Which philosophy did the new American government adopt & do you believe the early leaders chose wisely?
Thomas Jefferson: "a little rebellion every now and then is a good thing"
Sam Adams: "The man who dares rebel agaisnt the laws of a republic ought to suffer death"
Explain your answer using evidence from the reading & class today. Be sure to reply to someone who already blogged and either support or refulte their claim. This will count as your seminar grade.
4 points for a thesis
4 points for evidence
4 points for accuracy
4 points for replying to another blogger
*if you were first go back on later and choose someone to reply to
The new American government chose the philosophy of Sam Adams, "The man who dares rebel agaisnt the laws of a republic ought to suffer death" but the American people chose Thomas Jefferson's philosophy of "a little rebellion every now and then is a good thing." The leaders of the new American republic after the revolution didn't want a rebellion because they wanted to stay in power. They did everything they could to keep rebellions silent, but the people were rowdy because the new American government wasn't perfect. A perfect example of this would be the Whisky Rebellion. The American people were outraged by the new taxes on whisky and when they tried to rebel Washington simply threatened them with a large number of troops, ready to kill. They American people weren't happy with a lot of new policies but the leaders would not stand to lose the power they fought so hard for.
ReplyDelete-Matthew DiRe
I agree with Matt that the American people had a more rebellious spririt, depicted through Thomas Jefferson's idea that "a little rebellion every now and then is a good thing." However, while the people were more radical, the government had to please their former government in some respects. They could not completely go against the British because they did not want conflict with them to distrupt the building of their new country. Also, after seeing the rebellious spirit of the colonists during the American Revolution, the leaders were worried that there would be rebellions against the United States. In addition to the whiskey rebellion there were also many slave revolts because this new "fair" government did not actually give everyone freedom.
ReplyDelete-Chloe Williams
I agree with Chloe because the American people at the time did show a side of rebellion, which is what Jefferson stated, but the government we adopted after the war contradicts Jefferson's ideals and agrees with Adams statement. After the war ended, the new-founded leaders of America didn't want to lose their newly found power, so they frowned upon uprising and rebellions within the colonies. They tried to keep certain rebellions from widespread so they looked like they had everything under control, but due to a imperfect government in place and the Whiskey rebellion the new government wasn't able to keep everything under control. Also people who were not affected by major policies in the new government such as "freedom for all" led to riots from slaves and other ineffective groups.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everybody because they are making the same points as me yet i disagree with the point made by Steve when he says that the new government wasn't able to control everything. An immediate response to the Whisky Rebellion was sending a large number of troops which shortly silenced it. In my opinion, Washington had a very firm grasp on the people.
ReplyDelete-Matthew DiRe
The philosophy closest to the new American government's policy is Sam Adam's quote "The man who dares rebel against the laws of a republic ought to suffer death". The leaders of the the Revolution had worked hard to secure their place in the new American government, and hoped that no rebellion would occur. The government was barely hanging on. They did not have any money to speak of. This what triggered Shay's Rebellion, which was caused by the soldiers not being paid. The Americans were still riled up from the Revolution, and refused to be stepped on again by the government. The government was not providing what they had set out to do. Though the power lay in the hands of a select few, Americans knew that rebellion could get what they wanted. So they did just that. The rebellions combined with the desire for a stronger government led to the writing of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. All in all, Jefferson's philosophy better fits what occurred in the colonies.
ReplyDeleteThe new leaders of the American Republic chose the philosophy of Sam Adams. "The man who dares rebel against the laws of a republic ought to suffer death." This is because they were afraid of a rebellion from the people. During the critical period America was left in debt from the war and extremely vulnerable. The leaders had to worry about a rebellion from the people and the fact that Europe was still a threat to them. The American people chose Thomas Jefferson's philosophy, "A little rebellion every now and then is a good thing." The people were unhappy with the state they were in for a list of reasons. They were not satisfied with the Articles of Confederation and wanted it to go. There was no currency and soldiers were not being paid as they were promised. The Whiskey rebellion occurred because of a tax on whiskey which the people were unhappy with. This tax was repealed by Thomas Jefferson’s Republican Party. This demonstrates that the new government failed to avoid rebellions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both math and chloe on their thoughts that the American people chose Thomas Jefferson’s philosophy of “a little rebellion every now and then is a good thing,” but the American government chose the philosophy of Samuel Adams, “The man who dares rebel against the laws of a republic ought to suffer death.” As matt has previously stated that the leaders of the new American republic after the revolution didn’t want a rebellion due to the fact that they wanted to stay powerful. Rebellions would only weaken the leader’s control over the republic. Lastly the whisky rebellion is a perfect example of this. The American people were mad about the tax on whisky, therefore they organized rebellions, but Washington threatened them. The American colonies were not happy with the government but the leaders kept a strong hold on their power.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone so far because they all believe that the leaders of the new American republic chose to follow Sam Adam's philosophy as do I. They did his because they wanted to make sure that they would stay in power. They wanted to keep rebellions to a limit because after the war America was left in bad shape. They were in debt and still vulnerable to European attacks. The Whiskey rebellion is a good example because when the people started to riot and rebel, troops were sent to control the situation. Even though the rebellion wasn't avoided completely the leaders did a good job of controlling it before it got out of hand and I believe no one was killed. The American people obviously chose to follow the path of Thomas Jefferson's philosophy because they were upset with the entire situation after the war and were left with really nothing.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that the new American government chose Sam adams philosophy. I believe that the new government AND the old government knew that a little rebellion now and then was a good thing, therefore siding with Thomas Jefferson. I think that there is always going to be a group of people who want to be rebellious and have that kind of spirit. Even today we see tea parties everywhere. People who disagree with the government and make their views and points clear. After the revolution, people in the colonies got a lot of what they wanted, however their government still had more potential that a lot of people were aware of. We see Shays rebellion after the colonies were claimed independent, so theres some rebellion. We also see the founding fathers. To me they have somewhat of a rebellious spirt. The point of rebelling is to get some representation and to get things to change. When the founding fathers have a SECRET meeting (constitutional convention), they completely strip the articles of confederation to make a better constitution. I agree with Dom that everyone was vulnerable after the revolution, but they all were aware of the fact that the articles of confederation had its problems. They did not rebel because it really was the best that they could come up with at the time. We see people who rebel, proving that a little rebellion now and then is a good things, even if it is during rough times.
ReplyDelete-Julia Coash