The Presidency of Thomas Jefferson Essay Example for Free

The Presidency of Thomas Jefferson Essay The perception that Federalists were loose constructionists and that Jeffersonian Republicans were very strict constructionists was very well founded, but not accurate 100% of the time. The presidency of Thomas Jefferson mainly supported the theory that the Jeffersonian Republicans were strict constructionists. James Madisons presidency supported that theory as well. Both presidents, however, made exceptions to their general policies when an issue was just too big to fit inside the tiny box of their shared school of thought. Jefferson proved himself a constructionist most of the time he was in office. In August of 1800, Jeffersons first year in office, he sent a letter to Gideon Granger (document A) stating his support for the constitution and its basic principles, and also stating that Federalists opposed those principles by their loose interpretation of the document. He implies that loose interpretation leads to change, and in this case, that will create a strong national government that resembles a monarchy and doesnt adhere to the rights of states as guaranteed by the Constitution. In another letter, this time to Samuel Miller (document B) during his last year holding office, Jefferson reinforces the image of strict constructionism by stating that he intends to break the precedent established by his predecessors to better adhere to the Constitutions policy on separation of church and state. Jeffersons widely known philosophy that the National Bank should not be established because the Constitution didnt say that it could was another example of his strict constructionism (Blum). Blum also mentions that even in his first speech to Congress, Jefferson put the constraint on the ideas he presented them with that everything had to be done within the limits of their Constitutional powers. Madison, also being a Democratic-Republican, supported the same principles as Jefferson. Speaking for President Madison, Daniel Webster (document D) questioned Congress right to a military draft on the sole argument that the power is not written in the Constitution, and stated that if Congress to did things that the Constitution did not explicitly give them the right to do, they would be creating a dictator. In his own address to Congress (document H), Madison says that funds cannot be set apart for the development of  transportation because such a power is not expressly given by the Constitution. Both of these documents show his very strict constructionist side, and support that common characterization of the Republicans. Blum informs us that Madison even went so far at the end of his presidency as to veto the Bonus Bill because it seemed to give the national government power that the Constitution had not granted. Both presidents supported the characterization of the Republicans as strict constructionists, but in the interest of political popularity, they were forced to compromise that ideal many times. Jefferson, for example, could not immediately abolish Adams national bank because it would be too drastic a move for someone with his popularity, despite the fact that it was established without the Constitution granting that power to the federal government (Blum). Jeffersons most grand defiance of his strict interpretation of the Constitution was his purchase of the Louisiana Territory. Even though he was not given the power to purchase land in the Constitution, Jefferson couldnt pass up the opportunity to double the nations size at a time of such large-scale westward movement. After his presidency (1816), Jefferson wrote a letter to Samuel Kercheval (document G) that gave his support for change to the Constitution with change to the times, which is a very far leap from claiming that nothing could be done in the national government without the Constitution granting them the power to do it. Madison is guilty of the same deviations from typical Republican strict constructionist policy. He was attacked by John Randolph (document F) for being too much like a Federalist, particularly when using the national governments power to set tariffs like the one proposed in 1816. This was not the first time Madison was attacked for his pseudo-Federalist policies. He received abundant criticisms for his establishment of the American System. That system was based on powers not granted by the Constitution like the establishment of a second Bank of the United States and the building of the National Road (Blum). When judged by the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison, it would appear that the idea that Jeffersonian Republicans were strict constructionists. It would also appear that they chose certain times to be extreme hypocrits;  Jeffersons Louisiana Purchase and Madisons re-establishment of a national bank are just two of those instances. In general, they established a precedent that presidents could challenge the philosophies that they were elected for if it was in the nations best interest, or in their own. This precedent is still being followed today, and though it may very well be hypocritical and/or self-serving, it has occasionally been very beneficial for the American people when individual reasoning reigns over party philosophy.

