to have their children baptized. His argument was therefore based on the notion that religion should not be used to deny citizens their most fundamental rights.
PART V: PD #40. James Madison, The Federalist, No. 51 (1787)
James aimed at separating the various arms of the government and therefore protecting the rights of the citizens and those of the nation. This could only be achieved if checks and balances would be placed in government to create a rift between the various arms of the government. However, Madison also argued that members of each power of the government should be independent of the other. This means that no single department was supposed to encroach on the other. Madison gave the legislature most powers claiming that it was the real voice of the people. However, the government required security from usurpations due to the division of power between the administration and the three arms of government. Despite being controlled by the government, each arm of government had an internal control program to ensure all activities run smoothly and as planned.
PART VI: PD #45: Benjamin F. Bache, “A Defense of the French Revolution” (1792-1793)
Benjamin defended the actions of the French revolutionaries claiming that they were justifiable based on the fact that they were counteracting provocations levied by the liberal community. He, therefore, criticized the Federalists who ran the government by then. However, he was arrested under the Sedition Act. Benjamin was a democrat-republican and was sympathetic about the social upheaval that led to the splitting of the political parties. He was a staunch supporter of Jefferson’s Republican party and wrote in sympathy of the French revolution. However, the revolution brought changes in the system of governance. Consequently, Americans keenly followed the events of the French revolution and Benjamin’s efforts led to the passing of the Alien and Sedition Act by the Congress.
PART VII
PD# 55 A Woman in the West Ward Movement (1824)
Harriet L. Noble wrote this document to explain how her family migrated from New York to Michigan in the year 1824. They had to endure several hurdles and challenges along the way. Harriet recounts how women had to hold their babies without the assistance of men all along the journey. To exacerbate the situation, the roads were in a poor state. Consequently, they had to wait for four days for a single boat which later turned out that it was being repaired and therefore forced to use schooners. This exposed them to the risk of suffering from seasickness. The migration was meant to secure cheap parcels of land in the West and Harriet places emphasis on the hardships women had to endure during relocation.
PD #62 Chief Sharitarish on Changes in Indian Life (1822)
Sharitarish was the principal chief of the Great Pawnees. He argued that God made persons in a unique way and this is what denotes the difference between the whites and his race, Indians. Sharitarish complained that missionaries had made attempts to change them and claimed that the Indians loved their lifestyle and they should not be forced to change. He argued that interaction of the Indians with the whites had affected the Indians way of life. The two groups lived a digressing lifestyle where the whites were farmers, and they domesticated animals while the Indians moved from one place to another in the plains in hunt of game meat. Indians were also involved in stealing horses from their enemies, but some people wished they would change how they lived so that they would assume the white’s lifestyle. All that Sharitarish asked was the robes, bear claws and the moccasins of the Indians should be well preserved. This aspiration was aimed at preserving the cultural heritage of the Indians’ life for succeeding generations.
EXTRA CREDIT
Thomas Roderick Dew’s view on slavery in the 1830s.
Thomas Roderick Dew was the president of the College of William and Mary from 1836 to 1846 who is well known for his pro-slavery arguments that supported slavery. Dew argued that slavery is not immoral and neither does God condemn this as a sin since most slave masters treated their slaves with compassion and fairness making them act out of obedience. He claimed that the relationship between a slave and his master is stronger than that of a child and his parents. Dew based his argument on the notion that enslaving Africans would assist whites to rise and assume the same social class since the competition was minimal. Those who condemned slavery did not understand the true relationship that existed between the slaves and their masters. Dew pointed that slavery was part of the natural environment and causing an imbalance would lead to massive bloodshed and destruction.