LAD #10: Monroe Doctrine

         In his proclamation, President Monroe states that in accordance with the governments of Great Britain and of Russia, the United States are free and independent and can no longer be subject to colonization. During this time in history, Spain was undergoing a revolution itself and the president sympathized with the Spanish rebels and their quest for freedom. Similar to Washington, Monroe makes it very clear that the United States will not interfere in the events taking place over seas unless these events cause a direct threat to the United States. This position of neutrality will ensure that the United States don't become entangled in European matters, and more importantly have European governments take control and impose their ideas in the United States. This was critical because the ideas and governments of both continents are so different that their assimilation would create serious problems. Monroe concludes by emphasizing the fact that if the United States become allied with the countries of Europe that their ideas will endanger the American's peace and happiness.

LAD #9: Jefferson's First Inaugural Address

 

     Jefferson begins by humbling accepting the task of president, and that this task is almost too great for him. As he looks ahead to the development of this new nation, he can not fully understand the power that has been given to him. So he will look to the Constitution as a guide to help him steer America on the right course in these critical times. 

     He then explains the power that the people are giving up to make this new nation function. Everyone will align themselves under the Constitution, and the power of the majority will always prevail. The majority still has to respect the ideas and principles of the minority, and all will be heard. He urges the people to reject the religious and political intolerance that plagued Europe, and to unite under the idea of Republicanism. He doesn't advocate the punishment of those that think differently, but encourages them to share their opinions to prove the equality this new nation provides. He doesn't ignore the people that say this new democracy is too weak, but only replies with question. Where have the nations that let "angels" rule them ended up? History shows us the answer. 

     He then pushes his fellow Americans to pursue the idea of a Republican government, because it is what separates them from the Europeans that had once ruled over them. He stresses the fact that everyone is entitled to the same things, but they have to be reached through civil contributions and not just by their position at birth. The work of these people will make America powerful and prosperous. He says that it is also important that a good government protects is people from causing harm, while allowing them the ability to control their own lives.

     As he nears the end of his speech Jefferson sums up what he thinks the United States government should be. The most important to him which include: full agreement with the will of the majority; the maintenance of a militia, until regular soldiers are trained; freedom of speech, the press, trial by jury;equal justice to all men irregardless of their views or background; support of the State's rights to domestic policy and support of the Federal Governments foreign policy. 

     He finishes by saying that he will try to uphold these principles, and asks in advance for the unintentional mistakes he will inevitably make as he tries to guide America in the right direction.

LAD #8: Columbus Blog

     As Christopher Columbus set foot on shore, he was ushering in one of the most brutal conquests of one people over another. It is odd, and saddening that this man is so almost completely absolved of the atrocities he committed, and even given a holiday where we celebrate the beginning of many years of bloodshed. His success can not even be attributed to his own skill, apart from having the gall and ability to sail into the unknown. While it's the miscalculation that led him to the Americas that is most remembered, it should be the horrible things he did to the natives that should be ingrained in the minds of Americans. But the hundreds of thousands of Natives lives were lost in the name of progress? Zinn makes the argument that even though these terrible things happened that they shouldn't be condemned, but accepted as history. This doesn't mean that he should be condemned as an executioner, but that his impact on history is more than "sailing the ocean blue in 1492". But even if he was a man of high morals, his task lent itself to cruelty. He landed on the Americas with a very specific mission: to find gold and natives to bring back as slaves. This led to him forcing the natives to work in mines and in rivers to find gold, and if they didn't produce they had their throats cut and hands cut off. Many of the natives were captured and transported back to Europe but many died along the way. In one specific ship only two hundred of the initial five hundred made it back to Europe. His exploitation and treatment of the natives was not unlike that of the conquistadors that came after him, but yet he is somehow set above them. They are murderers and he is an "explorer", a term that is used very loosely in Columbus's case. So in the end, in my eyes, Columbus has fallen from the high pedestal that he was placed upon.