Slave Narrative Essay -- Comparative, Brown, Douglass, Jacobs 1

The purpose of a slave narrative during the American abolition movement was to directly address the violent truth of slavery. But to what effect did the truth of their autobiographical stories have on readers at the time? Within this essay, I am going to explore themes such as truth, motherhood and religion, and how they interact as narrative strategies throughout. In order to support the analyses, my primary authors will be William Wells Brown, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs 1. The primary texts stated are written in a voice which is antebellum of the American Civil War (1861-65), so it is interesting to see the that the two male authors use their own identity to title their work despite the risks involved, unlike Jacobs who uses pseudonyms to portray her story. Throughout all three texts, there is a familiar structure. Olney comments on how this is 'a sense not of uniqueness but of overwhelming sameness' 2. He continues to state how slave narratives follow a 'chronological, episodic narrative beginning with an assertion of existence' 3. This can be seen in my primary texts, for example, 'I was born in Tuckahoe' (Douglass, Narrative, p.2072) and 'I was born a slave' (Jacobs, Incidents, p.1809). On the other hand, Heermance disagrees, stating that the 'specifically personal, [†¦] unique and exotic, nature [...] made each narrative intriguingly different from its brethren' 4. This quote supports the individuality of each slave, and their reactions and representations of the different forms of violence they were subjected to. However, Andrews justifies the similarity of structures within slave narratives; 'The ex-slave narrators and their sponsors had learned that [...] facts plotted in certain kinds of story structures... ... this analyse of strategies to a close, I believe that the theme of religion creates a greater impact in narratives. This because even without being religious, the scripture is known, thus quotations are relatable. Not only this, the narrators themselves were a huge part of the abolition movement, especially Douglass who wrote and delivered many speeches; 'Morality and religion were one and the same thing for Frederick Douglass, and it should come as no surprise that [...] (Matthew 7:12) would become the perfect embodiment of human equality for him' 15. This concludes how religion within narratives, exposed slave owners' misconception of scripture, and their unholy violence based on those wrong interpretations. The narratives tactfully show the true and fair intentions intended by God for all of humanity, and no doubt this helped the abolition movement dramatically.

History of Psychology Essay

Modern psychology is a science that it continually being researched and added to. Psychology predates the 19th century and includes roots into early philosophy. Looking closely one can identify philosophers that related to the beginnings of psychology, identify major philosophers that historically relate to the beginnings psychology as a formal discipline and how the development of the science of psychology changed during the 19th century. A philosopher that could easily be called the father of modern psychology would be: Rene Descartes. Descartes was a philosopher in the 17th century that stepped outside the limits and wanted to know more. Descartes came up with 4 basic rules to arrive at the truth of whatever he was researching. These rules were basically to think clearly, logically and without bias (Goodwin, 2008). Descartes had several derived ideas and was considered a nativist and a rationalist. These ideas that he created foreshadowed one of psychology’s major topics of nature versed nurture. Descartes also fought that there was a difference between a person’s mind and body; and this difference separated us from animals. Before Descartes died he published his last of many books called: The Passions of the Soul. This book established him as a psychologist and a physiologist (Goodwin, 2008). This book emphasized on human emotions and continued on with a discussion about mind and body distinctions. He Clarified the body is a machine and responds to curtain motions, such as fear, that trigger reflexes. Descartes also determined that the pineal glad in the brain was the gland that sent messages from the mind/spirit to the body. Descartes died at just before his 54th birthday in 1650. There were several philosophers that historically relate to the beginnings psychology as a formal discipline. John Locke, George Berkeley, David Hume and John Stuart Mill are just a few to mention. Each philosopher contributed an aspect to psychology that led to its formal discipline. John Locke refused to believe in an innate mind and believed that mind is created by experiences and was not pre programmed. He stated believed that the ideas that come from our minds are due to ones sensations and reflections from experiences (Goodwin, 2008). George Berkeley added an analysis of visual perception. He disagreed with Locke’s theory of primary and secondary distinctions, but stated that our belief in God gave us a type of reality. David Hume is known for his study of impressions. This study helped research sensations and ideas the thought were due to impressions. Hume also identified the rules of association as resemblance, contiguity and cause/effect (Goodwin, 2008). There are a couple of reasons that psychology changed dramatically in the 19th century. John Stuart Mill was a big part of that change. Even though John Stuart Mill was a very young philosopher, he studied the logic of science and analyzed several methods on how to get a scientific truth. For example, Mill would look in to different genes that could produce depression. Every depressed person that he would look at would have this gene; however that did not mean that if you had the gene that you automatically had depression. In modern times we call his methods the experimental method and the correlation method. These types of methods are use today in the field of psychology. Philosophers are a big part of the modern world of psychology. They helped introduce methods that are still used today and added science to the study. Without philosophers we may still believe that the mind and body are one and that genes create thoughts and ideas and not experiences. We would not understand how visual and sensations react and create thoughts and different experiences. Philosopher Hermann Ebbinghaus once said that â€Å"Psychology has a long past, yet its real history is short† (Goodwin, 2008). This statement represents the fact that psychology is only 100 years old, but can be predated back from the time humans started asking questions. References Goodwin, C. J. (2008). A History of Modern Psychology (3rd ed. ).

Access Of Contraception And Abortion Within The Latina...

Access to contraceptives and abortion within the Latina community in Los Angeles, California has been influenced culturally, socially, and economically. Cultural beliefs, economic disparities, social environment, and language barriers have all prevented Latina’s access to proper pregnancy termination services, which is causing in the detrition of Latina’s sexual and reproductive care. Ultimately in order to promote better reproductive/sexual health and provide better access to contraceptives and abortion within the Latina community in Los Angeles, policy makers should promote safe sex practices within families, communities, and schools and also should educate Latinas of all options they have. In addition to education, sexual and reproductive health services such as contraceptives and abortion should be able to be accessible to Latinas, in order to reduce the amount of Latinas going through traumatic experiences that are indeed preventative. Outline I. Introduction a. Topic sentence: Throughout the United States, reproductive and sexual health needs for women have been overlooked and ignored especially for Latina women in Los Angeles, California. Hispanic women in the United States accounted for 25% of abortion. (Jones, Finer, Singh, 2010) b. Background/context: The disparities and injustices have had an overwhelming impact on Latina’s reproductive and sexual health care. According to investigators at Washington University they report that providing birth control toShow MoreRelatedThe Legal Battle Between Pro Choice Activists And Pro Life Supporters Essay1354 Words   |  6 Pagesfight has snowballed from a discussion about the morality of abortion to an argument that the whole of women haven’t a right to reproductive/ gynecological care at all. Now we stand here, around 50 decades later, with several laws, polices, and judges that seek to curtail a women’s options for reproductive health. Current Research The Post Roe V. Wade Era In 1973, the United States Supreme Court voted to uphold the legality of abortion. In the period immediately after the decision, small steps wereRead MoreTeen Pregnancy in the United States Essays3049 Words   |  13 Pagesearly adolescence health in the United States. Consequences of having sex at a young age generally results in unsafe sex practices. The consequences can be due to the lack of knowledge about sex education, and access to birth control/contraception (NIH, 2005). Due to the lack of knowledge and access to birth control, adolescents involve in risk taking when they start to explore sexual intimate relationships. Consequences of unsafe sexual behavior include sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy (NIHRead MoreTeen Pregnancy among the Latino Community2991 Words   |  12 PagesSince the 1920’s, teen pregnancy among the Latino community has been one of the biggest social problems. Factors like poor or no sex education, negative media portrayal, poor or l ower than average educational levels, social inequality and family pressure, such as encouraging womanhood in teen years, contribute to the high percentage of teen pregnancy among Latinas. However, teen pregnancy among Latinas has been decreasing in recent years. Recent programs such as public service announcement and sexRead MoreUcsb Human Sex Soc 152a Final Study Guide4110 Words   |  17 Pagescampaign to legalize contraception a. â€Å"Comstock Laws† [contraception was considered obscene] b. Margeret Sanger (Read Box on 19.1) i. Birth control movement 3. Contraception has not yet solved the problem of unwanted births a. Half unwanted pregnancies in the US result from not using any method of contraception, but the other half results from failure of a method that was used PGS. 305.2-308 Americans Are Divided on Abortion, but Most FavorRead MoreTeen Pregnancy and High School Drop Out Prevention3722 Words   |  15 PagesPolicies regarding teen mothers have been lost in the education system and people aren’t aware there even is a policy. â€Å"†¦Under Title IX, passed in 1972 and implemented in 1975, public schools are explicitly charged with providing equal educational access and opportunity to pregnant and mothering students† (Pillow, 2006). Sometimes even the slightest forms of discrimination can be enough to drive pregnant teens out of school.   They come in the form of schools refusing to allow excused absences when